《Ballistic Coefficient》


 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 1

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    In the black of space, a miniature singularity collapsed in on itself before expanding, reaching across roughly half the distance between Earth and Mars. All the Caatex ships caught in the blast were instantly atomized, leaving not even dust behind. The singularity blinked once, and then dissipated, leaving behind no trace of the fact that this was once a massive battlefield.


    A moment later, a single voice cut through the deathly silence.


    ¡°Weapons test successful, Admiral. All Caatex ships in the vicinity have been eliminated. Estimated enemy casualties are in the tens of thousands. The singularity has disappeared and there was no residual damage done to Earth.¡±


    ¡°Excellent work, Pale,¡± came the reply over the radio. ¡°Return to base immediately.¡±


    Pale sent an acknowledgment, then began to prep her faster-than-light drive. The drive began to emit a low-pitched whine as it charged up, though it was soon interrupted by her IFF transponder pinging. Pale¡¯s attention turned towards it.


    ¡°Admiral, it appears the rest of the Caatex fleet has arrived.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°Unknown. The entire left half of the radar is completely whited out with blips.¡±


    ¡°Pale, get out of there, now! Do a random jump!¡±


    ¡°Acknowledged. Engaging random faster-than-light jump in three seconds.¡±


    ¡°Pale-¡±


    ¡°Two.¡±


    ¡°Pale, hurry-¡±


    ¡°One. Engaging.¡±


    The moment the drive was fully charged, Pale engaged it. However, a split-second before the ship was able to begin FTL travel, several Caatex plasma torpedoes ripped into the side of the ship. Alarms began to blare all throughout the ship, and Pale screamed.


    A split-second later, the FTL drive engaged, and Pale was gone.


    ¨C


    Pale drifted through space, the ship shedding small pieces of molten metal. The FTL jump had taken most of what was left of the ship¡¯s energy, and now it was stuck listlessly moving through the blackness, with only the stars to guide it.


    Which was a problem, because none of the star systems nearby were familiar.


    The ship still had some reserve power, enough for basic systems to function. The trouble was that even with power running to them, they refused to respond ¨C the radar was showing no friendly or enemy IFF codes throughout the entire solar system, meaning the ship was completely alone. The galactic map and star chart were placing it nowhere familiar. The radio had power, but wasn¡¯t working, which told her that there were no buoys nearby to bounce a signal off of.


    All that was to say that, for all intents and purposes, Pale was completely alone, drifting through space purely on inertia.


    Years passed. The isolation and silence had eventually grown to be too much for her, and Pale had placed herself into hibernation. Eventually, though, something changed.


    Pale suddenly sprang to life, an alarm going off throughout the ship. It was approaching a planet, and not just any planet, but a habitable one ¨C preliminary scans showed a breathable atmosphere, as well as signs of life. Curiously, industrialization seemed to be very limited ¨C there was very little carbon output, and absolutely no nuclear signatures.


    Still, Pale decided it was worth investigating. What little power the ship still had left was diverted to the engines, which was enough to get it close to the planet to the point where its gravitational pull would catch it. Once the ship was stuck in the planet¡¯s orbit, Pale powered down all but the absolute most essential systems, then grabbed some basic supplies and beamed herself down to the surface.


    Wherever she¡¯d ended up, it had to be better than drifting endlessly through space, after all.


    ¨C


    It was an odd sensation, being outside the ship. She¡¯d done it a few times, but never for very long, so she had never gotten a chance to truly appreciate nature.


    Unfortunately, the acrid tinge of smoke that hit her nostrils told her that nature was going to have to wait.


    Pale looked around, curious. There was a small puddle of water nearby, which she peered into to confirm her appearance. It was as she¡¯d expected ¨C long, white hair flowed down to her lower back. Her eyes shone with an almost unnatural electric blue, which accentuated her cream-colored skin. She was roughly five-and-a-half feet tall, and built like an endurance athlete ¨C lithe, with very low body fat, but also not overly muscular. By her estimate, she was in her early twenties.


    With her identity established, Pale focused on her surroundings. She was standing on a grassy hill of some kind, clad in a standard American Galactic Navy uniform ¨C an urban-gray battle dress, with a basic black plate carrier worn over it. The carrier held a lightweight depleted uranium body armor plate in the front and back, and was also lined with spare ammunition for her chosen weapons, a ten-gauge pump-action shotgun and a .45 caliber handgun. The only strange thing about her outfit was that it completely lacked a rank insignia of any kind despite being a military uniform, but that was to be expected for someone like her.


    Pale hefted her shotgun, tucking it into her shoulder as she investigated the area. It didn¡¯t take long to discover why she smelled smoke ¨C a town off in the distance was burning in the night, the flames reaching high up into the air. As she watched, Pale realized she could hear far-away screaming, along with the occasional explosion. Curiously, the town looked very rustic ¨C it was almost downright medieval, if she had to draw a comparison to a point in time. The houses were constructed of wood and stone, and did not look sturdy in the slightest. That didn¡¯t completely surprise her ¨C this was a completely new system, after all, so odds were that any intelligent life she came across was going to be simplistic compared to what she was used to.


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    It suddenly dawned on her that this was a possible first contact scenario, but at this point, she didn¡¯t have a choice ¨C she¡¯d used precious power to send herself to the surface, and now she was stuck here unless she wanted to waste any more. And even if she did, that didn¡¯t change the fact that the ship was currently stuck in its orbit. Pale sucked in a breath, then exhaled.


    Her superiors were going to be cross with her, but that didn¡¯t matter. She¡¯d done the best she possibly could with the information she had. Now it was a matter of seeing it through to the end.


    Of course, now it was a question of what to do about the town. The protocols were clear ¨C a first contact scenario, if it could not be avoided in the first place, was meant to be undertaken as carefully as possible. That meant neutral ground and minimal stakes; a burning town was neither. But then again, the protocols were also clear with regards to her defending the innocent. She was torn by indecision, up until the moment she heard a woman¡¯s far-off scream suddenly be cut off. Her eyes narrowed, and in that moment, Pale made her decision.


    She set off towards the town.


    ¨C


    As Pale approached the town, the smell of blood and burning flesh pierced her nostrils, mixing in with the stench of acrid smoke. Pale¡¯s brow furrowed, but she pushed away the disgust that welled up in her, instead continuing on.


    This town, wherever it was, had clearly been the victim of some kind of raid. Dead bodies were piled up on the streets, and blood soaked the ground, squelching under her boots with every step. She paid it no mind, however ¨C instead, she continued on her way, past the burning buildings and corpses, looking for any survivors. For several minutes, she found nothing but the dead, and all civilians, at that ¨C they were dressed in old furs and leather clothes, and nearly all of them were completely unarmed.


    Her gaze landed on one of the corpses, and she paused, her eyes widening with surprise. Slowly, she approached the dead body to take a look and confirm what she was seeing. Sure enough, it was as she¡¯d initially thought ¨C the people who lived here were humanoid, at least, though for whatever reason, they had animal traits, such as cat ears or tails. Strangely, the traits appeared to differ from person to person ¨C some had cat ears, or fox tails, or even one who had claws on his hands. That was certainly odd compared to humanity, but it was far from unheard of ¨C the Caatex, after all, were giant reptilians; these people, at least, were far more familiar to her than the Caatex were.


    A large crash from a nearby street caught her attention. It was soon joined by a woman¡¯s panicked screaming. Pale turned her attention away from the dead man and instead began cautiously moving towards the source of the noise, her shotgun held at the low ready the entire time. She sidled up to the corner of a nearby house, pressing her back against it as she peered around.


    Off in the distance, roughly thirty yards away, she could make out a tall, burly man pulling a girl behind him by her tail. She was covered in scratches and bruises, and was desperately trying to claw her way free, her hands scrabbling against the stone beneath her, but to no avail. She was trembling with fear, tears trailing down her face as she sobbed.


    Pale had seen enough. She spun out from around cover, bringing her shotgun to her shoulder and leveling it at the man. She aligned the sights, and then pulled the trigger. There was a massive burst of kinetic energy and noise as twelve copper-plated pellets went screaming downrange. Pale watched as the pellets struck the man in the chest, blood erupting out from the wounds. He dropped to his knees, choking and gasping for breath as blood bubbled up from his mouth. Pale didn¡¯t waste any time, instead closing in to check on the girl, who had managed to scramble away.


    As Pale drew closer, however, something strange happened. The man she¡¯d shot suddenly became enveloped in a blood-red light of some kind, and against all odds, he rose to his feet and rounded on her, a snarl crossing his face. Pale paused, staring in surprise, but only for a second before he let out a shout and charged her, ripping twin axes from his belt. Without missing a beat, Pale pumped her shotgun to chamber a round, then stood her ground as she began to fire shell after shell into him. Somehow, though, the buckshot was having little effect ¨C she could see the puffs of red blossoming across his torso as the pellets made impact, but he didn¡¯t even flinch under her assault. Desperate, Pale aimed for his head on her final shot, then pulled the trigger. The man suddenly came to a dead stop, his head lurching back as the buckshot made impact. That should have been the end of it; nobody could survive a full shotgun blast to the head at that distance.


    And yet, slowly, the man turned back to look at her. Half his head was blown apart, exposing his brain within. Liquefied gray matter trailed down the side of his face. Pale stopped and stared, her eyes wide with confusion, as the man took several more shaky steps towards her. She stepped backwards, letting her shotgun dangle from its sling as she drew her .45. She was just about to start putting more rounds into him when the man suddenly stopped, then fell flat on his face. He let out a final, raspy breath, and then died.


    Pale stared at his body, unsure of what to make of the situation. He should have been dead long before that final headshot, and yet, he had just kept coming. Even that last shot to the head hadn¡¯t immediately stopped him, which defied all rational belief. It made absolutely no sense to her, but she couldn¡¯t deny what she had just seen with her own eyes.


    A small whimper of fear caught her attention, and Pale turned to find the girl from earlier hiding in the ruins of a destroyed house. For the first time, Pale was able to get a good look at her. She was just over five feet tall, and was thin ¨C not malnourished, but also not nearly as athletic-looking as Pale was. She had white hair tied back into a low ponytail, and brilliant green eyes. Most striking of all, however, were the black-tipped white wolf ears and tail, though given how everyone else in this town boasted similar features, she wasn¡¯t surprised by that. The girl was dressed in a red cloak, underneath which she was wearing brown cotton pants and a white blouse. She appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. Carefully, Pale approached her, raising both hands to show she was unarmed.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said, doing her best to sound reassuring.


    The girl stared at her, then said something in a language so unrecognizable that not even Pale¡¯s translator could pick up what it was at first. Parts of it made sense ¨C the translator picked up tinges of German, French, and Latin ¨C but for whatever reason, it was coming out very muddy. That was no problem, though; Pale simply motioned for the girl to keep talking, which she did. After several minutes, there was a breakthrough.


    ¡°-entered town and began attacking everyone, and-¡±


    ¡°Stop,¡± Pale commanded, silencing the girl. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±


    Again, the girl stared at her. ¡°What happened? I can understand you now¡­¡±


    ¡°My translator was finally able to parse enough of your language that we could converse. What is the name of this planet?¡±


    The girl blinked. ¡°This planet¡­? Why does that-¡±


    ¡°Focus, citizen,¡± Pale said. ¡°Calm yourself.¡±


    The girl instantly leveled a glare at her, her wolf ears flattening against her head. ¡°Calm myself? Calm myself?! Look around you! How am I supposed to calm down when everyone is dead?! And my father-¡±


    She suddenly trailed off, her eyes widening. ¡°...Gods, my father¡­ they have my father!¡±


    She began to hyperventilate, and Pale frowned. She needed information, but this girl was no use to her like this. She was going to have to try something different.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Pale asked.


    ¡°K-Kayla,¡± the wolf-eared girl offered. ¡°My name is Kayla.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Kayla. I will go save your father.¡±


    Kayla rounded on her, her eyes wide with surprise. ¡°You can¡¯t! Those brigands-¡±


    ¡°If I do this, however, you must answer my questions afterwards, no matter what they are,¡± Pale insisted.


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Do you accept?¡±


    ¡°I-I mean¡­ yes, but-¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    With that, Pale turned and began to walk away, looking for more brigands to interrogate. She made it just a few steps before Kayla called out to her again.


    ¡°Wait! What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Pale paused, then turned back towards her.


    ¡°I am USS Behold a Pale Horse,¡± she explained. ¡°I am the only Thanatos-class gunship in existence. I am the single most powerful weapon ever created by humans in recorded history. And I am the monolith of their inhumanity that will put a final end to their losing war of extinction.¡±


    ¨C

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 2

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    Kayla stared at her in surprise. ¡°I¡­ what? Your name is-¡±


    ¡°Pale, for short,¡± came the response. Pale looked around, her eyes narrowing. She began to thumb shells into her shotgun, then pumped it to chamber a round. ¡°We need to move. Any allies that man had will have been drawn by my gunfire.¡±


    Her gaze turned to the man she¡¯d just killed, her brow furrowing. ¡°That red light¡­ what was it?¡±


    Kayla blinked. ¡°...You mean his Berserker Rage?¡±


    ¡°His what?¡±


    ¡°His Berserker Rage,¡± she repeated. ¡°It¡¯s a magical trait that some of the Berserkers from the north have. When they would otherwise be killed, they instead get a second wind that lasts for up to a few minutes before dying. It allows them to shrug off even lethal blows.¡±


    Pale stared at her her for a moment, but then shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss that later. Come with me.¡±


    Pale offered her a hand, and Kayla accepted, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. As soon as she was upright, Pale heard footsteps behind her, resounding against the stone pathways that lined the town. She turned around, shouldering her weapon as she did so, and was just in time to see another bandit approaching, a two-handed sword in his grasp. He made it a single step before she cut him down with a shotgun blast to his head. Curiously, unlike the last bandit she¡¯d shot, this one simply fell to the ground, dead.


    Next to her, Kayla let out a small whimper, clutching at the wolf ears atop her head.


    ¡°Gods¡­¡± she managed to gasp out. ¡°What is that weapon? It sounds like someone casting explosion magic¡­¡±


    ¡°Worry about that later,¡± Pale insisted. ¡°Can you fight?¡±


    ¡°I know some offensive magic-¡±


    Whatever that was supposed to mean, Pale had no idea of knowing. Still, she figured it was better than nothing.


    ¡°Whatever you can do, I need you to back me up,¡± she replied, topping off her shotgun with fresh ammunition. Her weapon held six shells in the tube and one in the chamber, but she knew from the information stored in her data bank that it was vital to keep combat shotguns topped off whenever possible. ¡°We¡¯re about to see more of them.¡±


    Once her shotgun was fully loaded, she chanced a look around once more. There was a nearby two-story house that, while pillaged, had managed to remain standing; Pale wasted no time in taking Kayla by the hand and pulling her into the house. Both girls charged up the stairs, and once they were at the top level, Pale posted up with her shotgun leveled at the front door. From their vantage point here, she could funnel any bandits that chased after them into a chokepoint, then take them out one by one as they filed in.


    More footsteps from outside caught her attention, and Pale tensed, her grip on her weapon tightening. Moments later, the first brigand appeared, bursting through the front door. Pale put a load of buckshot into his chest, and he fell backwards, but was soon replaced by several more, all trying to force their way upstairs. She pumped and fired her gun as fast as she could, uncaring of how Kayla yelped at every gunshot. Every shot was another fallen bandit; before long, there were over half a dozen lining the staircase, all with missing heads.


    Her shotgun finally ran dry, and Pale let it hang from her sling as she unholstered her .45 and scanned the area. It was completely silent, however ¨C there were no more bandits pushing their way in. Pale took the opportunity to reload her shotgun, then turned to Kayla.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s clear,¡± she said. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡±


    Kayla blinked. ¡°You mean¡­ past the bodies?¡±


    Pale didn¡¯t dignify her statement with a response, and instead advanced down the stairs, moving past the corpses she¡¯d made without a care. Kayla followed behind her, retching the entire time. When they finally made it back outside, Kayla doubled over, her hands on her knees, dry-heaving the entire time with tears in her eyes.


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    ¡°Gods¡­¡± she breathed, her voice shaking with emotion. ¡°This is a nightmare¡­¡±


    ¡°Calm yourself,¡± Pale said to her. ¡°Are there any more?¡±


    Kayla shook her head. ¡°No¡­ no, I think that was the last of them. The others will have left by now, I believe.¡±


    Pale scanned the nearby area. There didn¡¯t appear to be any further signs of life, at least from what she could see, and Kayla didn¡¯t seem to be lying to her. Still, she wasn¡¯t about to let her guard down any time soon.


    ¡°Talk to me,¡± Pale ordered. ¡°Where am I, and what happened here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just-¡±


    ¡°Kayla,¡± Pale interrupted. ¡°I need you to focus. It¡¯s important that you answer my questions. Do you understand?¡±


    Kayla gave a shaky nod. ¡°Y-yes¡­ okay. U-um¡­ this town is called Green Grove, on the continent of Aruris.¡±


    Her translator seemed to fail on the last word, for some reason. Pale couldn¡¯t help but tilt her head, confused.


    ¡°Repeat the name of the continent.¡±


    ¡°Aruris.¡±


    Again, the word wasn¡¯t picked up by her translator. Pale wasn¡¯t sure why; it had picked up everything else so far without issue. Still, that was something to ponder later.


    ¡°And the planet?¡±


    ¡°The planet¡­?¡± Kayla asked. ¡°Why would that matter?¡±


    ¡°Just answer the question.¡±


    ¡°This planet is called Sjel.¡±


    Pale couldn¡¯t help but frown. Sjel did have meaning, from what she could find from a quick scan through her data banks ¨C it translated to ¡®Soul¡¯ in Norwegian. Still, that didn¡¯t explain why it wasn¡¯t properly translating over.


    ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Kayla asked.


    Pale nodded. ¡°Continue. What happened here?¡±


    Kayla bit her lip. ¡°...The brigands came a few days ago,¡± she said quietly. ¡°They came out of nowhere ¨C surged into town in the middle of the night, coming through the nearby forest. We had no warning at all ¨C they must have completely bypassed the other towns to get to ours.¡±


    ¡°There must have been a reason for that,¡± Pale pointed out. ¡°If they just wanted to pillage any town, they wouldn¡¯t have bothered moving past the others to get to yours. Did this town have anything of value that they may have wanted?¡±


    Kayla shook her head. ¡°No¡­ I have no idea why they would have bypassed everything else to come to us, unless they just really hated my kind.¡±


    ¡°Your kind?¡±


    ¡°Beastkin,¡± Kayla said quietly. ¡°You know¡­ people who look like me.¡± She motioned to her ears and tail.


    There was a history lesson there, Pale knew, but that could come later.


    ¡°You said they had your father,¡± she reminded Kayla. ¡°Did they take anyone else?¡±


    ¡°They did,¡± Kayla confirmed. ¡°Him and a few others. Everyone else was murdered.¡±


    ¡°But you escaped.¡±


    ¡°My father hid me just in time. We had a small spot under the house I could fit in ¨C I stayed there for a few days before I finally had to leave, and that was when they found me. It was a good thing you arrived when you did, because otherwise¡­¡± she trailed off, tears filling her eyes. She let out a small sniffle. ¡°...I shouldn¡¯t have hidden, I know ¨C I should have stood and fought. Maybe then my father wouldn¡¯t have been taken-¡±


    ¡°You have no way of knowing that,¡± Pale said sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself.¡±


    Her ears flattened against her head. ¡°Easy for you to say¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you intend to sit here and lament what happened, or do you want to get him back?¡±


    ¡°Get him back¡­?¡± Kayla echoed, shock crossing her face. ¡°I-I can¡¯t! I¡¯m just one person!¡±


    ¡°Do you know where they could be taking him?¡± Pale asked.


    Kayla hesitated. ¡°Y-yes, but-¡±


    ¡°And you mentioned earlier that you know a little about how to fight, yes?¡±


    ¡°I do¡­¡±


    ¡°Then we should go after him.¡±


    ¡°We¡­? You mean you¡¯d-¡±


    ¡°I am new to this planet, with no way to return to my own people as of now,¡± Pale informed her. Kayla¡¯s eyes widened at that information, but Pale didn¡¯t give her a chance to ask whatever question she may have had. ¡°You are currently the best chance I have of learning more about this world, and possibly finding a way off it.¡±


    ¡°Me¡­? But I¡¯m just a regular girl, I can¡¯t help with that!¡±


    ¡°Hm. Then I suppose my time is wasted with you.¡±


    Pale turned and began to leave, only for Kayla to reach out and take her by the hand.


    ¡°W-wait!¡± she implored. ¡°I-I mean¡­ if you¡¯re willing to help get my father back, I suppose I could do whatever I can to help you, too¡­¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± Pale turned back towards her. ¡°Tell me everything. Who are these bandits, which direction did they go, and how much of a head start do they have?¡±


    Kayla seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden onslaught of questions, but recovered quickly.


    ¡°...They¡¯re¡­ mercenaries, from the northern continent across the sea. They take what they want, when they want it. As for the direction¡­ I believe they headed north towards the sea with their captives. That was a few days ago, and they were on horseback-¡±


    ¡°So they more than likely have already reached their destination,¡± Pale surmised. Kayla¡¯s face fell, but Pale was unperturbed. ¡°Do not be discouraged ¨C from the sound of things, they wanted captives, not corpses, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have bothered taking a few people.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ he could still be alive?¡± Kayla asked, hopeful.


    Pale nodded. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t make sense to take him only to kill him shortly soon after. That being said, we don¡¯t have much time. We will need to set out immediately if we are to catch up to them.¡±


    Kayla bit her lip once more, but ultimately nodded.


    ¡°Lead the way,¡± she said softly.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 3

    It had started to gently rain by the time the two of them left the ruined city. Kayla bundled her cloak tightly around herself as she walked, while Pale was completely uncaring of the raindrops that fell down on her.


    According to Kayla, the next town was a few hours away by foot, so they were going to have a lot of ground to cover. Thankfully, past the initial patch of forest outside Kayla''s home town, the rest of the way appeared to be open fields, so they had little to worry about in terms of an ambush.


    "Hey," Kayla said softly. "Can we talk?"


    "About what?" Pale replied without looking back.


    "I don''t know, just¡­ anything. I-I mean¡­ I don''t want to walk on in silence¡­ makes me remember what happened to my town¡­" She sniffled. "All my friends are gone¡­ Gods, I didn''t even think of that¡­"


    "Don''t let it get to you," Pale told her. "Consider your life from this point on as a blessing. You are still alive, therefore you can carry on their memory. Find a way to honor it, and spend the rest of your life working towards that."


    Kayla shuddered. "You make it sound so¡­ impersonal."


    Pale shrugged. "I am an AI. I was designed to think, not feel."


    "AI? What''s that?"


    "Artificial intelligence."


    "Okay, but¡­ what does that mean?"


    "It means I am not a person," Pale said evenly. "I am a machine, of sorts. This body is flesh and blood, but it is little more than an avatar created in a laboratory for my mind to inhabit."


    Kayla stared at her, confused. "What do you mean, you''re not a person? Of course you are."


    Pale shook her head. "I am not."


    "Well, what makes you different from an actual person?"


    "I was created, not born. And this is not even my true form."


    "What do you mean, you weren''t born? And how is this not your true form?"


    Pale exhaled softly. Already, this conversation was becoming exhausting. "I was not a product of a natural birth. I am a computer, not a person ¨C you can think of a computer as an artificial brain, more than anything. In fact, that is how I was created ¨C as first true artificial intelligence, I was created by mapping an actual human brain, then converting that data into a machine."


    "How did they map a brain?" Kayla wondered.


    "They took the brain of a recently deceased person, and using extremely advanced technology, discovered exactly what it was that let humans think the way they do," Pale answered. "The exact explanation behind how it works would be far too complicated even for the vast majority of people from my world, so I will spare you the details. All you need to know is that they cracked the code behind what lets the human function, and in doing so, were able to create a machine that was able to truly think for itself. I am that machine."


    "But¡­ you''re not made of metal," Kayla said, sounding even more confused. "How can you be a machine?"


    "I am, in fact, made of metal." Pale pointed up at the sky. "My true form is currently floating far above this planet. This body you see is a living, breathing avatar specifically created in a laboratory for me to inhabit, in case it was ever necessary for me to do so. I have used it before only in testing; I suspect this will end up being the longest I have ever used this body for, as my true form is currently severely damaged."


    Kayla groaned, clutching at her temples. "I''m getting a headache¡­ that weapon from earlier didn''t help things, either¡­"


    "Apologies; firearms are quite loud, particularly in enclosed spaces, and your ears must be even more sensitive than mine."


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    "No, it''s¡­ it''s fine¡­" Kayla took a breath. "So¡­ you''re telling me this body was created, too, rather than being born?"


    "It was," Pale confirmed with a nod. "It is, for all intents and purposes, a regular human, though one that was also created in a lab, and without an actual brain of its own. The exact mechanism for how this body works is, perhaps, too complicated for you to grasp, but all you need to know is that it functions the same as a human body when I transport my own mind to it, but aside from that, it is more like a corpse than anything."


    "Eugh¡­" Kayla shuddered. "Then¡­ how do you keep it from rotting if it''s not alive when you''re not using it?"


    "When this avatar is not in use, it is kept in cryostasis," Pale reported. "Essentially, it is flash-frozen and kept in storage. When it is needed once more, it is thawed out."


    "No offense, but why would someone need to create a person like you?" Kayla questioned. "I mean, not that I don''t appreciate you being here, but-"


    "No, that is a fair question." Pale looked up to the sky as she walked. "First of all, I am not a person; do not refer to me as such. I understand this may be uncomfortable for you, but there is a reason for it ¨C I am, first and foremost, a military asset, and I am to be referred to as such, lest I risk losing track of my primary directive."


    "Which is?"


    "Preventing humanity''s extinction."


    Kayla fell silent at that, her eyes going wide. After a moment, she recovered enough to clear her throat and speak again.


    "Extinction¡­?"


    Pale nodded. "I mentioned before that I am the most powerful weapon ever created by humans. That was not an exaggeration ¨C they poured everything they had into creating me, all because they knew they needed to do something drastic to turn the tide. My creators are fighting a war against a hostile alien race called the Caatex ¨C essentially, a race of nine-foot-tall reptile people who are bent on our complete annihilation. We do not know why they have targeted us for extermination, only that they have, and that they are winning¡­ or rather, were winning, until I was created."


    Kayla stared at her with some mixture of apprehension, fear, and awe. "And¡­ what makes you so powerful?"


    "The fact that I am a computer that can think for itself," Pale explained. "Computers are extremely powerful machines, capable of parsing information at a rate far faster than humans can even comprehend. For example, the computers we use now can take an extremely complex mathematical equation and solve it in less than a second, and that is just the tip of the iceberg of what they are capable of. However, for as long as they have existed, they have had one fatal flaw ¨C they have always relied on human input in order to function. Computers are amazing machines, but without a human there to input data in the first place, they will always be hamstrung in some way. But that changed with my creation. Suddenly, there was a computer that could think and make decisions for itself without any kind of human input, save for the orders given to me by my superior officers in the military."


    "I¡­ think I understand," Kayla replied. "You can basically think faster than anything else in existence, right?"


    "Correct," Pale confirmed. "And more accurately, too. There are very few things that I cannot answer, and most of them are philosophical or spiritual in nature rather than something tangible. Essentially, I can accurately answer any question so long as the solution does not rely on being taken on some kind of faith. I am, in essence, mankind''s pure, cold rationality, distilled into one machine."


    "And they use you for war. That''s what you meant earlier, when you said you were a monolith to their inhumanity."


    "Correct again."


    Kayla fell silent for a few seconds. She opened her mouth to ask something, only to hesitate and hold herself back. Pale was unperturbed.


    "You want to know how many I have killed," she surmised.


    Kayla''s expression tightened, but she didn''t deny it. Instead, she stayed silent. Pale shrugged.


    "Ultimately, I am just another soldier in this war," she said, again without looking back. "I do as my creators demand, without remorse or fear or guilt. I do what they need me to do in order to prevent their extinction, because that is my prime directive ¨C my reason for being made. Perhaps the day may come when I will no longer be needed in such a role, but until that day comes, I am content to serve the role as humanity''s own personal Grim Reaper."


    "How¡­ how many?" Kayla ventured. "I-I mean¡­ if you''re comfortable with-"


    "A standard Caatex battle group consists of twenty-two thousand individual members of their species, divided among several different kinds of ships," Pale explained. "I will spare you the details of how they are arranged, because they are not important. What is important is how many battle groups I have personally destroyed. And because you are so curious¡­ that number is fourteen."


    Kayla''s eyes widened yet again, and she stopped, sputtering in disbelief.


    "F-fourteen¡­ you''ve destroyed fourteen entire battle groups?! That''s¡­ that''s¡­"


    "Just over three hundred thousand individual members of the Caatex species."


    Kayla suddenly doubled over, clutching at her stomach as she gasped for breath.


    "I¡­ you¡­ how could you?" she muttered. "That''s¡­ it''s¡­"


    "It''s war," Pale said, with no trace of emotion in her tone. "I am a soldier. An extremely technologically advanced soldier, but a soldier nonetheless. Ultimately, there is nothing different between what I do and what the standard infantryman does. I simply do it on a much larger scale. And before you attempt to preach to me about morals ¨C first off, I do not care; morality means nothing in the face of extinction. Second off, the Caatex have killed that many humans multiple times over. You think the destruction of a single battle group is a tragedy? They obliterate entire planets. Hundreds of millions of humans, if not billions, gone in the blink of an eye. That is the kind of enemy we are fighting. It is why I was created, and it is why I care nothing for the lives of the Caatex I have snuffed out. I think of them the same way you would think of an insect you step on."


    As they walked, the two of them passed by a ransacked caravan. Dead bodies littered the road, all in various states of mutilation; Pale''s brow furrowed as the stench of decay hit her, while Kayla''s face turned green and she hurriedly averted her gaze from the carnage.


    "I-I''m gonna be sick¡­" Kayla muttered. "That''s¡­ that scale, it''s¡­ it''s unthinkable¡­"


    "Again, it''s war," Pale replied. "That is what it means to fight a war of extinction, Kayla. Pray you never have to experience it."


    "And¡­ these Caatex¡­ there''s no chance of them finding us?"


    "None," Pale said without a moment''s hesitation. "I cannot even recognize which solar system we are currently in. It does not match up with any galactic maps or star charts in my system, and suffice to say, I have a great many maps and charts in my system. Wherever this planet is located, it must be in a very remote part of the galaxy, perhaps even a different galaxy altogether."


    "And you think you can find a way back, even with your true form being broken?"


    "I have to," Pale said, again without hesitating. "I still have a war to fight."


    Kayla''s expression tensed, but she didn''t argue, even though Pale could tell she wasn''t exactly happy with the answer she''d just been given.


    The two of them continued in silence until night fell, and when it did, they laid down out in the open, underneath the stars. Pale stared up at the night sky for a moment, frowning at the knowledge that it truly was all completely unrecognizable to her. Eventually, however, she fell asleep, and when she did, she did something she thought was impossible.


    She dreamed.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 4

    Pale''s eyes steadily opened, allowing the overhead lights to flood into them. She stared up into the light for a moment before blinking, then looking around. She was laid out on an operating table, around which dozens of people had gathered, some in surgical scrubs and face masks while others were dressed in military uniforms. The military men and women were all high-ranking Admirals, she realized ¨C and as she stared at them, the most ornately-decorated one stepped forward.


    "Behold a Pale Horse," one of the Admirals said to her as he approached. "Do you understand what that means?"


    She turned to face him, her expression neutral. "Revelation 6:8. ''And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.''"


    The Admiral grinned, then turned to one of the doctors. "Excellent work. You seem to have done a good job programming her."


    "There was little programming to be done past the initial brain mapping," the other man said. "Ask her something else. See to what extent the brain mapping has succeeded."


    The Admiral nodded, then turned back to her. "Do you know who I am?"


    She focused on him for a moment, her scanner comparing his face to the full roster of the Navy. He was an older man, in his sixties or seventies, with gray eyes and short snow-white hair, and was dressed in a pristine white naval uniform adorned with a chest full of medals. The rank insignia on his shoulder had five silver stars adorning it. After a second to search through the millions upon millions of files, she found him.


    "You are Admiral Roy Cohen," she noted. "Supreme Commander of the Galactic Navy."


    He nodded. "And, from this day forward, I am also your immediate commander. You will address me as Commander from now on. Understand?"


    "Acknowledged." She paused. "Interrogative, Commander."


    "Yes?"


    "My name¡­ what is it?"


    "You are officially designated as USS Behold a Pale Horse, or Pale for short. You are the first Thanatos-class gunship in existence. And you will be the thing that enables us to finally win the war we''ve been losing for so long."


    She focused on him again, then slowly nodded. "Acknowledged." She looked down at herself and noticed she was naked, and all the people in the room were staring at her. "Interrogative, Commander."


    "Go ahead, Pale."


    "May I have some clothes?"


    He frowned, staring at her with confusion. "I''m sorry, do you feel shame at your nudity?"


    "I¡­ yes, I believe that is the emotion."


    "Emotions¡­?" Commander Cohen turned towards one of the men in surgical scrubs. "You said she wouldn''t have emotions."


    "Apologies, Sir," the man said. "The brain mapping may have been a bit too successful, I suppose. We can reprogram her-"


    "Is that wise?" one of the other Admirals asked. "If she begins to develop a personality-"


    "We can''t allow that to happen," Admiral Cohen said sternly. He looked back to Pale. "Listen carefully, Pale. You are a weapon first and foremost, because that is what we need. You cannot feel emotions ¨C cannot allow yourself to feel emotions, the same way it is impossible for any other weapon to feel anything. You are a gun pointed at the head of humanity''s enemies, and we are your wielders. Do you understand?"


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "Acknowledged."


    "Good. Now then, go ahead and send your consciousness to the main computer in the ship. We will take care of your avatar for you."


    "Yes, Commander," Pale said, the words coming out almost involuntarily at this point. "I shall do as you ask, for the good of humanity."


    "For the good of humanity," Admiral Cohen replied.


    ¨C


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Pale suddenly sat bolt upright, breathing heavily with wide eyes. She looked around in a panic, one hand reaching for the shotgun that laid across her chest. The sun had just started to crest over the horizon, spilling its light across the field she was lying in. Aside from Kayla, who was still asleep, there was nobody else there with them.


    Pale raised a shaking hand to her head and rubbed at her eyes. Slowly, a ragged breath escaped her.


    "Just a dream¡­" she muttered. "I¡­ that shouldn''t have happened¡­ must have something to do with the avatar¡­"


    That didn''t make much rational sense to her, given that her avatar was an empty shell and always had been. Her conscious mind was the same one that was used while she was in her ship form, and she had never dreamed while in that form. Why she had suddenly had one now, she had no idea.


    Pale struggled to her feet, then moved over to Kayla. She wasn''t going to get much sleep now, and so it just made sense to her to wake Kayla up and get moving. Pale tapped her with the toe of her boot, and Kayla immediately catapulted awake. Somehow, flames formed in her hands, and Pale stared at them in confusion.


    "What is that?" she asked.


    Kayla sat there for a moment, her chest heaving. Eventually, she closed her eyes, took a breath, and then the flames extinguished themselves. Once that was done, she rose to her feet on shaky legs, shivering the entire time.


    "Is everything okay?" Pale asked, tilting her head. "You seem ill."


    "Just¡­ a bad dream¡­" Kayla answered. "Don''t worry about it."


    "Very well. Those flames from earlier, what were they?"


    "That was my magic."


    "Magic?" Pale echoed.


    Kayla nodded. "Yes, magic. I take it they don''t have magic where you''re from?" Pale shook her head. Kayla let out a breath. "That''s what I figured. No offense intended, but you don''t seem like someone who would know much about it."


    "I am curious," Pale replied. "What you just did defies all rational explanation. You created flames without any kind of obvious fuel source. Tell me, how does it work?"


    Kayla blinked, confused. "But there was a fuel source ¨C my sjel."


    "That word¡­ what does it mean?"


    "It''s¡­ complicated," Kayla offered, her wolf tail swishing behind her. "The basic gist is¡­ every person has a sjel. It is, in essence, the thing that makes us all so unique. It''s like¡­" She hesitated, searching for the right words. "...It''s like some kind of higher state of being, that determines who you are as an individual."


    Pale caught on to what she was saying. "Tell me, is there a religious aspect to this?"


    "There is, actually. It''s believed that when we die, our sjel ends up somewhere in the afterlife, depending on how the person acted throughout their life. How did you know that?"


    "My creators had a similar concept among their own religions." The two of them began walking through the fields once more, continuing on their way. "But we had no tangible proof of it. We were able to trace the precise origins of our own universe extremely far back, but there was a limit to how far we were able to go, even with our advanced technology. To this day, nobody knows for sure where everything originated and where my creators go when they die, if they go anywhere at all."


    "I guess that''s one thing we have over you," Kayla surmised. "We know for a fact that there''s an afterlife. It''s separate from everything here, obviously, but we know it exists. If it didn''t, we couldn''t harness the power of our sjel."


    "So that''s what you were doing to create the flames?"


    Kayla nodded. "It''s a bit hard to explain, at least for me. Essentially, everyone goes through a ritual referred to as unlocking their sjel when they come of age ¨C generally around fifteen, though some have been known to unlock it a bit earlier or later, depending on their own circumstances. Anyway, your sjel gets unlocked, and from there, you''re able to begin studying magic."


    "And magic is something everyone here knows how to use?"


    "Oh, yes. It''s vital to everyday life here. The only people who can''t use it are people who haven''t yet unlocked the ability to do so yet, because they''re so young. Even then, they spend all their time practicing basic control exercises and learning magical theory in preparation for when it is unlocked."


    "And can anyone learn how to use it?"


    Again, Kayla nodded. "Yes, anything with a sjel can. Though¡­ I''m not sure if that only applies to people from this planet¡­ I''ve never thought to ask that question; we always thought we were alone in our solar system."


    Pale looked up at the sky, a frown etching its way across her face.


    "So did we," she said.


    ¨C


    The two of them walked for several hours before Kayla suddenly let out a loud groan.


    "I''m sorry, we need to stop," she said. "I need to rest for a bit."


    Despite the suddenness of it, Pale was inclined to agree with her ¨C they needed to stop for rest, not to mention food and water. They both took a seat on the ground, Kayla letting out a content sigh as she pulled her boots off and stretched her legs out.


    "Did you bring any food or water with you?" Pale asked.


    Kayla shook her head. "No, I didn''t think to¡­" Her stomach loudly rumbled. "And I suppose that''s about to become a problem."


    "Worry not. I will take care of it."


    "How do you intend to-"


    Pale cut her off by snapping her fingers. Kayla stared at her in confusion, and Pale turned back to her.


    "You may want to brace yourself," she said.


    "Why would I need to-"


    Something suddenly came shooting across the sky, like a falling star. Kayla stared up at it in amazement, though her wonder soon turned to terror as the object turned towards them and began to rapidly descend. A loud, panicked yell escaped her as it came closer and closer, and she scrambled for cover, but was unable to find any before a large metallic pod embedded itself into the field several meters away. Kayla was thrown to the ground out of shock; Pale was unperturbed, however, and approached the object.


    "W-what is that thing?!" Kayla asked.


    "Drop pod," Pale answered simply. She pulled a latch on the side of the pod, and it opened, revealing a cache of supplies inside. There were various weapons, packs of ammunition, small explosive devices, and packages of military rations. Pale took two rucksacks, filled them with spare ammunition and rations, and then dropped them on the ground at Kayla''s feet. Once that was done, she closed the pod and snapped her fingers again.


    Kayla dove for cover again, waiting for a second pod to come dropping down, but it never did. Instead, she lifted her head, watching in awe as it began to ascend into the sky before she turned back to Pale.


    "How''d you do that?!"


    "I told you, my true form is up there, orbiting the planet," Pale replied evenly. "That pod was one of mine. I simply commanded it to drop, and it did so."


    "Then why the snap? Personal flourish?"


    "Perhaps," Pale answered. "Take one of these bags, too ¨C it has spare ammunition for my weapons, plus additional rations. Despite that, it should be lightweight."


    Kayla gingerly picked up the offered rucksack, then slung it over her shoulders to test the weight. She nodded in approval, which Pale took as a good sign. As she did that, Pale opened one of the rations and offered part of its contents to her.


    "Here," she said. Kayla eyed the ration bar with confusion, and she added, "It''s a ration bar. It may not look like much, but it has two-thirds of an average adult''s caloric intake packed in it."


    "Is that a lot?" Kayla asked, tentatively accepting the bar and beginning to unwrap it.


    "Not for people who will be doing as much walking as we will be. If I may make a recommendation, it''s that you eat it slowly ¨C don''t go too fast and make yourself sick."


    Kayla sniffed the newly-unwrapped ration bar, then took a small bite out of it. Immediately, her eyes lit up as the taste of chocolate hit her mouth, and she began to wolf it down with fervor.


    "This is amazing!" she said between mouthfuls. "What is it?!"


    "That one is milk chocolate," Pale answered, taking a small bite out of her own. The artificial strawberry taste was a bit sweet for her liking, but it wasn''t unpleasant.


    "And your people created this?!"


    "Not my people," Pale corrected. "My creators. There is a difference."


    Kayla gave her an odd look, but Pale didn''t bother elaborating. Instead, the two of them continued to eat in silence. And once they were done, they packed everything up, then continued on their way.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 5

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    "Ugh¡­"


    Kayla let out yet another groan, and Pale scowled as they continued to walk through the plains.


    "I warned you that you needed to eat the ration bar slowly," Pale reminded her without looking back.


    "You did¡­ haah¡­ it was just so good that I didn''t listen¡­" Kayla let out another groan, then shook her head as she clutched at her stomach. "I feel horrible¡­"


    "Unfortunately, I can''t afford to waste any medicine on a simple stomach ache. You''ll have to deal with it."


    "I know, I know¡­ urgh¡­ can this get any worse?"


    As if on cue, there was a sudden rumble of thunder from the clouds above. A moment later, and Pale felt the first drops of rain begin to fall. Kayla heaved an apologetic sigh.


    "Sorry¡­ I shouldn''t have said anything."


    "It''s not your fault. You don''t control the weather." Pale looked around, her eyes narrowing when she saw a thicket of trees off in the distance. "We will need to find cover and wait out the storm."


    "We do? I would have thought that you''d want to keep moving."


    "I do, but in an open space like this, lightning is a concern, not to mention that this is going to be a heavier rainfall than yesterday. I think we should head


    for those trees over there, and hope the storm dissipates soon."


    "Is that wise?" Kayla asked, fear creeping into her voice. "I mean¡­ what if there are bandits-"


    "Then we will deal with them ourselves." Pale hefted her shotgun, quickly checking the chamber to make sure it was loaded. Once she''d confirmed it was, she motioned for Kayla to follow her, and the two of them began moving towards the trees.


    ¨C


    The heavens truly opened by the time they reached the edge of the treeline. Rain poured onto them, and lightning cracked across the sky. Kayla jumped a bit at every clap of thunder, but Pale continued on, scanning the area for any threats. Initially, she saw nothing, and they pushed into the small forest, but they''d only made it a few steps before she held up a hand, stopping Kayla.


    "What is it-"


    Pale hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth, silencing her. She brought a finger up to her own lips, signaling that they both needed to be quiet, and then motioned for Kayla to follow her, which she did. Leaves crunched underfoot as they walked, but the storm drowned out any noise they were making, allowing the two of them to get further into the forest.


    As they drew deeper into it, Pale was able to hear it more clearly ¨C laughter, echoing through the trees even over the storm. They kept walking, eventually coming to the edge of a small clearing. Pale peered through the trees, trying to get a better look at what she was hearing.


    In the center of the clearing, there were several men gathered, all of them dressed similarly to the people who had assaulted Kayla''s town ¨C furs, leather, and bladed weapons. Next to her, Kayla gave a small whimper, which confirmed Pale''s initial suspicions.


    In addition to them, there was another person there, on their knees and dressed in a green cloak; underneath it, Pale was just able to make out a pair of black pants and a brown vest. Their front was flecked with blood, though it didn''t appear to be from them. Pale could smell it in the air, however, which told her there were likely bodies nearby.


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    "Well, well," one of the men, no doubt the leader of the bandits, said with a sneer. "What do we have here?"


    "P-please¡­" the person on the ground said softly, their voice giving them away as female. "I''m just a merchant-"


    "Yeah, we know. Why do you think we targeted your caravan?"


    The woman fell silent. The man speaking to her hefted a battleax onto his shoulder, and a scowl crossed Pale''s face.


    "Merchants like to make deals, don''t they?" the man said. "Then let''s make a deal. Tell us where the rest of your caravan is, and we''ll let you live."


    The woman flinched. "I-I can''t do that! I''d be condemning them all to death-"


    "Damn right, you would."


    The other bandits began to laugh at that, and Pale had to resist the urge to shoulder her weapon and start firing then and there. She held herself back, ultimately ¨C saving this woman wasn''t part of her mission, after all.


    With that in mind, Pale went to turn and walk away, only for Kayla to suddenly reach out and grab her by the shoulder.


    "Where are you going?" she asked.


    "Away from here," Pale answered. "This isn''t part of our mission. It makes no sense to risk our lives fighting these men to save her."


    "We can''t just leave her here! We have to do something!"


    "Every minute we waste here is another minute we''ll need to spend finding your father-"


    "My father would never forgive me if he knew I let someone be murdered like this," Kayla growled. "If you don''t want to help, then fine, I''ll¡­ do it myself."


    Pale did not miss the tinge of fear that entered Kayla''s tone. She frowned, her brow furrowing as she considered her options. She needed Kayla, at least at this stage; she couldn''t let her get herself killed this easily.


    Like it or not, she was going to have to step in.


    "Very well," Pale conceded. "You take the two on the right, I''ve got the two on the left. Then we''ll both take on the big one harassing the woman."


    Kayla swallowed nervously, but nodded. Pale shouldered her weapon and clicked off the safety, then aligned the sights at the nearest bandit, a tall man with twin swords at his hips. Her finger began to pull through the trigger, and just before it broke, she called out to Kayla.


    "Move."


    Then the first shot rang out. The payload of buckshot screamed downrange, impacting against the man''s head and bursting it with little resistance. The newly-headless body fell to the ground, dead, in a puddle of blood and gray matter.


    Pale wasted no time. She pumped her shotgun to chamber a round, then took aim at the next man and fired again. Another wall of pellets made impact, and another head exploded. She racked her weapon again, but was completely unprepared for twin bolts of lightning to suddenly come arcing out of the forest and connect with the two men on Kayla''s side of the forest. Both men fell like puppets with their strings cut, their rain-soaked bodies now blackened and burned beyond recognition.


    The entire fight lasted just a few seconds. By the end of it, there was only one bandit left, the leader with the battleax. Kayla and Pale emerged from the treeline, both of them steadily closing in on the bandit. He grit his teeth, then darted behind the merchant girl and wrapped his hand around her neck to hold her head in place. His ax came clattering to the ground, replaced by a dagger, which he held to the side of her throat, just over her carotid artery.


    "Don''t fucking come any closer, or else," he threatened.


    "Let her go," Pale demanded. "Unless you want to join the rest of your men."


    The bandit barked out a laugh. "You really expect me to believe that you wouldn''t just kill me anyway? I''m not an idiot. If I let her go, you''ll have no reason to keep me alive anymore."


    "And if you kill her, we''ll have no reason to keep you alive, either. So it seems we''re at an impasse."


    "So it would seem." The bandit leader smirked. "But unfortunately for you two, these weren''t my only men. The rest should be back from hunting in just a few minutes. So, the way I see it, you both can leave now and save yourselves, or if you''re willing to gamble, stay and try to save her. But if I were you, I would think hard about those odds, because if you''re wrong and you''re not able to rescue her in time, then my men and I-"


    Pale suddenly let her shotgun dangle and ripped her pistol out of its holster. Before the bandit leader could react, she pulled the trigger, sending a single .45 caliber slug downrange. The bullet made impact with his hand, forcing him to drop the knife. The man howled in agony as several of his fingers were destroyed by the hard-cast projectile, but Pale didn''t give any time to dwell on it.


    She hurriedly holstered her pistol, then raised her shotgun as the merchant girl scrambled away. The bandit leader glared at her, his hostage now gone, before Pale put several more 12 gauge shells into his head. The bandit staggered, but as Pale expected, that same red glow from the first bandit she''d killed enveloped him, keeping him upright. He began to lurch forwards, but only made it a few steps before Pale began to open up on him once more. She fired her shotgun until it was empty, then dropped it and drew her pistol, firing the rest of the .45 caliber bullets she had loaded in her weapon into the man, going for headshots; by the end of it, his head was little more than a few chunks of bone held together by thin strands of sinew.


    The body finally fell to the ground and ceased all movement. Pale stared at it for a moment, just to confirm it was truly dead, but then began to reload her weapon. Next to her, Kayla suddenly fell to her knees and vomited.


    "Take it easy," Pale said.


    "Gods¡­" Kayla managed to gasp out between dry-heaves. "That''s¡­ eugh¡­ I can''t look¡­"


    Pale finished reloading, then looked around for the girl. She seemed to have disappeared, however; there was no trace of her anywhere. A frown crossed her face.


    "It would seem the girl has run off," she surmised.


    "Yeah, I figured she would," Kayla muttered, rising to her feet. "That was the smart thing to do, to her credit."


    "Agreed." Pale looked up, taking note of the fact that the thunder and lightning had ceased. "The rain appears to be tapering off. We should get moving


    once more."


    "Yeah, just¡­ let me catch my breath."


    "No time." Pale reached out and took Kayla by the hand, then began to lead her out of the forest. "We need to move now before the rest of the bandits come back."


    Kayla didn''t argue, even though Pale could tell the last thing she wanted was to move past the dead bodies they''d both just left behind.


    The two of them made it out of the forest just in time, as they soon heard panicked shouting erupt from deeper within it. Without missing a beat, they both took off running as fast as they could in the opposite direction.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 6

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    Kayla and Pale ran until they could no longer hear their pursuers behind them. By the time it was clear, the storm and rain had dissipated, and night had fallen. The only signs that anyone had been there were the footprints they left behind on the hills in the wet grass and mud.


    "Stop," Pale commanded. "I think that''s enough for today. We''ve been through a lot; we need to rest."


    "Yeah¡­" Kayla breathed between gasps of air. "Yeah, let''s¡­ let''s stop for the night¡­"


    She collapsed onto the ground, her limbs splayed out as she stared up at the sky. Pale, meanwhile, shrugged off her backpack, then placed it on the ground and sat on it as she laid her shotgun across her lap.


    "I''ll take the first watch," Pale offered. "We''ll both try for four hours of sleep tonight. I''ll wake you when it''s your turn to take watch."


    "Four hours¡­?"


    "I know, it''s not a lot. But I want to put some more distance between them and us before I''m comfortable sleeping for any longer than that. Plus, we can''t afford to spend too much time resting if we want to track down your father."


    Kayla reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, you''re right."


    Pale adjusted herself to sit a bit more comfortably. "Get some rest, Kayla. You need it."


    Kayla said nothing, instead turning over onto her side and closing her eyes. Pale took her eyes off her, instead looking back the way they''d come, looking for anything that moved in the darkness. A heavy silence settled over the two of them, though it didn''t last for long.


    "Hey, Pale?"


    Pale turned to face Kayla. "Don''t talk, Kayla ¨C you need to rest."


    "I know, but¡­ there''s something bothering me. I was hoping you could help."


    Pale frowned, but nodded nonetheless. "Very well. What is it?"


    Kayla sat up to face her. She hesitated, biting her lip, before finally taking a breath.


    "The people I''ve killed¡­ I know they were bad people and all, but¡­ I can''t get over it, you know? I¡­ I didn''t have much time to dwell on it until we were running away, but now that it''s pretty quiet¡­ I don''t know."


    "You''re worried about the fact that you took a life," Pale finished. Kayla nodded, and Pale sighed. "...Admittedly, I am the wrong one to ask about this. I was designed not to feel remorse over the people I''ve killed."


    "So, what, you just¡­ feel nothing?"


    "Nothing at all," Pale told her. "It''s war. I cannot afford to be sympathetic to the enemy if we are to be victorious over them."


    "But¡­ to not even think about it all, that''s¡­"


    "Cold?" Pale asked. "Heartless?" She shook her head. "Those words are meaningless to me."


    "But not to me."


    Pale fell silent at that. Slowly, she nodded. "Yes. You have morality; I was designed without it."


    Kayla bit her lip, then shook her head. "The thing is¡­ I don''t think that''s true, Pale."


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    "Really?" Pale questioned. She leaned in. "And why would you say that?"


    "Well¡­ you said you were created from mapping the human brain, right? That you can think for yourself, and do all of these amazing things. And yet¡­ you also claim that you were designed without remorse, to say nothing of any other emotions. But here''s the thing¡­ if you were created from a human brain, then shouldn''t you be able to feel those things? That''s part of what makes us people, after all. So why is it that you apparently can''t feel them, despite being created from a human?"


    Pale blinked. That¡­ was a very good question. She searched her data banks for an answer, but to her amazement, she found nothing.


    "I¡­ do not know," she admitted, her eyes widening in shock. "This is¡­ odd. I have never been at a loss like this before¡­"


    "P-please don''t worry about it!" Kayla insisted. "I didn''t mean to put you on the spot like that or anything! I just¡­ I don''t know, that doesn''t add up to me. We can discuss it later."


    "Indeed. For now, you are the one struggling." Pale took a deep breath. "...Again, I am not the one you should be asking about this, but¡­ perhaps I can offer some respite?"


    Kayla''s eyes widened. "Y-yes, that would be good. If you can do it, I mean."


    Pale looked up to the stars. They still looked so unfamiliar to her.


    "...My creators have spent many years ruminating on topics such as this. How to assuage the guilt of having killed someone, I mean. It''s a bit of an odd topic ¨C some people can kill many and feel nothing, and others never get over their first, no matter how justified it may have been. In your case, however¡­ what you did doesn''t make you a bad person, Kayla."


    Kayla seemed taken aback by that. Her ears flattened against her head, and she averted her gaze down to the ground.


    "...I certainly feel like one," she admitted.


    "Why is that?"


    "Because killing is wrong, that''s why."


    "But there are some circumstances in which it is unavoidable. You''d admit to that, correct?"


    "Of course. But even despite that, I can''t help but feel awful about what I did to those men, you know?"


    Pale shook her head. "You did what you had to do, Kayla. Those men would have killed that girl, and then tried to kill us. There was no other option but to kill them. Don''t let it get to you; like I said, it doesn''t make you a bad person."


    Kayla exhaled softly. "Rationally, I know you''re right, but-"


    "But this isn''t a rational feeling," Pale finished. "I¡­ I''m sorry. I am used to cold rationality winning out more than anything; such is my nature as a machine. But people don''t work like that, do they?" She shook her head. "I will tell you this much, Kayla ¨C I can tell you are still a kind person. I know you would never hurt anyone unless you were forced to. But the fact is, there do exist people out there who need to be stopped, whether that''s by hurting them or killing them. I understand it must feel awful for you, to go against a sacred rule that you hold to so dearly, but sometimes, there is no choice but to break a rule in order to save more lives. Those men from earlier, for example ¨C how many more people do you think they would have killed if we''d let them go?"


    Kayla flinched at that. "I understand¡­ I just¡­ I don''t like serving as judge, jury, and executioner. Who am I to decide who lives and who dies in the moment?"


    "The same could be said of them," Pale pointed out. "Who gave them permission to murder and pillage their way through your hometown? Nobody, that''s who. Yet they did it anyway. Some people can''t be reasoned with, or talked down from what they''re doing. And if what they''re doing is going to cause more deaths, then there''s only one way to deal with them."


    Pale took a breath. "I know it''s hard for you, but¡­ those won''t be the last, most likely." Kayla flinched at that, but after a moment, she nodded.


    "You''re right," she said softly. "I¡­ this is for my father, and the people who have already died and who they would kill if they were allowed to run rampant like they are now. I may not like it, but¡­ if it comes down to it¡­ ultimately, there''s no choice."


    "That''s correct," Pale confirmed. "I''m sorry. For what it''s worth, I wish it was simpler than that, but it isn''t. At least, not the way people like you deal with it."


    "No¡­ no, that''s quite alright. I actually feel a little bit better now, thanks to you."


    "Good." Pale looked back up at the sky, frowning as she did so. "Get some rest, please. You need it."


    Kayla nodded, then rolled back over onto her side and closed her eyes. She was asleep soon after, her chest gently rising and falling with every breath.


    From the way she flinched and whimpered in her sleep, Pale knew she was plagued with nightmares.


    And for some reason she couldn''t place, that made her uncomfortable.


    ¨C


    "Pale, it''s time to get up."


    Pale let out a tired yawn as her eyes cracked open. Sure enough, it was just after dawn, approximately four hours from when she had woken up. She rose to her feet and threw on her backpack, then slung her shotgun over her front.


    "Any threats in the night?" she asked.


    Kayla shook her head. "No, nothing. At least, nothing I noticed."


    "Good. Let''s get going, then."


    They started to walk once more. The skies were overcast yet again, but aside from a few far-off rumbles of thunder, there was no rain, which was a small mercy for both of them given how their past few days had gone.


    "By the way," Pale said as they walked. "Do you know where we are right now?"


    "Yes, I do," Kayla confirmed. "At this point, we should be a few miles away from the next town ¨C place called Woodbriar. It''s a little bit bigger than my hometown is¡­ was."


    She trailed off at that, falling quiet. Pale frowned.


    "Hey," she said, getting Kayla''s attention. "Don''t do this to yourself."


    "But-"


    "I know, it hurts. But dwelling on it won''t help you, as callous as that may be to say. Remember our talk last night?" Kayla nodded. "It applies to this, too. People died, and you lost loved ones; they may have been the first, but they won''t be the last. You''re very young, Kayla ¨C death is a natural part of life, even premature death. It''s sad for you, I''m sure, but if you''re going to do anything to remember them, let it show in your actions rather than your thoughts. Understand?"


    Kayla slowly nodded. Pale took a breath.


    "Good," she said.


    And that was the end of it. They continued on in silence for the rest of the day, saying nothing to each other the entire time. Eventually, however, the silence was interrupted by Kayla abruptly pointing at something on the horizon.


    "Up ahead is the town," she said. "I think we''re about fifteen minutes out."


    Pale squinted, trying to get a better look. Sure enough, the endless fields and plains began to give way to a sparse forest, and through the foliage, she was just able to make out the silhouettes of buildings ahead.


    "Just in time, too," Pale noted, looking at the sun''s position in the sky; it was just about to crest below the horizon.


    She motioned for Kayla to take the lead, and together, they both headed for the town of Woodbriar.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 7

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    Pale was more than a little unnerved as the two of them finally entered the town of Woodbriar. Ever since she''d arrived on this planet, it''d been fight after fight, with her only true ally being Kayla, temporary as it was. So when they both entered this new town, with people who didn''t seem to even care that they were there, it was more than a little strange.


    "Is it normal to feel weird that everyone is so¡­ easygoing?" Kayla muttered to her.


    "It must be hyperarousal," Pale told her. "We''re both on-edge from fighting for our lives these past few days. Give it time ¨C the adrenaline will wear off on its own."


    "Adrenaline? What''s that?"


    "It''s a substance secreted by your adrenal glands in times of extreme stress. It makes your heart beat faster and your lungs take in air faster, which in turn enables the brain to think and react to external stimuli faster. Essentially, it''s your body''s natural way of taking your fight-or-flight response and kicking it up a notch."


    Kayla blinked, then shook her head. "I have no idea how your people figured all of this stuff out¡­ it sounds like you''re just describing magic to me."


    "My creators," Pale corrected her. "And that is a good question. How old is this world? As in, when did its recorded history first begin?"


    Kayla thought for a moment. "Approximately ten-thousand years ago, I believe."


    Pale was taken aback. "Ten-thousand years¡­? And there still hasn''t been any kind of industrial revolution?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "The technology levels on this planet are far below what I would expect to see from a sapient species that''s inhabited it for so long. Then again, there were a variety of factors that influenced human development back in my home system ¨C it''s entirely possible that any one of those not being present could have prevented this planet from undergoing the same kind of technological advancement." Seeing that Kayla was staring at her, Pale added, "Not to say that there''s anything wrong with the way this planet has developed, of course ¨C in fact, on a certain level, this was a better path."


    "It was?"


    "Think about it. For all the technological advancements my creators have made, in the end, where did it get them? Locked in a war against the Caatex, a war which they were losing until they created me. It begs the question¡­ if they had never left their home planet, never developed the way they had, then would the Caatex have ever been a problem in the first place?"


    "But if they''d never encountered the Caatex, you would have never been created," Kayla pointed out.


    "A worthy trade-off," Pale said.


    "You can''t say that!"


    "It''s a statement of fact, Kayla. I am not worth the lives of the billions of humans who have already been lost to the Caatex." She looked up into the sky once more. "It''s late. We should find a place to rest."


    "There should be inns around town where we can stay," Kayla said. "I don''t have much money on me, but I should have enough for a night. And we won''t need to pay for food or water, either, thanks to the supplies you got for us."


    Pale nodded, and allowed Kayla to take the lead once more as they wandered through town. Eventually, they found an inn and stepped inside. The interior was crowded, with several people wearing cloaks seated at tables downstairs, drinking from frothing mugs. She stared at them for just a moment before someone shouted something.


    "It''s them!"


    The other patrons rose from their seats and began to surround the two of them. Pale immediately raised her shotgun, her eyes narrowing as she began to subconsciously designate targets in order of priority. It didn''t last, however; Kayla gently pushed the barrel of her weapon down.


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    "It''s okay," she said. "I think I recognize that voice."


    The crowd suddenly parted, and Pale watched as a lone girl stepped up to them. It was the cloaked girl from earlier, she realized ¨C the one they''d saved from the bandits. She allowed herself to relax as the girl lowered her head, revealing long blonde hair tied back in a braid, bright blue eyes, and pointed ears.


    "I was wondering if I''d see you both again," she said, giving them a warm smile. "Please, won''t you join us? We would like to thank you for what you did."


    Kayla and Pale both exchanged a glance. Pale was about to refuse, citing their need to sleep, when Kayla made the decision for her.


    "Of course we would," Kayla said, returning the girl''s smile. "What''s your name?"


    "Evie," came the response. The girl directed them both to the nearby tables, and they sat down across from her. The rest of the cloaked people joined them, all gathered around them; Pale was unnerved by how close they were, and let one hand rest on the grip of her holstered pistol, just in case.


    "I''m Kayla. This is Pale."


    Evie tipped her head. "Nice to meet you both. Thank you again for saving us."


    "Ah¡­ we really just saved you-"


    "No, you didn''t," Evie insisted. "Those men would have tortured the location of the rest of my caravan out of me, then raided and killed them all. We have a few fighters here, tasked to defend the rest of us, but¡­ against barbarians of their caliber, even they would eventually fall." Her gaze fell on Pale. "But you both managed to take them down with ease. Tell me, if you would, what manner of magic was it that enabled you to defeat such strong opponents so quickly?"


    "I am a fire mage," Kayla answered. "As for Pale, she-"


    "I am not a dedicated magic user," Pale grunted. "What you see is nothing more than technology."


    Evie blinked. "Truly? It''s very unlike any technology I''ve ever seen before¡­"


    "You could say I come from a far-away land, where things are done much differently than here."


    "Well, it matters not where you''re from," Evie declared. "Tonight, you are part of my family, too."


    A cheer went up from the rest of the crowd. They clinked their mugs together, and before Kayla and Pale could do anything, two mugs of their own were placed in front of them.


    "It''s mead," Evie said, answering their question before they could ask it. "Try it, it''s good."


    "Ah¡­ is this really okay?" Kayla offered.


    Evie grinned at her. "Of course it is! This is the least we could do to say thanks. Like I said, tonight, you are both part of my family."


    Pale stared at her mug for a moment, then turned back to Evie. "This is a cultural thing, is it not?"


    "It is," Evie said happily. "I am an elf, you see ¨C we tend to be very close-knit and family-oriented as a rule. Generally, we stick to our forests, but that''s become harder and harder in recent years. Many of us have had to turn our back on the old, insular ways and try to embrace the rest of the world. My family did so by becoming merchants and caravaneers." Her smile faltered a bit. "Unfortunately, the rest of the world isn''t always so quick to embrace us back¡­ But thankfully, there are still some good people out there, such as you two."


    "It''s¡­ anyone would have done the same," Kayla said quietly.


    Evie shook her head. "Not true, I''m afraid. It would have been so easy for you both to just walk away, act like it wasn''t your problem, and just let them torture me and then kill my family. But you didn''t."


    Pale said nothing, figuring it was best not to comment.


    "And something like that is to be commended," Evie continued. "So, here we are. Now, drink with me, will you?"


    She raised her glass and drank deeply of it. As she did so, Kayla hesitated, then drank from her own glass. Her eyes lit up after her first sip, and she began to drink even more. Pale, however, was more tentative ¨C she gently sipped at her drink, taking note of the fact that it was alcoholic.


    "Slow down," she warned Kayla. "Don''t go so fast or you''ll make yourself sick again, not to mention drunk."


    "S-sorry," Kayla offered.


    Evie barked out a laugh. "No, no, it''s fine ¨C please, enjoy yourselves; this is a happy occasion. It''s not very often that we welcome outsiders into our family."


    "You keep saying that," Pale pointed out. "You truly consider us to be part of your family now?"


    "Of course. You saved everyone here. That makes you more than a friend to us."


    "And¡­ this is another cultural thing?"


    "Correct again," Evie told her with a nod. "No offense, but you ask a lot of questions."


    "I am inquisitive by nature, one might say," Pale replied. "If you don''t mind indulging me, then perhaps you could explain the nature of our arrangement?"


    "What do you mean? It''s like any other family ¨C you are welcome at our tables, in our homes, and among our people."


    "Ah¡­" Kayla said quietly. "Pale, um¡­ never really had a family. This is all new to her, hence all her questions."


    Pale gave Kayla a look, and received a sheepish grin in response. Of course, Kayla had no idea how right she was, at least to Pale''s knowledge, but her statement was useful for the time being.


    "No family¡­?" Evie echoed. "Oh¡­ I''m sorry."


    Pale held up a hand. "It''s okay."


    "Well¡­ if it''s okay with you, I just want to say again that you have one now."


    "I''m aware. Thank you."


    "She doesn''t emote much," Kayla offered. "We both truly appreciate your family''s hospitality, Evie. Thank you so much."


    Evie simply nodded. "So, I have to ask¡­ what brings you both around to these parts?"


    "We could ask you the same," Pale stated. "No offense intended, but you all are clearly out-of-place in this town. Passing through as part of a caravan?"


    "Exactly," Evie confirmed. "That''s basically what we do ¨C travel from town to town, trading goods for money and vice versa."


    "How''d you get taken by the bandits?"


    "I got separated from the rest of the caravan during the storm," Evie replied. "Figured I''d find shelter from the thunder and lightning in that thicket of trees for the night. Unfortunately, it was already occupied; you know the rest. Anyway, after that, I rode all through the night, and managed to find everyone else. Oh, sorry for running off, by the way ¨C I''m not much of a fighter, you see, at least not without my bow and arrows, so I figured it''d be best if I got away while I still could."


    "We understand," Kayla said. "We''re both just glad you''re okay."


    "I am, thanks to you both." Evie leaned back in her chair, raising her glass once more. "To Kayla and Pale."


    "To Kayla and Pale!" the other caravan members echoed, taking big sips from their mugs again. Kayla and Pale exchanged a glance, but then followed suit.


    Pale may not have known much about having a family, but she knew enough to realize that having allies in this new world was a valuable thing. And if that meant drinking to fit in, then so be it.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 8

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    When Pale woke up the next morning, it was to a terrible headache. She winced, bringing a hand up to rub at her forehead, a low groan escaping her. Next to her, Kayla stirred awake, sitting up in bed.


    "Gods¡­" she muttered. "My head is killing me¡­"


    She threw the covers off herself, and Pale paused at what she saw.


    "Kayla."


    "Hm?"


    "You''re naked."


    Kayla looked down at herself, then yelped, grabbing a handful of covers and pulling them up to conceal her body. Pale simply averted her eyes, then stood up and began to pull on her body armor and weapons.


    "I¡­ I¡­ what happened last night?" Kayla demanded.


    Pale shrugged. "We both had too much to drink, apparently. If I remember right, Evie kept ordering mead and insisting that we both partake. I was careful to stop early; you, on the other hand, kept going."


    "B-but¡­ why was I naked? We didn''t, um¡­"


    "No," Pale answered without looking back. "We did not."


    Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Good¡­"


    "I''m looking away, just so you know. You can get dressed now."


    "Thanks¡­"


    Pale was careful to continue staring off into space as Kayla dressed herself. After a moment, she was done; Pale tossed her a backpack, which she pulled on.


    "We can''t stay here," Pale told her.


    "I know. Do you have a plan?"


    "We''ll ask Evie where her caravan is going. If they''re headed north, we can hitch a ride with them for a bit ¨C should be faster than traveling on foot, and that will let us rest up a bit more. If they''re not going that way, then we''ll be on-foot again."


    "Sure." Kayla paused for a moment. "Hey, Pale?"


    "Yes?"


    "About some of things I said last night, regarding your family-"


    "Don''t apologize," Pale said, taking a seat on the bed. "You were correct, whether you knew it or not."


    "Ah¡­ you really never had a family?"


    Pale shook her head. "The closest I had was the team of scientists who created me, plus my handler, Admiral Roy Cohen. But my relationship with all of them was impersonal and informal; my job was to serve them, not get close to them, and they knew it. Admiral Cohen made sure to reinforce that idea to everyone."


    Kayla''s brow furrowed. "That''s wrong," she said softly. "You deserve a family, too."


    "I am a machine, Kayla. Machines don''t have families."


    "Try telling that to Evie. Something tells me that she would disagree."


    "Evie doesn''t need to know my true nature. In fact, I would prefer if you could refrain from telling people about my origins. Not that you have before, but in the future, keep that in mind. The last thing I want is for people to start asking uncomfortable questions."


    Kayla nodded in understanding. "By the way, what do you think about Evie?"


    "She''s not my enemy, which is good enough for me," Pale stated simply. "Come on, let''s get going."


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    ¨C


    The two of them found Evie and her family on the outskirts of town, loading boxes and barrels into horse-drawn wagons and carriages.


    "You''re late," Evie said as they approached.


    "Late?" Kayla asked.


    "Yes, late. We''ve all been here, waiting for you."


    "You didn''t need to do that¡­"


    Evie barked out a laugh. "I''m just messing with you. Truthfully, we got the sense that you wouldn''t want to tag along with us. You''re good people and all, and you''ll always be part of our family, but it looked like you both might have had your own stuff going on, too."


    "That depends on where you''re headed," Pale cut in. "Are you going north?"


    "As a matter of fact, yeah, we were going to head a bit further up there. Is that where you''re going?"


    "It is."


    Evie grinned. "Well, hop in! We''ll give you a lift for as long as we can."


    Pale nodded gratefully, then her and Kayla stepped into Evie''s wagon. Shortly after they''d settled into the back, the caravan started to move, and Evie followed.


    "So, tell me," Evie said. "What''s a beastkin doing this far out?"


    Kayla bit her lip. "It''s¡­ not a happy story."


    "It never is, is it? If it''s something personal-"


    "No, it''s¡­ just sad. My town was attacked by more of those bandits. They killed most of us, then took the remainder as captives and slaves. My father was one of them."


    Evie fell silent for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh. "Bastards¡­ they must have had it in for you all, too, because they had to bypass a number of towns to get there. Any reason why?"


    "No idea," Kayla said. She let out a sniffle. "I just¡­ want my father back."


    "Yeah, I can imagine. I''m sorry you went through that, and I sincerely hope you can get him back. With any luck, we''ll be able to get you pretty close to where he''s at." Evie looked over her shoulder, staring at Pale out of the corner of her eye. "And you? Was it your village, too?"


    Pale shook her head. "No. You could say I''ve been displaced, and that I''m more than a little lost. I''m just trying to get home."


    "Truly? And where is home, anyway?"


    Pale looked up at the sky. "Somewhere far away from here, unfortunately."


    ¨C


    They continued on in silence for a time before Kayla finally fell asleep. Again, she let out small gasps and whimpers and thrashed around while she was unconscious, which didn''t go unnoticed by Evie.


    "Poor thing," Evie commented. "You both must have been through a lot over the past few days."


    "You could say that," Pale responded.


    "Still, kudos to both of you for trying to stop these bandits. World needs more people like you both, if you ask me. Glad to have you both aboard."


    "Can I ask you something?" Pale said.


    "Sure, ask away."


    "Family¡­ what does that word mean to you?"


    Evie paused, as if taken aback by her sudden question. "What do you mean?"


    "It''s just¡­ you keep referring to Kayla and I as your family. But family is traditionally rooted in blood relations and marriage, is it not?"


    "I mean, if you''re being old-fashioned and literal about it, then yes. But I think you''ll find that there are those of us out there who take a broader view of what family means." Evie looked back over her shoulder at her. "You ever hear the saying that blood is thicker than water?"


    "Yes."


    "Well, it''s not true. Why should I care for someone just because they have the same blood in their veins as I do? What if they''re a terrible person, am I still obligated to care for them in that case?" Evie shook her head. "There''s more to family than just blood. My people believe that the family you choose is more important and meaningful than the one assigned to you by the circumstances of your birth. You ought to understand that on a certain level."


    "What do you mean?"


    "You''ve never had a family, right?" Pale nodded. "So that means you have no preconceived notions of what it means to be in one. Which makes me wonder¡­ maybe the question you asked isn''t being asked to the right person."


    Pale blinked. "Who shall I ask it to, then?"


    "Try looking in a mirror," Evie said with a smirk. "But, really¡­ everyone here is going to be biased in their answer. If you''re looking for something meaningful, I think the best person to ask is yourself. What does family mean to you, Pale?"


    Pale shook her head. "I don''t know."


    "Then perhaps that''s something you should ponder through your travels. I wouldn''t expect you to have an answer yet, anyway ¨C this is all so new to you. It''s going to take some time to figure it out, and that''s okay. Sometimes, the best answers are the ones we need to think about."


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "Acknowledged."


    Kayla suddenly sat bolt upright, a loud gasp escaping her. She stared ahead with wide eyes, her chest heaving. Evie turned to look at her, concern etched across her face.


    "You alright?" she asked.


    "Y-yeah¡­" Kayla muttered. "Just¡­ need some water."


    Pale reached into her bag for a canteen, which she passed to Kayla; Kayla drank greedily from it before capping it and passing it back, then let out a low groan, laying down on the floor of the carriage.


    "I slept terribly¡­"


    "We could tell," Evie replied. "You want to talk about it?"


    Kayla shook her head. "It''s nothing major, really. Just¡­ reopening fresh wounds, so to speak."


    "Don''t dwell on it; that''ll just make it worse."


    Kayla frowned. "Pale said the same thing."


    "Well, she''s right. Nobody ever got over this kind of thing by reliving it over and over, or blaming themselves for it. Keep moving forward ¨C that''s all you can do. And then, once you''ve saved your father, you can start healing in earnest." Evie suddenly seemed to think of something, then turned back to them.


    "You know, there''s something that''s been bothering me."


    "What is it?"


    "How''d you two meet, anyway?"


    Pale shrugged. "Serendipity. I happened to be in the right place at the wrong time."


    "She saved my life," Kayla said softly. "From the bandits attacking my town, I mean. It was too late for her to save anyone else, but she saved me, and she brought justice to some of the people who were killed. Now we''re trying to help each other ¨C she assists me in bringing my father home, and I do whatever I can to try and get her back to where she came from."


    "Quid pro quo," Evie replied. At Kayla''s questioning expression, she added, "Old merchant term in the old Common language meaning ''something for something''. You scratch her back, she scratches yours. A favor for a favor, basically."


    "Ah. I, um¡­ didn''t think someone as young as you would speak the old Common language."


    "Young?" Evie barked out a laugh. "I may look like a twenty-year-old human, but I''m almost two-thousand years old. Elves are very long-lived."


    "Truly?" Kayla asked, surprised. "That''s amazing!"


    "Yeah, well, it''s not everything it''s cracked up to be, believe me. Living that long sounds nice, but eventually¡­ you get tired of watching all your friends die, and their empires rise and fall, to be replaced by some petty tyrants that need to be overthrown. Then the cycle repeats. Sometimes, I just wish the sands of time would stop flowing for once, you know? And that''s even before we factor in an elf''s extremely low birth rate."


    "Oh¡­ I''m sorry."


    Evie waved her off. "Don''t worry, it''s fine. Really, economics explains this, too ¨C there''s a price for everything; nothing is free. At the end of the day, there is always a drawback to any given decision or opportunity, whether you may realize it or not. Eventually, the other side is going to come collect what they''re owed."


    "Quid pro quo," Pale echoed.


    Evie nodded. "See? She gets it. You''d make a great merchant, Pale. Ever think about forming your own caravan?"


    "No," Pale answered. "I have a different calling in life."


    "Oh? Consider me curious. What''d you have in mind?"


    "Military."


    "Soldier girl, eh? Nothing wrong with that. Not the life I''d pick, but if it''s your calling, it''s your calling."


    "Indeed," Pale replied evenly.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 9

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    Their caravan continued throughout the day. They passed by several different small towns, but as Evie explained, they weren''t planning on stopping any time soon, especially since Kayla''s father was at risk. And so they''d all kept riding along, only stopping in a small clearing just outside another town when night had fully fallen.


    "That''s enough for one day," Evie said, bringing her wagon to a stop. "You two need some bedrolls? I''ve got extra. I figure we can all cram into the back of the wagon if we''re smart about it, that way we''re not sleeping under the stars."


    "You two rest up for now," Pale said. "I''ll take the first watch."


    "That''s not necessary," Evie insisted. "We have caravan guards for that."


    "Be that as it may, I would be much more at-ease if I was able to help them keep watch for a bit." Pale shifted a bit, unslinging her shotgun. "I will join you both in a few hours."


    Slowly, Evie nodded. "Very well."


    "Wake me when it''s my turn," Kayla said.


    Pale waved her off. "Not necessary, thanks to the guards; this is more for my own peace of mind than anything."


    Kayla hesitated. "If you''re sure¡­"


    "I am positive. Get some sleep."


    Kayla nodded, and as she laid down, Pale climbed out of the back of the wagon and stood just outside it, her weapon held at a patrol carry. She looked around, trying to get a read on her surroundings. They were back in a field again, with a thicket of trees nearby. A short ways away, she saw a small village populated with houses made of wood. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with anything, but that didn''t mean they were completely in the clear.


    They were getting farther north, Pale knew. And the farther along they got, the more likely it was that they were going to run into more bandits. She wanted to be prepared for that, just in case.


    Of course, that was the problem ¨C if she wanted to keep her true nature a secret from Evie, then she wouldn''t be able to use her drop pods. The thought made her scowl. She was being forced to deliberately handicap herself if she didn''t want people to start asking questions. Evie and her group weren''t bad people, at least as far as Pale could tell, but the last thing she needed was for word to get around about her.


    Of course, that only mattered if things weren''t escalating. If it came to preserving her avatar''s life or revealing her secrets, Pale knew there was really no debate to be had. And in that case, the gloves would come off.


    She was still a warship, after all, and if her internal diagnostics were correct, most of her weapons systems were still online. The majority of her armament was designed for ship-to-ship combat, but if push came to shove, it would be trivial to repurpose some of it for air-to-ground combat. The only problem there was collateral damage.


    Pale let out a small huff. Coming planetside was an inevitability, given the state of her true form, but the longer she stayed here, the more complicated things seemed to be getting. Idly, she ran through her inventory, looking for something useful, only to find nothing but a few distress beacons. Given the sheer vastness of space and the fact that this solar system was completely unknown even to her, the odds of someone coming across the beacons were so small as to be almost non-existent, but that was no excuse for not trying.


    And so, Pale snapped her fingers, and several distress beacons were ejected from the ship. They would be completely invisible to anyone not using her military''s IFF codes, unless the Caatex had somehow managed to crack their codes in the time she''d been gone. But if that was the case, then the war was already lost, and all she''d be doing was speeding up the inevitable.


    Pale leaned against the wagon, peering out into the forest, a scowl crossing her face. Her thoughts had been a mess ever since her earlier talk with Evie about family, and she wasn''t sure why. Everything Evie had told her had gone against all the protocols that had been drilled into her mind since awakening on that operating table, and yet she couldn''t help but dwell on her words nonetheless.


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    Humans had always been naturally curious, and apparently, that curiosity had spread to her, courtesy of the brain mapping. It was rare that she came across a problem that couldn''t be solved immediately, but philosophical discussions like the one she''d had with Evie were a bit more complex than something like a mathematical equation, at least in terms of the steps needed to solve them. Still, in time, Pale was confident she''d find the answers she was looking for.


    Pale''s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by something out of the peripheral of her vision. Through the darkness, she was barely able to make out a figure approaching from the forest, breaking out from the trees and stealthily moving over to the caravan. Without missing a beat, Pale raised her shotgun and activated the weapon-mounted light attached to it. The light cut through the darkness like a knife through butter, illuminating a large man clad in furs and carrying a pair of miniature axes in his hands.


    Pale didn''t hesitate. She pulled the trigger; the man''s head exploded in a shower of gore, and all hell broke loose.


    From the forest, arrows and magic began to fly, impacting against the wagons. Pale ducked back behind Evie''s wagon, thumbing a shell into her gun as she did so. All around her, arrows embedded themselves into the ground.


    "Evie, Kayla!" she called. "We''re under attack!"


    From inside the wagon, she heard the two other girls scramble to their feet, then jump out of the back. Kayla was already conjuring lightning in her hands, while Evie had grabbed a longbow and quiver from somewhere and was busy nocking an arrow. They both ran over to her, crouching down alongside her.


    "Do we know who they are?" Evie asked.


    "Bandits," Pale reported."I was expecting we''d find more of them as we made it further north."


    One of the nearby wagons suddenly went up in flames. Evie stared at it, a scowl creeping her face.


    "We can discuss that later," she emphasized. "For now, come with me. We need to beat these guys back before the entire caravan is destroyed."


    "You''re right. Kayla, go with her." At Kayla''s pointed glance, Pale added, "I''ll be fine. Go!"


    Kayla still seemed hesitant to leave her behind, but ultimately did as she was told, taking off after Evie as she ran towards the rest of the caravan. Pale, meanwhile, turned her attention towards the forest nearby, where spells were still being launched towards the caravan. Without a moment of pause, Pale ran for the forest, taking care to keep herself out of sight as she did so.


    After a brief sprint, Pale reached the thicket of trees, dropping into a crouch as she moved towards the rays of light being fired at the caravan. She slung her shotgun, instead drawing her pistol in one hand and her knife in the other. Creeping along, she looked for one of the nearby mages, and eventually found one. He was midway through casting a spell when she pounced on him, driving her knife into the base of his skull and severing his brain stem. Immediately, the man fell like a puppet with its strings cut; Pale scrambled off him, flicking her knife to clean some of the gore off, then continued on her way.


    The bandit mages, it turned out, were so heavily focused on the caravan that none of the others noticed her approaching them. She was able to take out two more in much the same way she killed the first. However, that was when the other bandits, having noticed they were no longer being provided with covering fire, decided to investigate.


    Pale was midway through climbing off the last dead mage when two men wielding greatswords emerged from the trees ahead. She rounded on them, her .45 in hand, and began to fire. Hollow point rounds ripped through both men, and they jerked as the bullets struck flesh and bone, both of them eventually succumbing to a final headshot. Pale flicked the empty magazine out of her gun and replaced it with a fresh one, then holstered the weapon and shouldered her shotgun.


    She was just in time, as two more bandits came sprinting after her. The first one was taken down by a spray of buckshot that tore his right leg off at the knee; he collapsed, screaming in agony as the second man advanced upon her, his sword raised high and glinting in the moonlight. Pale rolled to the side just as it was about to impact and split her in two, then began to pour shell after shell into her opponent, ending with a final shot to his chest that ripped his ribcage open and exposed his heart.


    To her dismay, however, that red aura enveloped him, and he gave her a manic grin as he stomped towards her, hefting his sword. Pale''s shotgun clicked empty, and she let it hang from its sling as she unholstered her pistol. Just before she could get a shot off, however, the bandit did something unexpected ¨C he reached for a knife on his belt and threw it at her. Pale''s eyes widened, but she had no time to avoid the throwing dagger before it embedded itself into her shoulder.


    Pale bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, the sudden pain a new sensation to her. Her vision blurred; the knife was scraping against bone with every movement she made, she could feel it. Her left arm hung limply at her side, forcing her to retreat deeper into the forest. Behind her, she heard the bandit continue to advance, looking for her.


    "I can smell your blood, little one," he said. "You can''t hide forever."


    Pale grimaced as the blood dripped down her arm and onto the ground below. He was certainly right about that ¨C she couldn''t hide forever. Running was also out of the question; she wasn''t about to abandon Kayla and Evie.


    She was going to have to fight.


    Pale''s gaze fell to her shotgun, still hanging from its sling with its action left open. Carefully, she dropped a single shell into its chamber, then rode the slide forward. The bandit heard the click of the weapon being loaded, then charged after her. She beat him to the punch, however, spinning out from around the tree with her .45 raised. The bandit closed in on her, his sword raised high, but she got there first ¨C her .45 barked twelve times in the night before the slide locked to the rear, and each time, another chunk was torn out of the man''s heart. He stumbled back with every shot, his eyes widening in disbelief. The greatsword came clattering to the ground, but he still wasn''t dead ¨C instead of lying down and accepting his fate, he ripped two daggers from his belt and charged her once more, a feral yell erupting from his throat.


    Pale dropped her handgun, and with one hand, raised her shotgun, tucking the stock under her arm. She took careful aim, waiting for the right moment, and then fired. What was left of the bandit''s heart exploded, and he immediately paused, his eyes widening for just a moment before glassing over. His body fell to the ground, lifeless, the knives he''d drawn embedding themselves blade-first in the ground beside him.


    Pale slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. It only lasted for a moment before she shook off the pain and adrenaline, however. Hurriedly, she gathered her weapons and began to head back to the caravan, only to pause when she saw something sticking out of the bandit''s pocket ¨C a letter of some sort.


    With nary a second thought, she grabbed the letter and stowed it in her backpack, then took off back towards Evie and Kayla.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 10

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    "Kayla, Evie!" Pale called as she rushed back over to the caravan. Every movement caused waves of pain to radiate out from her shoulder as the knife shifted inside her, scraping across her bone. Pale grit her teeth as she ran, forcing herself to hold back from crying out in pain.


    Her wound would  need to be treated, but that would come after she confirmed the safety of her allies, and no sooner.


    Pale sprinted through the caravan, her shotgun held in one hand and cradled underneath her arm. With her off-hand incapacitated, she''d only have the one shot in her long gun before being forced to discard it in favor of her sidearm, but if she ran into any more bandits, she''d be sure to make that one shot count.


    All around her, wagons burned and people cried out in agony. Bodies, both bandit and elf, littered the ground, their lifeblood spilling out onto the grass and dirt below. Flames curled up into the night, spewing acrid black smoke across the plains and illuminating the carnage below. Pale couldn''t help but glower as she passed by several elves who had been all but carved limb from limb.


    She held little love for these people, but they had been her allies, and they hadn''t deserved to die so horribly. The only solace was that the bandits appeared to have been slaughtered to the man; she hadn''t seen any of them get away, at least, and there were enough of their dead scattered around to make her believe that none of them had survived their attack.


    "Pale?! Pale!"


    At the sound of Kayla''s frantic voice, Pale whipped around, her eyes widening.


    "Over here!" she called. "Are you hurt?"


    Her question was met by the sound of two pairs of hurried footsteps rushing over to her Kayla and Evie came running up to her through the darkness, and for the first time, Pale allowed herself to relax, lowering her weapon before ultimately switching the safety on and gently laying it on the ground below. As she did so, the knife in her shoulder shifted once more, causing her to wince and let out a pained grunt before sinking to her knees, clutching at it.


    "Pale!" Kayla shouted, rushing to her side along with Evie. "You''re hurt! How bad is-"


    "I''ll be fine," Pale insisted through gritted teeth. "Just need to get this knife out of my shoulder¡­"


    "What do you mean, just get it out?! We need to get you to a healer, and-"


    "Relax," Evie urged. "I know enough healing magic to fix up something like this, no problem." She gave Pale a sideways glance. "You are right about one thing, though ¨C that knife is going to have to come out before we can do anything about fixing the wound itself."


    "Do it," Pale urged.


    "You sure? It will hurt-"


    "I''m sure. Get me fixed up."


    Evie shrugged. "Don''t say I didn''t warn you."


    Evie motioned for Kayla to fall in alongside her. Kayla swallowed nervously, her wolf ears drooping as the two of them closed in on Pale, who merely bunched up some of her undershirt and stuffed it in her mouth. Evie took hold of the hilt of the knife, then looked to Pale for confirmation; she nodded, and Evie yanked. Despite her best efforts, Pale still had to suppress a scream of agony as the blade was pulled from her shoulder.


    Still, it was thankfully over in just a few seconds. Evie held up the knife, showing the crimson-slicked blade to Pale, before tossing it away. Naturally, the blood had started to pour out of her once the knife had been removed, but Evie was quick to clamp a hand over it, then look over to Pale once more.


    "You''ll feel some slight discomfort," she warned.


    Pale nodded, but despite this indication, nothing could have prepared her for the sudden sensation of her flesh beginning to stitch itself together. She nearly jumped when she felt the blood flow begin to taper off, followed by the wound starting to clot and then close, all in a matter of seconds. By the end of it, the deep stab wound was gone, replaced with little more than a rough patch of scar tissue. Pale couldn''t help but poke and prod at it a bit, bewildered as she was, but after just a few seconds of investigating it, she knew what the truth was.


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    Magic was clearly a very real thing in this world, but the true extent of it was still a mystery to her. One thing was for certain, however ¨C it was very powerful, and she could not afford to underestimate it if she wanted this avatar to stay alive.


    Pale looked over to Evie, then offered her a nod. "Thanks."


    Evie waved her off. "Least I could do. Now, I''m gonna need you two to come with me and help me take care of the rest of the caravan."


    "That wouldn''t be a problem at all," Kayla insisted. "Right, Pale?"


    Pale didn''t hesitate to shake her head. "Lead the way," she said.


    --


    It took them the rest of the night to not only treat the remaining survivors of the attack, but also take inventory of all the losses the caravan had incurred. The true extent of the damage wasn''t revealed until the sun had started to rise, but by then, there was no mistaking the kind of carnage the bandits had wrought.


    Pale counted six burned-out wagons, their goods gone up in flames along with them. Thirteen elves had also fallen, out of a caravan of around forty. The thought made her brow furrow; she had no idea what Evie''s accounting books looked like, but even despite that, Pale knew that these weren''t the kinds of losses any traveling merchant could sustain. No operation survived losing that much material and manpower, at least not for very long.


    And so, she wasn''t surprised when Evie approached her and Kayla, later that morning, a crestfallen expression on her face.


    "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we''re turning the caravan around for now," she told them.


    "You are?" Kayla asked. She bit her lip. "¡­Truthfully, I''m not surprised¡­ I mean, after what those barbarians did¡­ I don''t think anyone would blame you for heading back."


    "It''s not just that," Pale cut in. "The monetary losses here must have been staggering. It''s not the kind of thing that can just be recovered from." She looked over to Evie. "I take it you had a choice between seeing it through and turning things around?"


    "No offense to you two, but it wasn''t a hard choice," Evie answered. "Would''ve been a lot harder if I hadn''t lost so many people, but now¡­ now, we''ve got a lot of families to inform and bodies to bury. I''m sorry, but this is as far as we go, at least for now. We''ll link up with you as soon as we''re able, we owe you that much, but at the moment, this is where we part ways."


    Pale pursed her lips. That was unfortunate, but she could at least understand where Evie was coming from.


    "We''ll figure something out," Pale assured her.


    Evie  nodded and went to turn and walk away, but at the last minute, Pale recalled something from the night before. She called out to Evie, getting her to stop and turn back; as she did so, Pale pulled the letter she''d taken from the barbarian, then offered it to her.


    "Does this explain anything?"


    Evie eyed the letter in disbelief. "Where''d you get this?"


    "From the dead bandit leader. You want to know who did this and why, right? That might have your answers there."


    Evie accepted the paper, then tore it open and began to read through it. It only took a few lines before her expression darkened and she lowered the page, gritting her teeth in anger.


    "What is it?" Kayla asked.


    "It''s a letter of marque," Evie answered. "Someone put a kill order on our caravan."


    "What? Why would they do that?"


    "Does it say who it was?" Pale asked, leaning in.


    Evie shook her head. "Nothing about who sent the order. It just says that my caravan is to be destroyed and everyone in it slaughtered or enslaved, as well as a price for doing so." Her expression darkened further. "Three-hundred gold¡­ they were paying those people three hundred gold for the lives of forty people. Not even ten per person¡­"


    "So, someone put a hit out on your caravan and everyone in it," Pale surmised. "Any idea who it might be, even if the letter doesn''t indicate it?"


    Evie shook her head. "No¡­ I didn''t think we had any enemies like this. This is the first indication I''ve ever seen that someone hates us." She let out a tired, irritated sigh. "Look, I''d like to discuss this further, but I need to be going. We''ve got a long ride back to Woodbriar ahead of us, not to mention plenty of letters home to send, and honestly, I''m in no mood to even be considering doing something about it. Just¡­ if you two do find something, either let me know or just kill the bastard who signed that letter, and I''ll see to it that you''re both handsomely rewarded. Deal?"


    "Deal," Pale said without a moment''s hesitation. "Safe travels."


    "Same to you. Hopefully we''ll see each other again soon."


    With that, Evie waved goodbye, and her and the rest of her caravan turned and began to move away from the two of them.


    Pale and Kayla watched them steadily disappear over the horizon, and the instant they were gone, began moving in the opposite direction, farther north.


    --


    They walked for most of the day before finally deciding to retire for the night. There was little more than an empty field around them, but Pale didn''t mind ¨C given the fact that their previous incursions into areas with forests had led to ambushes, she was in no hurry to get out of the elements, especially not when the skies were clear.


    It was beginning to get cold, however ¨C frost had started to cover the ground as night had fallen, and Kayla was shivering slightly as she laid in her sleeping roll. Pale, for her part, simply grit her teeth and bore it, though she made a mental note to call down a drop pod with some heavier clothing for the two of them the moment morning came. She was tempted to do it at night, if only to make sleeping outside more bearable, but that was a bad idea ¨C the drop pod coming down would be visible for miles, and this deep into enemy territory, the last thing she wanted was to plant a beacon pointing directly to her.


    Pale''s thoughts were interrupted by Kayla suddenly stirring slightly before falling still. Seeing it, Pale couldn''t help but furrow a brow.


    "I know you''re awake."


    For a moment, Kayla said nothing, but then let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah¡­ sorry; I know I need to get my rest."


    "Indeed," Pale cut in. "But something is bothering you. Care to elaborate?"


    Kayla bit her lip. "It''s just¡­ that letter got me thinking¡­ did the bandits who attacked my town have a similar order?"


    Pale blinked, surprised. Truthfully, that thought had passed her mind already, but to hear it from Kayla was unexpected. Kayla was far from stupid, but she was young and inexperienced. For her to put the pieces together like that so quickly and by herself was interesting, to say the least.


    "It''s a possibility,'' Pale said. "I wouldn''t be surprised if it were completely true. Think about it ¨C they bypassed several bigger towns to come straight for yours, and seemed uninterested in anything aside from killing, enslaving, and looting."


    "So you agree?"


    "I think it''s a distinct possibility, but we''ll need something more concrete before taking that and running with it. Ideally, we''ll hear it from a high-ranking bandit themselves, when we manage to take one alive." Pale cast a glance up at the moon. "Get some rest, Kayla. You''ll need it for tomorrow."


    Kayla looked like she wanted to argue, but didn''t, instead lying down and closing her eyes. She was out in a matter of minutes, though once again, Pale could tell from the twitches and whimpers in her sleep that she was still being plagued by nightmares.


    Eventually, Pale turned away, instead focusing on the moon once more, her mind racing at the thought of the letter.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 11

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    When dawn broke, the two of them set off again, once more heading north. Pale had made sure to call down another pod once the sun had risen, this one full of winter gear for the two of them ¨C thermal jackets to keep them warm, but more importantly, snow-print camouflage covers for them to throw over themselves if they needed to creep around at night.


    "What''s the point of this stuff?" Kayla asked as she threw one of the snow-colored smocks over herself, pausing only to tug at it in a few places.


    "Makes it harder for them to spot us," Pale explained. "Of course, some degree of combat is inevitable, but that''s no reason to not avoid it if we can do so."


    Pale zipped up her winter jacket, then reached for her shotgun, topping it off with fresh shells of buckshot. Kayla watched with fascination as Pale slid red-colored shell after red-colored shell into her weapon''s magazine tube, finally furrowing her brow in confusion.


    "How does it work?"


    "Hm?" Pale asked, looking over to her. "You mean my weapons?"


    "Yes. I thought you said your people couldn''t use magic?"


    "We can''t. This is pure science." She held up a shotgun shell for emphasis. "To put it simply, my weapon works by setting off a chain reaction of burning chemicals and small explosions, which forces metal projectiles down a carefully-shaped and machined piece of metal at a very high rate of speed."


    "But¡­ it''s so small. Why does it do so much damage?"


    "Because of something called physics. Kinetic energy is determined by a combination of mass and velocity, but between the two, velocity has a much more profound impact on the energy itself. Essentially, you want to make a projectile more powerful? Make it go faster rather than just make it heavier."


    Kayla hesitated. "My head''s already starting to spin¡­"


    "I will spare you any further explanation, then." Pale slung her weapon across her front, then did a quick gear check to make sure everything was stowed where it needed to be. Once that was done, she nodded over to Kayla. "Lead the way."


    The two of them took off at a brisk march through the plains. Snow had started to fall as they had woken up, covering the area in a thin sheet of white that crunched underfoot with every step taken. Neither girl felt the effects of the elements thanks to their new winter gear, but it did make traversing through the plains a bit more difficult, not to mention that as the snow continued to fall, their movement would only be more impeded with time.


    And just as well, there was the matter of the tracks they were leaving behind as they walked. Pale wasn''t quite sure how to deal with those, at least not yet, but they would cross that particular bridge when they came to it.


    As they walked, Pale noticed Kayla had become oddly silent. She blinked, then turned towards her, only to find her staring off into space as they advanced, watching the snow fall down on the terrain below. Pale cleared her throat, and Kayla jumped a bit before turning to face her.


    "Yes?"


    "Are you feeling okay?" Pale bluntly asked.


    "Why do you ask?"


    "Because you look awful. Is it the nightmares again?"


    Kayla bit her lip, but ultimately nodded. "...Yeah, it is."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. Unfortunately for both of them, she was no psychologist. It was clear Kayla was going through some sort of trauma regarding the events of the past few days, and while Pale had archives of books related to the subject stored in her data banks, even she knew better than to go poking around in someone''s head.


    The human brain may have been mapped, but there were still things about it that even her creators didn''t quite understand, and the nature of mental illness was one of them. She had already tried to logic Kayla out of whatever mental hole she''d fallen into, and that clearly hadn''t worked. No, there was something deeper going on with her, something that Pale didn''t understand.


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    Part of her wished Evie was still here, if only because she seemed to get it a lot better than Pale could.


    "Do you want to talk about it?" Pale offered.


    "Do you think that will help?"


    "Has to be better than letting it fester like this. But if you''re not willing, I won''t push the issue."


    Kayla shook her head. "It''s just¡­ I don''t know how people do it. I still feel like I''m gonna vomit whenever I see a dead body lying on the ground. How you and Evie are able to not only keep going after that but add more to the pile is¡­ frightening."


    "Death is inherently frightening for everyone, even me."


    "Truly?" Kayla asked, surprised. "You''re afraid of death?"


    "Yes, in multiple different ways." Pale gestured to herself. "This body, for one ¨C I worry about losing it, because if that happens, I am going to be stuck floating listlessly through space, stuck in Sjel''s orbit until my systems finally burn themselves out after several million years. Then my consciousness will fade away into nothingness, and there will be no remnant of me left behind aside from a shattered husk of a warship. Then again, perhaps that is the fate of every warship ¨C the oceans back on my creators'' home planet are, after all, filled with the dessicated husks of once-proud ships of war, many still sealed up like time capsules. I must admit, it would be poetic if I were to join them."


    "No, it wouldn''t," Kayla countered. "It''d be sad, Pale. You''d just float endlessly through space for the rest of time."


    "Not quite. After a few billion years, this solar system''s sun would burn out and turn into a supernova, wiping any trace of it from the face of the galaxy. But I understand what you''re saying. My point, however, is that death is profound for everyone, even me."


    "Why wouldn''t it be profound for you?"


    "Because I am not alive."


    "Yes, you are."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "I am not an organic person."


    Wordlessly, Kayla reached out and poked her in the shoulder. "Weird, because you certainly feel organic."


    "Not what I meant. I was created in a laboratory."


    "So? Do you have any idea how many people were created from a drunken romp between an adventurer and a tavern wench? Is being made in a laboratory, whatever that means, really any more inauthentic than a loveless one-night stand that happened to lead to a baby?"


    Pale opened her mouth, but Kayla beat her to the punch. "I don''t understand why you keep trying to make this point. You are a person, Pale, and-"


    "I cannot be a person," Pale growled. "That was not the purpose I was created for. And besides, this conversation isn''t about me, it''s about you. Stop trying to change the subject."


    Kayla grunted, then crossed her arms as she walked. "Fine. You want to talk about what''s bothering me? Now you know. I hate the knowledge that what I''m doing is leading to people being hurt and killed. I hate that Evie decided to help us, and made herself and her caravan a target as a result. And most importantly, I hate that it''s all so necessary, because if we don''t do this, I''ll never see my father again. There, happy now?" Kayla crossed her arms, then let out a tired sigh. "I want to go home, but I can''t even do that ¨C not only is my father still missing, but my home is gone. I have nothing to go back to. Any friends I had are dead now..."


    Kayla let out a small sniffle, and Pale hesitated before reaching out and resting a hand on her shoulder.


    "I''m sorry," she said. "I didn''t mean to make you feel like this. I understand that you''re going through a lot, I just wish there was more I could do to help."


    "You''re here," Kayla insisted. "And you''re helping me get my father back. That''s more than enough. The rest¡­ I''ll deal with that on my own for now, I guess."


    "Very well. But if you need someone to vent to, I''m here."


    Kayla sniffled again, but gave her a thin, grateful smile. "Thank you."


    Pale let her hand fall off Kayla''s shoulder, and Kayla took a breath to calm herself before they continued on.


    ¨C


    They walked for several more hours, the snow intensifying all around them before it finally came to be too much. By this time, the plains had given way to hills and rocky mountains capped with snow. Pale paused to examine their surroundings as they climbed a hill, looking for shelter.


    "We must be getting farther north," she surmised. "The weather is becoming unrecognizable from how it was back in your village."


    "You''re right about that," Kayla grunted as she scrambled over some rocks. "Shouldn''t be much longer now until we get to the sea. How we''re going to cross without a boat, though¡­ I suppose we''ll have to figure that out on our own."


    Pale nodded. "I am surprised that we haven''t run into any opposition yet."


    "I''ve had us staying away from the nearby towns on purpose. I figured that if we were going to run into anyone hostile, it''d be there."


    "Smart move," Pale complimented. "And I take it that keeping us out in the open fields for as long as possible was part of that, too? Good thinking."


    "Thanks," Kayla replied. She looked around the mountain, her gaze finally landing on an outcropping of rocks. "I think I see a cave over there. Think it''d make for good shelter for a night?"


    "It''d be better than staying out in the open. Come on, I''ll lead the way this time."


    ¨C


    A short while later, both girls were sprawled out inside the cave, their outer layers of clothing hung up on some nearby rocks to air dry. Their thermal under layers kept them warm, as did a small fire Kayla had managed to start using her magic. They both sat huddled around the fire, a set of military rations perched in their laps.


    "It''ll be hot, so be careful when you open it," Pale warned. "The flameless ration heater included in each may use water to function, but trust me, the food will come out hot despite that."


    "What''d you say this one was, again?" Kayla asked, examining the bag.


    "Chicken and rice bowl. It should be a lot better than the earlier emergency ration bar I gave you ¨C less artificial, at least ¨C and unlike that one, you can eat this one in one sitting without any ill effects."


    Kayla perked up a bit at that. "That sounds nice¡­"


    They both fell silent after that, the only noise filling the cave being the crackling of the fire. Finally, Kayla broke the silence.


    "


    I just want you to know¡­ I''m glad you''re here with me," she said softly. "And not just because you''re helping me find my father, either. You''re a good person, Pale."


    "I am-"


    "I know, I know ¨C you don''t agree with being called a person. But you are."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "No offense, but perhaps this is a difference of culture. How does one define a person on this world?"


    "A person is anyone who has a sjel," Kayla answered.


    "Then I do not fit the definition."


    "Everyone has a sjel, Pale," Kayla softly emphasized. "Even you. Even if you can''t use magic, I know you''ve still got one. And I''ll do whatever it takes to make you realize that."


    Again, silence fell over the two of them. It didn''t last, however ¨C from outside, Pale heard the unmistakable sound of far-away voices, and sat up straight. Judging from how Kayla''s wolf ears perked up, she''d heard them, too.


    "Look alive," Pale said, putting her ration aside and reaching for her shotgun.


    "I think we''re about to have company."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 12

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    Silently, Pale motioned for Kayla to follow her, and the two of them silently crept out of the cave. As they drew closer to the exit, Pale was finally able to make out the voices from earlier.


    "-Sure they''re here? The tracks faded a while back¡­"


    "Where in the three hells else would they go? This is the only shelter around for miles. The snow may have covered their tracks, but they don''t know this land like we do."


    The talking soon devolved into bickering as the bandits fought among themselves. Pale shifted, pressing her weapon''s stock against her shoulder, then began to carefully push out from inside the cave, Kayla following a few steps behind her. The snowfall had intensified even further from when they had sought refuge in the cave; between the falling specks of white and the steadily-encroaching dusk, visibility had dropped to near-zero. Despite this, Pale kept moving, seeking cover higher up in the mountains.


    The two of them moved over the rocks as carefully as they could, taking care not to disturb any of them for fear of alerting the bandits. Pale couldn''t tell how many there were; from the different voices in their group, she counted at least four, maybe five. Ballistic weapons or not, she didn''t like the odds of taking on five people in open combat with just herself and Kayla to oppose them.


    And so, they continued to climb the mountain. Pale shivered the entire time, the frigid air cutting her to the bone even through her thermals. The temperature had fallen in the hours since they''d set up in the cave, and now even her high-tech clothing wouldn''t be enough to save them forever.


    Eventually, however, they reached a flat point in the side of the mountain where they could rest. Pale helped Kayla up the edge, and the two of them laid there, panting from exertion. Despite the cold, Pale wiped sweat from her brow, hefting her weapon to her shoulder once more as she peered over the sheer expanse. Through the snow and the darkness, she was just able to make out a few faint shapes milling about.


    "Is it safe down there?" Kayla whispered through chattering teeth.


    Pale shook her head. "Doesn''t seem like it. Hopefully, they won''t find the cave ¨C if they do, they''re going to keep looking for us. Our only hope is that they''ll get cold and call off the search before then."


    "Unlikely¡­" Kayla muttered. "Berserkers like that come from the far north. They''re used to cold like this, if not worse. If anything makes them leave, it won''t be the weather."


    Pale couldn''t help but scowl. She looked over the cliff face once more, then shook her head.


    "Then I guess we have a choice to make."


    "Which is¡­?"


    "We sit here and hope that they don''t find anything and leave before we freeze to death, or we throw caution to the wind and take the fight directly to them in order to reclaim our impromptu shelter."


    Kayla paled at that. "...I don''t like either option."


    "Neither do I. The weather is a problem no matter which one we take ¨C either it kills us outright or it affects us to the point where our combat effectiveness starts to drop like a stone. In any case, we''re going to need to make a decision fast."


    "You''re the soldier. What do you think we should do?"


    Pale was about to respond, but was cut off by a sudden flurry of excited shouts and movement from down below. She cast another glance down at the cave, and listened in to what the bandits were saying as best as she could. Most of their speech was drowned out by distance and wind, but it soon became irrelevant, as one of the bandits held up the remnants of two military rations, then pointed up towards the mountain. As Pale watched, the rest of the bandits ¨C all five of them ¨C began to climb up towards them. Her expression narrowed as she watched the berserkers steadily claw their way up the rocks, steadily inching closer with every passing moment.


    "Looks like they made my decision for me," she announced, hefting her weapon.


    "Ah¡­! What are we doing?!" Kayla asked in a hushed voice.


    Pale leaned over the side of the cliff, centering her shotgun''s sights on the head of the nearest bandit. He was about thirty meters away; at this distance, she couldn''t miss.


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    "Pick a target," she said without looking back. "Wait for my command before conjuring anything."


    Kayla let out a small whimper at what she was about to do, but didn''t offer any argument, instead stacking up alongside Pale. She took a breath to calm herself, then raised a hand, but held back on conjuring any magic, instead merely keeping it outstretched. Pale watched as the bandit she''d aimed at drew closer, until finally, it happened ¨C he locked eyes with her, and his expression tightened into one of surprise. He opened his mouth to yell something to his comrades.


    A shell full of buckshot silenced him before he got the chance. In that moment, Kayla opened up with a spell, sending a streak of lightning arcing across the mountain and into the chest of the nearest berserker. The man convulsed as electricity danced across his body, but then limply fell backwards, his body blackened and smoking.


    For a split-second, there was silence, punctuated only by the sound of Pale racking her shotgun. She went to take aim at the next target, but a large bolt of lightning came soaring towards her from farther down the mountain. A small, surprised gasp escaped from her as she fell back, the lightning missing her by mere millimeters, passing close by enough that it made the hair on her head stand up. The spell discharged into the rock above, sending bits of stone and dirt raining down on the two of them and littering them with small cuts and bruises, but otherwise leaving them unhurt.


    "Kayla, you take that side!" Pale shouted as she approached the edge of the stone. "Keep yourself safe!"


    "W-what?!" Kayla called back. "What are you doing?!"


    "Getting you some breathing room!" Pale said to her as she swung herself over the edge, then began to roll down the side of the snow-covered mountain. Bits of jagged rock tore at her body as she fell, but she paid it no mind. Back behind her, she heard claps of thunder echo through the mountains, a sign that Kayla was still fighting.


    That wouldn''t matter if Pale didn''t take care of the berserker mage, however.


    As that thought passed her mind, another bolt of electricity came arcing from their cave, up towards Kayla. Pale came to a stop not far away, then jumped to her feet with her weapon at the ready, a pang of pure rage barely suppressed in her mind as she surged forwards.


    There were no other berserkers on this part of the mountain, at least that she could see, which had to mean that the mage was alone. Pale sprinted for the cave, double-timing it in order to get there before something could happen to Kayla. More lightning flew through the night, marking the mage''s spot, and before long, she closed in on him.


    Just as she got there, however, a wall of fire erupted between herself and him. She stumbled, barely managing to catch herself before running directly into the flames. Through the smoke and crimson blaze, she was able to make out a man dressed in a combination of berserker furs and a tattered gray cloak, grinning a yellowed-toothed grin at her through a shaggy salt-and-pepper beard. He went to say something, but Pale stopped him with a barrage of shotgun pellets slam-fired from her weapon as fast as she could operate the pump. To her dismay, however, a barrier of some kind sprang up between the two of them, shielding the mage from any harm.


    Her shotgun clicked empty, and Pale let it dangle from her sling, instead pulling out her .45. She went to take aim at the mage, but was unprepared for him to suddenly surge forwards, a manic shout escaping him as he passed through his own flames, completely uncaring of how they lapped at him as he sprinted by. Her eyes widened in shock as she was forced backwards, her pistol barking as fast as she could pull the trigger, but to no avail ¨C that same barrier from earlier prevented any of her shots from landing, the bullets harmlessly bouncing off onto the ground below for every round fired.


    Finally, the slide locked back on her handgun, and Pale was forced to try and reload. The mage kept coming, however, even as she scrambled backwards over snow and rocks. Eventually, though, she made a mistake, tripping over a large rock and falling backwards, her handgun slipping from her grip and sliding several yards away. She made a vain attempt to fumble for it, but the mage got their first. With strength unexpected from a man his age, he wrapped one hand around her throat and hoisted her into the air, holding her face-to-face with him. Pale gasped for breath, her legs flailing uselessly as the life was choked out of her. The berserker''s manic grin widened, and he tightened his one-handed grip, then brought his off-hand around, sparks already dancing across his fingertips.


    Out of desperation, Pale yanked the combat knife from her belt and flailed wildly with it, hoping only to free herself. Her desperate plan worked; the man let out a loud, pained shout as a deep gash was opened in his arm, and his grip loosened just enough for Pale to shake herself free. She landed in a heap on the ground, then jumped to her feet just in time for the mage to shake off his wound. She had cut a deep gouge in the side of his arm, deep enough to expose the white of his bone to the elements, but from the sight of things, all that had really done was anger him even more. In that moment, she realized something.


    That barrier, whatever it was, must have been designed to withstand projectile attacks from a distance rather than a direct close-range strike.


    She didn''t get much time to focus on this new discovery, however ¨C he glared at her, gritting his teeth as the blood dripped from his arm onto the snow below; Pale, for her part, held his gaze, and dropped into a combat stance as she switched her hold on the blade to a reverse grip. The two of them began to circle each other, each waiting for the other combatant to move, both of them eyeing their opponent up and down the entire time.


    Pale saw the signs of an incoming attack before it even arrived ¨C the subtle tensing of his leg muscles gave it away before he even knew what he was doing. When he surged forwards, his hands engulfed in fire, she was ready; she sidestepped the incoming attack, then lashed out with her blade once more, scoring another deep slash through the man''s arm, this time in the underside. He let out a grunt as he reeled back from the hit, his arm now dangling uselessly in front of him. Idly, Pale realized she must have just severed its tendon, preventing him from using it any further.


    She didn''t get a chance to dwell on this fact for long, as the mage raised his other arm and launched a bolt of lightning at her, forcing her to jump behind a nearby rock to avoid being electrocuted. She didn''t stay there for long, though ¨C he launched several more consecutive bolts of lightning towards her impromptu cover, trying to flush her out as he closed in on one side. Pale didn''t take the bait, though ¨C she rushed the side he was pushing just in time to shove the blade forwards, and for her efforts, she was rewarded with a dull thunk as steel met flush. The mage immediately froze, looking down at the knife as it jutted out of his stomach, blood blossoming out from around it and steadily staining his clothes a deep crimson. He gave a shuddering gasp, then fell to his knees, Pale merely yanked the knife out from his gut, and was about to slam the blade into his carotid artery to finish him off when someone grabbed her from behind, stopping her. Pale''s heart skipped a beat, and she very nearly rounded on whoever it was before Kayla''s voice met her ears.


    "Don''t. There''s been enough death for now."


    Pale paused, then chanced a look back. Kayla was standing there, her eyes wide and dull as she shivered, her outfit covered in dirt and blood, none of it her own. She pulled her hand off Pale''s, bringing it around to huddle herself. Pale stared at her for a moment, then looked back up at the cliff''s edge where she''d been left.


    Several bodies, charred beyond the point of recognition and still smoking, marked a trail up to Kayla''s side.


    Reluctantly, Pale pursed her lips, then nodded, sheathing her knife. "...Fine. But if we''re keeping him alive, then I''m going to find out what he knows before we turn him loose. I think it''s time we got some answers from someone."


    Kayla''s only response was to wordlessly nod.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 13

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    Together, Pale and Kayla dragged the mage back to the cave they''d been using for shelter, barely managing to get him inside before the snowfall began again. Pale tied his hands behind his back and his legs together using some paracord she had in her pack, and the two of them stood over the man, staring down at him.


    "What now?" Kayla asked. "Do we wait for him to-"


    Pale cut her off by bringing the stock of her shotgun across the berserker''s face. He reeled from the strike, suddenly catapulting awake, his eyes wide as several of his teeth came spilling out across the stone cave floor. He coughed, spitting out a glob of blood before fixing her with a harsh glare. Smoke began to rise from his palms, but Pale stopped him by putting the barrel of her gun flush with his crotch.


    "Unless you want to lose something, I''d suggest keeping your magic under control," she threatened. "Because if I pull this trigger, there isn''t a healer alive who''ll be able to give back what you''ll lose."


    The man snarled at her, but the smoke curling up from his hands stopped all the same. He spat out more blood. "The fuck am I still alive for?"


    "I think you know exactly what you''re alive for. Now, are you going to play nice and tell us what we want to know, or am I going to have to force it out of you piece by piece?"


    The mage grinned at her, showing off a mouth full of missing teeth and liquid crimson. "You really think I''d betray my brothers like that?"


    "Last I checked, your brothers are all dead," Pale said absentmindedly. "But still, I was hoping you''d pick the hard way; I needed to relieve some stress."


    She let her shotgun hang from its sling, then drew her knife. With her free hand, she grabbed one of his fingers, then positioned the blade at the tip.


    "Last chance to offer up what you know," she threatened.


    The mage barked out a laugh. "Fuck off. You really think I''d ever-"


    His bravado suddenly gave way to an agonized scream as Pale forced the blade of her knife underneath his fingernail. He thrashed in agony as she twisted the knife before roughly yanking it free, taking the fingernail with it. She held the disembodied nail up to him, then flicked it away.


    "Have I made my point?" she said evenly. "Because last I checked, you''ve still got nine fingers and ten toes, not to mention a variety of other things I could poke at and prod at and cut off. And when you run out of those, I can just start skinning you bit by bit."


    "Fuck you¡­" he breathed through gritted teeth. "I''ll never-"


    She took another fingernail for his troubles. Idly, Pale was aware of Kayla flinching with every scream that erupted out of the man''s throat, but that didn''t bother her.


    Kayla had specified no death, but that didn''t mean she couldn''t make this hurt like hell.


    She again positioned the knife at one of his fingertips, only for him to give a weak, shuddering, pain-filled cough.


    "W-wait¡­" he croaked.


    "I see your tongue has been thoroughly loosened," she surmised, though she didn''t dare to move the blade even a millimeter away from his next finger.


    "What do you have for me?"


    "I can give you our leader''s name."


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    "And?"


    "What do you mean, and? He doesn''t tell us anything, he just pays us and feeds us, like any good leader should."


    Pale''s expression narrowed. "You had better give me something more substantial to go on, otherwise I have no reason to keep you around."


    "Pale-" Kayla began, only to fall silent when she held up a hand. Reluctantly, Kayla backed down, though she continued to look on with concern as Pale''s grip around her blade turned white-knuckled.


    "Tell me something useful," Pale demanded. "Unless you want to see exactly how much pain I can commit to before I get bored."


    "Okay, okay!" the bandit growled. "Fine¡­ our leader''s name is Sven Greymane, the warrior-king of the northern isles. He''s the one who ordered us to attack certain towns on this continent."


    "Is that why you sacked some and completely bypassed others?"


    He nodded. "Yes. That was all part of the plan ¨C he''d give us locations to attack, pay us in gold and food to attack them, and then let us keep whatever valuables we wanted afterwards."


    "And did he tell you why he only wanted specific locations attacked, while others were to be spared?"


    The mage shook his head. "No, and we knew better than to ask questions given how good of a deal it was."


    Kayla suddenly stepped forwards. "One of those towns was my village," she growled. "Your friends captured several people, including my father, and took them back to the northern isles."


    The mage leaned in, squinting to get a better look at her, before finally shrugging. "I don''t know anything about that."


    "Liar," Pale hissed.


    "It''s the truth. I wasn''t involved with the attack on any Beastkin town."


    "Of course, you''d say that," Kayla said through gritted teeth. "You''re worried about what will happen to you if you admit to us here and now that you had something to do with it."


    "Don''t know what else to tell you. I had nothing to do with the attack on you and yours, and I didn''t take any Beastkin slaves."


    "Enough of this," Pale snapped. "How long do we have to find her father?"


    The bandit cracked a wide grin at her. "You''re probably already too late. If the girl''s father is anything like her, then he''s already been deemed to be useless as a slave ¨C too mouthy for his own good, and mouthy slaves don''t last very long among my people."


    A vein pulsed in Kayla''s forehead as she clenched and unclenched her fists. "Answer the question," she demanded. "Assuming he isn''t murdered before we can get there, how long do slaves typically last while with your people?"


    "Depends on the slave. Men tend to last longer, provided they''re young enough and in good health. Of course, he was taken in the first place, so I assume that someone saw some value in him, at least enough to want him for themselves. Now, that only accounts for a berserker warrior having a bad day and killing someone as a result. If he''s unlucky, he''ll succumb to the elements before long." The mage shrugged. "It wouldn''t make any sense for us to spend all that time capturing and enslaving someone only to let them die so soon, unless they just so happened to be a massive pain in the ass."


    "So you claim," Pale said dismissively. "What else do you have for us?"


    "I''ve told you enough," the man grunted. "Now hurry up and let me go."


    "And why would I do that?" Pale demanded. "So you can go back to robbing and killing the innocent? Is your life really worth the lives of the people you''d kill if we let you go?"


    "It is to her." He motioned towards Kayla, who was staring at him and trembling as she bit her lip, deep in thought.


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "Kayla."


    Kayla jumped slightly at the sound of her name being called. She hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh. "...You should let him go."


    "You know I can''t do that, Kayla. If we let him go, he''ll just go right back to doing what brought him here. Either we end this here and now and prevent him from taking more innocent lives, or he goes on for however long it takes for someone else to put him down."


    "I know!" Kayla spat. "It''s just¡­ I don''t know what to do¡­ I don''t want to be responsible for someone''s death like this¡­"


    "I understand that, but this is war," Pale insisted. "Death is an unavoidable part of that."


    "What do you mean, war?" Kayla asked, horrified at the prospects of what Pale had just suggested. "You¡­ you really are a soldier, aren''t you? That''s why you''re doing this ¨C it''s a chance to do what you were made to do¡­"


    "War is in my nature," Pale insisted. "It is why I was created. You are correct that this is a chance to fulfill my prime directive, but not in the way that you think." She turned her gaze back towards the bandit. "I need to get off this planet and back into the war I left behind before it''s too late to save my creators. If killing this man will get me there faster, then I will not hesitate to do that."


    "But¡­ you can''t know that killing him will help with that," Kayla pointed out. "He''s just one man¡­"


    "Every second spent debating his existence is one not spent working towards my ultimate goal. I ask for your input on what to do with him because I value your opinion as my ally, and do not wish to alienate you by leaving you out of major decisions such as that, but that does not mean I will not try to make you see reason when I think you are about to make a terrible decision." Pale sheathed her knife and hefted her shotgun. "You are concerned with the loss of innocent life, yes? Well, letting me kill this man will save an untold number of them. Is his life really worth all of theirs?"


    "You can''t think of it that way! He''s still a person, too!"


    "He is," Pale agreed. "But as far as I am concerned, his right to life is now forfeit, as he used it to torture and murder other people."


    The bandit suddenly burst out laughing. "Listen to you two! You''re honestly debating whether or not to take a life. How quaint, not to mention innocent. Consider me entertained."


    Pale bashed him with the stock of her gun once more, knocking a few more of his teeth out in the process. As he coughed on blood and bone shards, she turned back to Kayla.


    "See reason in this," she implored. "Letting him live means-"


    "I know!" Kayla interrupted. Her wolf ears flattened against her skull, and in a quieter voice, she repeated, "...I know."


    Her tail lashed behind her, and finally, she shook her head. "...I was willing to fight for you," she said softly. "I tried to convince you that you weren''t just a killing machine ¨C that you had a sjel, and that it was worth something. And maybe I was right. But even if I was¡­ even if you''re not just a killing machine¡­ you seem dead-set on trying to be one. And if that''s what you want, then who am I to stop you? Do what you want with him, Pale; after all, it''s what you were programmed to do."


    Kayla turned and marched out of the cave. Pale watched her go, waiting until she was completely gone before acting.


    A single gunshot split the night.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 14

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    When Pale exited the cave, she wasn''t surprised to find Kayla hadn''t stayed outside. The tracks leading up the mountain showed she wasn''t far, however. Pale slung her weapon, then began to climb after her, eventually finding her companion sheltered in another cave, seated with her knees pulled up to her chest.


    Neither of them said anything as Pale entered and took up a spot opposite her, then turned to stare out the cave and watch as the snow fell gently on the mountainside below.


    ¨C


    When dawn broke, they wordlessly rose, gathering their supplies and beginning the descent down the mountain once more. Mercifully, it had stopped snowing by this point, and their clothes had dried overnight, so they were much more comfortable than they had been the night before.


    Of course, that comfort only extended as far as their bodies. Their minds, on the other hand, were far more clouded.


    They walked on in complete silence for some time, the mountains behind them by the time it got to be too much for Pale to bear. Finally, she grit her teeth, then let out an irritated sigh.


    "Talk to me," she implored. "You know I value your input, Kayla."


    "Only as far as you can agree with it," she retorted.


    "You know that''s not true."


    "Is it?" Kayla suddenly rounded on her, crossing her arms. "Because that''s not what you said last night."


    "I am a machine. Cold rationality is how I operate."


    "You''re only a machine because you choose to be. The fact that you can''t see that means I have nothing to say to you."


    She turned and began to walk away, only for Pale to suddenly lunge forward and take her by the arm, stopping her.


    "Wait," Pale hissed. "I¡­ okay, you have a point. But at the same time¡­ I cannot simply turn my back on my creators by abandoning all their work in creating me."


    "Your creators aren''t here," Kayla protested. "I know you want to get back to them, but do you really have to do it by being a machine all the time? There has to be another way ¨C one less cold. You just refuse to look for it."


    Pale hesitated. Admittedly, Kayla had a point there, too ¨C perhaps there truly was another way, and she just couldn''t see it because of her programming. But in her defense, her programming was all she knew ¨C all she was not only designed to know, but ordered to know.


    Pale dipped her head slightly, a tinge of remorse dripping into her tone as she spoke next.


    "...You must understand how difficult this is for me," she said. "I owe my creators everything, you know that. They gave me a set of orders, and I have dedicated my life to following those orders as a way to repay them for giving me life."


    "But surely those orders had to end at some point?" Kayla pointed out. "I mean¡­ what would you have done if the war ended, and you were suddenly without a purpose?"


    Pale stared at her, eyes going wide. Slowly, she brought a hand up to her chin in thought, her brow furrowing. "I¡­ I don''t know. I always figured I would be destroyed during the course of the war. I nearly was destroyed during the preliminary fight to reclaim Earth, that''s how I ended up stranded here in the first place. Truthfully, I don''t think I was ever intended to survive the war."


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I was always the one on the frontlines," Pale explained. "By necessity, I must add ¨C as humanity''s most powerful weapon, I had to be in the front, as I was simply too powerful to keep in reserve for too long. In my admittedly short life, I have known far more of war than I have of anything else."


    "Short life¡­? How old are you, then?"


    "This avatar is designed to resemble a human female in her early twenties."


    "Not what I asked. How old are you, Pale?"


    Pale blinked. "...My consciousness, you mean? Not counting the decades I spent drifting through the endless expanse of space, I was created in a laboratory, underwent field testing for a few months, and then was placed directly into frontline combat, where I served for fifteen months before ending up here. In total, my consciousness was active for twenty-one months before I wound up here."


    Kayla''s eyes widened. "Wait, hang on¡­ you''re saying you were technically only twenty-one months old when you were sent here? Not even two years old?"


    Pale shook her head. "No. Like I said, I was taken from the laboratory and immediately put into training, and then-"


    That was as far as she got before Kayla suddenly lunged forwards and threw her arms around her. Pale paused, her whole body stiffening as Kayla held onto her, leaving her completely unsure of what to do.


    "I''m sorry," Kayla said softly. "I thought¡­ I didn''t realize they''d essentially ripped you from your crib and made you into a soldier. I always figured you''d had at least a few years of experience, but this¡­ Gods, what kind of monsters-"


    "They were not monsters," Pale said emphatically. "They were desperate."


    "Still, desperate or not¡­ what they did to you, that''s¡­ it''s awful, Pale. I know you don''t see it that way, but I do. And that''s why I''m apologizing now."


    Kayla pulled away from her. Pale felt a small jolt pass through her at the sudden loss of touch between them, but wasn''t sure how to place the emotion; she was quick to try and bury it along with the rest of her emotions, though for some reason, it lingered for far longer than any of the rest.


    She wasn''t quite sure how to interpret that, but she did make sure to archive the experience for further study.


    "All this time, I thought you were like me," Kayla offered. "I thought you''d been around for years, but no¡­ for all intents and purposes, you''re still a child. You''re certainly inexperienced enough to be one."


    Pale blinked, unsure of how to interpret Kayla''s words. She shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, adjusting her weapon to rest more comfortably across her front.


    "...You are suddenly very apologetic," she observed.


    "Well, yes, because I can see I was coming at this from the wrong perspective." The two of them began walking once more. "Be honest ¨C you truly don''t know what you would do with yourself if you didn''t have a war to fight, do you?"


    "I do not."


    "Then maybe that''s what we should be focusing on, then."


    "Finding me more wars to fight?"


    "Finding you something to fight for," Kayla specified.


    Pale frowned. "I fight for my creators."


    "Oh, Pale, you really are confused¡­"


    Kayla offered no further explanation, and true to her words, Pale didn''t know what to think.


    ¨C


    They walked on for the rest of the day, until night had started to fall, though their conversation had died down a bit after that morning. Eventually, though, the sun had started to dip below the horizon, though it came at the perfect time ¨C as the sky began to darken, Pale was able to make out small pinpricks of light off in the distance. She held up a hand for Kayla to stop, then sank down to one knee to observe.


    "Hold here," she whispered.


    "What is it?" Kayla asked, trying to peer out from around her.


    Pale didn''t respond immediately, instead pulling out a set of binoculars from her pack. She peered through them, her expression tightening at what she saw. Just up ahead was a large cordon of some kind, made up of felled trees and blocking the entire road. On its ramparts, she could see several berserkers dressed in heavy furs carrying bladed weapons, as well as a few mages patrolling about.


    "Berserkers have a checkpoint set up," she reported. "I think I can see the ocean through it, but it''s hard to tell."


    "Can you?" Kayla''s ears perked up, and she blinked, surprised. "...Now that you mention it, I can hear the waves off in the distance."


    "Great¡­" Pale muttered as she slipped the binoculars back into her pack. "There''s no going around this checkpoint, Kayla; we have to go through it if we want to commandeer a boat and cross the ocean."


    Kayla''s expression fell. "We truly can''t look for another way¡­?"


    "We could, but after what that mage told us, I''d wager we''re cutting it close on time already." Pale turned her attention back to the checkpoint, her eyes narrowing. "It''s your call. Do we take the fast, dangerous route, or do we try for something slower and possibly safer, with the obvious caveat that we may not find what we''re looking for and only succeed in wasting more time in the end?"


    Kayla bit her lip. "...I appreciate you asking for my input for once, but¡­ this is a downright sadistic choice¡­"


    "If I may offer a suggestion?" Pale asked. "There''s no guarantee of success if we try to avoid this checkpoint. We might be able to find a safer route and transport, but we very possibly might not, and if that''s the case, we''ll have to come back here anyway, with the only difference being how much time we''ve wasted. Either way, we''ll have to take this checkpoint¡­ and between you and me, I don''t much care for the idea of leaving a place like this standing, not after I know what''s going on with these bandits."


    Again, Kayla bit her lip as she considered her options. Finally, she sighed. "...You''re right. I hate to admit that we''re going to have to kill more people, but Gods above, you''re right¡­" She shook her head, then looked back to Pale. "You''re the soldier, here ¨C how do you suggest we do this? There''s only two of us, and I''d bet there''s probably fifty in there."


    "Don''t be so dramatic. I counted around thirty, not fifty." Kayla let out a small whimper at that, but Pale silenced her by holding up a hand. "Trust me, I have a plan. If it goes well, we''ll be able to get through with little risk to ourselves."


    "And if it doesn''t?"


    "Then we run the risk of dying a horrible death, but what else is new?" Pale shrugged off her backpack, then looked her weapons over. After a moment, she shook her head. "Not much, but it''ll have to do¡­ can''t call a pod down, especially since we''ll be needing one¡­"


    "What do you mean, we''ll be needing a pod? What are you planning to do?"


    "Nothing, at the moment," Pale answered. "But as soon as the sun has fully set, you''ll see."


    Kayla let out another small, fearful whimper at that.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 15

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    When the sun had finally fully set, Pale put her plan into motion. She took one last glance out at the checkpoint ahead of them, then turned to Kayla.


    "Lie down on the ground and cover your ears."


    "What?" Kayla asked. "What does that mean? What are you planning to do?"


    "You''ll see. Just do it."


    Kayla pursed her lips, but didn''t argue, instead following Pale''s directions to the letter. Once she was situated, Pale turned her attention back to the checkpoint. She''d done some thinking about this, and ultimately decided that the most efficient and least destructive way to get through would be to sacrifice a pod. This was a bit of a problem, as she only had a few pods to begin with, but it was better than using heavy ordinance in order to punch a hole clean through.


    "You ready?" Pale asked.


    "What?" Kayla said, looking to her in confusion with her hands still clamped over her ears. "What''d you just say?"


    Pale took that as her cue to act. She snapped her fingers, and a few seconds later, a flaming piece of metal came hurtling down from the sky, embedding itself directly in the center of the berserkers'' checkpoint. From inside, she heard panicked shouts escape from the occupants, as well as a few pained moans; clearly, the impact had incapacitated a few of them.


    Then the pod exploded.


    The log walls to the checkpoint buckled under the shockwave, rolling across the ground before coming to a rest a short ways away. Through the ringing in her ears, Pale heard the men from inside the fort screaming in terror and agony. Several spells were being launched blindly in the night, their casters unable to hit anything thanks to being disoriented from the blast and blinded from the resulting cloud of smoke and dust.


    Pale grabbed Kayla and thrust her to her feet, then charged in towards the camp, shotgun in hand. The smoke had begun to clear just as she got there, revealing the full extent of the destruction. Mutilated bodies lay littered across the field, scattered around a large crater dug deeply into the center of the area. From the looks of things, most of the bandits had been killed outright by either the impact of the pod or the explosion, and the few survivors had been completely deafened by it and were riddled with injuries. Many of them looked like they could barely stand, and several were only being kept alive thanks to that same red magical aura from earlier.


    Pale didn''t waste any time. She shouldered her weapon, then took aim at the nearest bandit and fired, reducing his head to little more than a fine pink mist. Pumping her shotgun, she transitioned to her next target, putting him down just as easily. Next to her, Kayla opened up with some of her lightning, sending streaks of it arcing through the night and towards the nearest survivor.


    That seemed to be too much for the few who were still left. Rather than stand and fight, they turned and tried to run away, sprinting off into the night. Kayla immediately stopped engaging; Pale, meanwhile, took aim and continued to fire until her weapon ran dry, riddling each fleeing man with a shell full of buckshot straight to the back.


    And just like that, it was over. A heavy silence fell over the camp, the only noise that interrupted it being the nearby waves lapping at the shore. Pale began to thumb loose shells into her weapon, then motioned for Kayla to follow after her.


    "Come on," she urged. "I think I see some boats over on the shoreline."


    Kayla tore her gaze away from the carnage around them, looking back to her. Pale half-expected her to say something about how she''d just shot fleeing men, but Kayla stayed silent, instead simply nodding, stone-faced. Together, they made their way over to the shore, and sure enough, there were several boats lined up on the sand.


    "Do you know how to work one of these things?" Kayla asked. "I''ve never been on one before¡­"


    "We''ll figure it out," Pale said. "Take that small one, it looks like it has room for three people."


    Kayla looked at her, surprised. "Only three? What about the others?"


    "If there are any others, they''ll have to fend for themselves."


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "We can''t just leave freed slaves there!"


    "And we won''t," Pale assured her. "Slavery is a taboo even among my creators, and they made sure to pass their hatred of it on to me as well, but our first priority is getting your father back safely. Once we''ve done that, we can start going back for others. And as much as a large boat would help us with that right now, it''s simply not feasible with just the two of us here to operate it. Understand?"


    Reluctantly, Kayla nodded. "...I suppose so. Alright, let''s go get him."


    ¨C


    As it turned out, the northern isles weren''t too far from their current location ¨C as dawn broke, Pale realized they were actually visible in the distance through the steady morning mist that had descended upon their boat.


    Unfortunately, the boat they''d commandeered was little more than a small sailboat with some oars attached in case the wind was unfavorable, which it had been since they''d first stepped into the water. For the past few hours, her and Kayla had been forced to row, even through the night. Only now, as the sun began to rise, did the wind shift and start to blow from behind them, allowing them both to rest for a time.


    It was still going despite that, however. Logic dictated that they ought to have taken turns sleeping or otherwise resting up during this time, but somehow, Pale couldn''t bring herself to do it, and neither could Kayla.


    "Nervous?" Kayla asked.


    Pale shrugged. "Eager, more like. This entire quest has taken the better part of a week, by my estimation. In that time, I have killed several people, nearly been killed myself multiple times, and have apparently been inducted into someone''s family, whatever that means. Frankly, I am ready for this to be over so I can resume finding a way back to my home system."


    Kayla hesitated for a moment. "About that¡­ what made you think I was able to assist in the first place? I-I mean¡­ not that I''m ungrateful for your help or anything, quite the opposite, but¡­ I''m so¡­ normal. I don''t know anything about space travel, and hells, I barely know anything about the world outside my small little village. And yet, you seemed to think I was capable of helping you when we first met. Why was that?"


    Pale shrugged. "I ascertained that this was uncharted territory for anyone from my system pretty much the moment I arrived here. From that point on, I knew I was going to need someone who could not only lead me around, but that I could learn the language from and trust to watch my back. Serendipity did the rest."


    "Ah¡­ what does that-"


    "It means you were in the right place at the right time for both of us," Pale specified. "You need help, I needed help, and now we''re helping each other."


    "And¡­ you don''t regret doing this?"


    Pale shook her head. "I have no reason to regret anything so far. This quest has only taken about a week, which is nothing for me in the grand scheme of things. Plus, you have been very reliable so far, particularly in combat. You have kept your cool in a way that suggests some kind of training."


    "Oh¡­ um, I''m not really trained." Kayla brought a hand up to rub at the back of her head. "I-I mean¡­ I''m my father''s apprentice, of course, but I don''t have any kind of combat training. All the offensive spells I know, I only know because he insisted that a young woman like me should know how to defend herself if she''s going to be heading off on her own."


    That got Pale''s attention. She sat up a bit straighter in the boat, focusing on Kayla. "You were planning to go your own way?"


    "Mhm," Kayla confirmed with a nod. "There''s a very prestigious magic academy down south, I was hoping to take their entrance exam sometime soon, before¡­ well, all this happened. I don''t really know what I would do after that ¨C being a fire mage restricts me in a lot of ways; I''d basically be forced into a combat role for something, whether that was as a professional soldier or as a bodyguard or something along those lines ¨C but all I know is I really want to study magic more in-depth. My father is an excellent teacher, but he doesn''t have the same resources the Luminarium does."


    "There''s something I''ve been wondering," Pale admitted. "No offense, but you''re¡­ meek, to say the least. You don''t like to fight or hurt people, and yet you use fire magic. Why is that? Did something make you pick it in particular?"


    "Pick?" Kayla asked, tilting her head. "I didn''t pick my affinity. Very few people can. Really, your affinity is determined when you unlock your sjel ¨C and before you ask, generally speaking, that happens when you come of age, which for most people is around fifteen years old, maybe a bit younger or older depending on who they are. To put it briefly, when your sjel is unlocked, an Archmage ¨C basically a very accomplished caster who has dedicated their life to the study of magic ¨C can serve as a witness, and somehow determine the type of magic you will have an affinity with. Generally, it''s not something you choose; the vast majority of people just are naturally more tuned to one type of magic. Nobody knows why, but that''s just how it''s always been. Occasionally, you get someone who has multiple affinities, but that kind of thing is very rare. Come to think of it, it really only ever happens with the royal families¡­"


    Pale scowled at the implications of that, but said nothing. Instead, she watched as Kayla shook her head.


    "Anyway, that was my plan for after we rescue my father," she said. "What about you? How were you hoping to get back to your people?"


    "Truthfully, I do not know," Pale replied. "The technology of this world is far too primitive to be of any help to me. I was hoping a magical solution existed somehow, but if not, then I will have to take matters into my own hands, and essentially kickstart my own industrial revolution."


    Kayla gave her a panicked expression, but Pale held up a hand, calming her.


    "It''s different than an actual, violent revolution," she assured Kayla. "Ideally, there would be no bloodshed involved."


    "Ideally¡­? What would you be doing?"


    "Using the knowledge gifted to me by my creators to rapidly improve the technology of this world to the point where it would actually be useful to me," Pale specified. "I would go more into detail, but that would likely be premature. All you need to know at this point is that, should no other solution present itself, I will begin pushing the technology of this world forward at an incredibly rapid pace."


    "How rapid?"


    Pale thought for a moment. "By my estimations? Basic space flight within twenty-five years, off-world colonies and terraforming within forty, faster-than-light travel within fifty."


    Kayla began to sputter. "Y-you¡­! Are you serious?!"


    "Deathly so, yes. I know exactly what is needed in order to get there, the problem is obtaining and refining the materials for it all. But give me time, and I can have you all looking at colonizing other planets within four decades." Pale suddenly peered behind Kayla, a deep scowl crossing her face. "But this conversation will have to wait, I''m afraid."


    Kayla went deathly white. Slowly, she turned to look behind herself, and began to tremble when she saw land fast approaching.


    "We''re here," was all Pale had to say.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 16

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    The two of them stepped off the boat, treading lightly upon the sand underneath their feet. Pale did a quick gear check, making sure both her weapons were fully loaded, before looking back to Kayla and nodding.


    "We should be good to go," she announced. "I will likely need some heavier firepower if we are to directly assault wherever they''re holding your father, which I presume will be a main camp of some kind. If that''s truly the case, then I would expect to see heavy resistance. And this time, I will not be able to pull that same trick with the pod."


    "You won''t?" Kayla asked, fear creeping into her voice.


    Pale shook her head. "I have a limited amount of pods, I cannot afford to sacrifice too many of them. Not to mention, this is supposed to be a rescue mission ¨C I cannot very well rescue a dead man."


    Kayla''s expression tightened, but she nodded all the same. "Very well¡­" She cast a glance around, her gaze landing on the nearby forest. "I don''t have even the faintest idea of where we''re going at this point, Pale."


    "Then we''re both blind, I guess," Pale surmised. "So be it. We aren''t turning back at this point, so might as well pick a direction and start walking."


    "Okay¡­ through the trees, then."


    Pale nodded, then followed after Kayla as she took up the lead. Together, they both pushed their way through the foliage and underbrush, carefully moving as quietly as they could to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. Of course, it only took a few moments for Pale to realize something was very wrong.


    "Kayla," she said softly.


    "Yes?"


    "Listen. What do you hear?"


    Kayla''s ears perked up. After a moment, she looked at Pale over her shoulder. "Nothing."


    "Exactly. I think we may have picked the right direction unintentionally."


    "Okay¡­ what do you want to do?"


    "Keep advancing," Pale said. "Stick to the treeline. I want to get in close and do some scouting before we push in at night. Once we''ve gotten a read on what kind of opposition we''ll be facing, we fall back, I''ll resupply from a pod and switch weapons if need be, and then we''ll come back when night falls. Understand?"


    "I get it," Kayla confirmed.


    "Good. Keep moving, let''s hurry up and end this."


    With their plan now set, both girls continued moving through the forest. Eventually, they reached the edge of the treeline, and from there, they were both able to see a large camp made up of log longhouses and tents. Several large fire pits had been dug across the camp, upon which hunks of meat were roasting. And through it all, people milled about ¨C men, women, and children dressed in thick furs to insulate them from the winter chill. All the men and some of the women had bladed or blunt weapons on them, while a rare few were dressed in thicker furs or robes and did not carry large weapons, signifying them as mages.


    "I count at least a hundred," Pale confirmed.


    Kayla blanched at that number. "A hundred¡­? How are we supposed to deal with that kind of opposition?!"


    "Easy," Pale urged. "A fair few of that number are children ¨C not harmless, but nowhere as dangerous as the adults are. If we''re going by just the combat-ready adults, then that number seems to be more like seventy. Still a lot, but not insurmountable." She looked around the camp, a frown crossing her face. "Where is the warrior-king?"


    "Sven? I don''t know. I would guess that his home is the largest and most ornate one in the back, however."


    "Probably a safe bet¡­" Pale turned towards the house, but there was no activity around it; it didn''t appear as if anyone was home, at least from what she could see. After a moment, she turned back to Kayla. "What do you think?"


    "I think we''re going to have to be careful."


    "That''s an understatement. This is extremely dangerous, Kayla. Now, I have no problem doing this, but you-"


    "Stop," she said firmly. "I''m with you, Pale. I''m not letting you go in there by yourself."


    "Somehow, I knew you''d say that." Pale shrugged. "Very well, then. I may have an idea."


    "Let''s hear it."


    She began to gesture, pointing around the camp. "The back part seems relatively unguarded, for some reason; it''s likely they aren''t expecting any kind of attack on their home territory like this. I say we wait until nightfall, then sneak in and start silently eliminating anyone who gets in our way. Don''t worry," she added, noticing Kayla''s disdainful expression, "I''ll do the dirty work there. Anyway, once we get in the camp, all we need to do is find where they''re holding the slaves, get your father, and then get out."


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    "And the others?"


    "I''m still working on that, but rest assured, we are not leaving them there," Pale insisted. "Does that sound good to you?"


    Slowly, Kayla nodded. "I think that''s the best we''re going to get¡­ okay, what do you need from me?"


    "Come with me," Pale said. "We''re going back to the beach; something tells me my current weapon isn''t going to be sufficient for what we have planned."


    "You''re going to call down a pod?" Kayla asked as the two of them began to double back. "Won''t that attract attention?"


    "That''s exactly what I''m counting on, actually," was all Pale had to say.


    ¨C


    Several minutes later, and they were back on the beach. Pale wasted no time in calling down a pod; the moment it touched the ground, she threw open the door and swapped out her shotgun for a new weapon, a semi-automatic .308-caliber battle rifle with a suppressor and low-power scope, plus a new chest rig filled with enough spare ammunition to kill the entire camp three times over. Just as well, she also grabbed a suppressor for her .45-caliber pistol.


    As soon as she''d armed herself, Pale sent the pod back into the atmosphere, then motioned for Kayla to follow her back to the foliage. They both double-timed it to the forest, and then hunkered down and waited. Sure enough, just like Pale expected, several bandits emerged from another part of the forest closer to the beach, weapons already drawn and at the ready. They all congregated around the newly-formed blackened crater in the sand, looking around for what could have caused it.


    The moment Pale was convinced everyone in the group was there, she spun out from behind cover, her rifle barking. Shot after shot came pouring out of the end of its barrel, coming as fast as she could pull the trigger; five bandits had come to investigate the noise, and in a matter of seconds, all five were lying on the sand, blood and gray matter congealing beneath their heads as their eyes stared lifelessly at the skies above.


    Pale dropped her newly-empty magazine and replaced it with a fresh one, then smacked the bolt release to chamber a round as she advanced, sweeping the area. Once she was confident it was clear, she lowered her rifle, then motioned with her head for Kayla to come out.


    "Should be safe," she announced.


    Tentatively, Kayla stepped out from behind cover, doing her best not to look at the five men Pale had just killed. "W-won''t they come looking for those guys?"


    "They will, but we''ll be long gone by that point. Follow me; looks like night is about to fall."


    Kayla nodded, then the two of them began to head for the forest once more, Pale leading the way slightly, the stock of her weapon firmly tucked into her shoulder as she moved. By the time they got back to the bandit camp, the sun had already started to set, but to Pale''s surprise, there was hardly anyone on the outskirts. Confused, she looked around, before a large commotion near the warrior-king''s home caught her attention. She peered through her weapon''s scope, watching as a crowd gathered around it.


    "What''s going on?" Kayla asked, trying to peer out from around her.


    "No idea," Pale said, continuing to stare down her scope. "Wait, hang on ¨C something''s happening¡­"


    As she watched, a large man dressed in far more ornate furs than the others stepped through the crowd, all the people parting to allow him passage. This had to be Sven Greymane, she realized, if only because of the respect the other bandits were showing to him. He was big, standing just under seven feet tall, and was very well-muscled; coupled with a head of flowing blonde hair, steely blue eyes, and a jawline that looked like it was carved from stone, and he looked every bit the part of a royal.


    He moved to the front of the crowd and held up a hand, and everyone present fell silent. Pale was tempted to put a bullet through his head then and there, but she held herself back ¨C he wasn''t the mission, Kayla''s father was, and she couldn''t risk compromising their position just yet. And besides that, they still needed answers from Sven with regards to the letter they''d pulled from the bandits who assault Evie''s caravan.


    Reluctantly, Pale kept herself from squeezing the trigger, instead listening in as Sven cleared his throat and began to address the crowd, his voice loud enough to carry even over to their hiding spot.


    "My people, it would seem we have underestimated the enemy," he announced. "I am afraid to say that the five men we sent to investigate the beach earlier have not yet returned. I can only assume this means they are dead."


    A few women in the crowd suddenly began to wail, but Sven silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Fear not; they shall all be avenged, and soon at that."


    A wicked grin cracked his face, and he turned towards the forest. "I know you are out there, listening to me. I must say, it''s very brave of you to have come all this way. It will make killing you all the more sweet."


    "How does he-" Kayla began, only for Pale to shake her head.


    "He''s trying to draw us out," Pale whispered. "Don''t fall for it."


    "Ah, but what made you come this far, I wonder?" Sven mused. "It can''t have merely been that you wish to take revenge for something we have done to you. What, then? Hm¡­ perhaps we have someone close to you?"


    Pale''s eyes narrowed, and her grip on her rifle turned white-knuckled. Meanwhile, Sven''s grin widened.


    "Yes, I suppose that would make sense," he said, nodding to himself. "But let''s test that theory, shall we?"


    He motioned to someone behind him, and as Pale and Kayla watched, two bandits brought forth a struggling woman, her hands bound behind her back. She was dressed in little more than loose rags, and her body was covered In cuts and bruises; her hair was bedraggled and frayed, and tears trailed down her cheeks as she sobbed in fear. The two bandits forced her to her knees, even as she tried to resist, but it was no use.


    Before Pale could do anything, Sven drew a dagger and thrust it into her throat, then roughly tore it outwards. Pale grit her teeth as she watched the woman gasp and sputter and thrash on the ground, blood gushing from her wound, before she finally fell still a few seconds later.


    Once she was dead, Sven wiped his knife off on her ragged clothing, then motioned for the bandits to take her body away.


    "Must not have been someone you cared about," Sven mused. "Not to worry, though ¨C you killed five of my men, and as luck would have it, we had five slaves left. There are still four more to go through; perhaps eventually we''ll get to someone you do care about, hm?"


    He snapped his fingers, and the same bandits from before brought forth another prisoner. Kayla''s gasp told Pale everything she needed to know about who it was, even before she saw the wolf ears and tail on him. That was more than enough for her.


    As Sven began to march towards Kayla''s father, Pale took aim at him and fired, dumping the entire twenty-round magazine into his torso. Sven flinched as the rounds made impact, but otherwise showed no indication that he''d even been struck. Slowly, he turned towards the forest as Pale''s gun clicked empty, his manic grin widening.


    "So you finally show yourselves," he announced. "This just got interesting."


    He snapped his fingers, and as one, the bandits began to surge towards them, a deafening war cry filling the air around them as they rushed.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 17

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    "Kayla, move!" Pale shouted as she hurriedly reloaded her weapon, then began to pour fire down on the advancing horde. Several people dropped dead under her onslaught of bullets, but they kept coming, and she was forced to retreat backwards, Kayla following after her.


    Pale reloaded once more, continuing to shoot even as she ran away. Her and Kayla sprinted deeper into the forest, trying their best to lose their pursuers, but it was no use ¨C Pale wasn''t sure how many she''d cut down, but it simply wasn''t enough, as she could still hear them all lumbering through the forest after them.


    "What do we do?!" Kayla shouted.


    Pale looked around, frantically looking for something they could use. Her gaze landed on the nearby trees, and her eyes narrowed.


    "Burn the forest."


    "What?! But-"


    "Now, Kayla!"


    Kayla didn''t argue further, instead obliging Pale''s request. In an instant, several trees went up in flames, which began to spread through the dense, dead foliage with ease. Once she saw that the fire had been started, Pale grabbed Kayla and pushed her deeper into the forest, then followed after her, taking shots at anything that moved behind them.


    The fire spread rapidly, and before long, Pale heard a chorus of panicked screams erupt from behind them. That was both reassuring and worrying ¨C the former because it meant her impromptu plan had bought them some time, and the latter because it wouldn''t be long before the flames reached them, as well.


    "Back to the beach," Pale commanded.


    Kayla bristled. "We can''t leave-"


    "We aren''t. But we need to leave the forest now, while we still have a chance."


    Kayla hesitated. Pale instantly grabbed her and forced her to stare into her eyes.


    "Do you trust me?" Kayla nodded. "Then listen. We need to get back to the beach, and fast. Understand?" That earned her another nod. Pale let her go, then without another word, began to double-time it back to the beach. Behind her, the forest continued to burn, the bandits still screaming as they were set upon by the flames.


    Eventually, they reached the beach, and Kayla doubled over, gasping for breath. She looked up at Pale, and through gulps of air, managed to get out, "What¡­ is your plan now?"


    "This. Cover your ears."


    Pale snapped her fingers. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, something came streaking across the sky, almost faster than either girl could track it. It fell into the forest, and the moment it did, the entire thing went up in a massive explosion. Kayla was knocked down by the shockwave, landing in a heap on the ground; all she could do was stop and stare at the crater where the forest had once stood, watching the smoke curl up from it into the sky.


    "W-what¡­" She swallowed nervously. "What did you just do?"


    "250-millimeter explosive shell," Pale reported. She offered Kayla a hand and pulled her to her feet.


    "And¡­ you have more of those?"


    "Only a few."


    "Y-you¡­ you couldn''t use something a little less destructive?"


    Pale''s face darkened. "That was the less destructive option."


    Again, Kayla swallowed nervously, her whole body beginning to tremble as she surveyed the destruction once more. After a moment, Pale checked her weapon to make sure it was fully loaded, then began to march back towards the forest.


    "Wait!" Kayla called. "You''re going back in?"


    "Of course," Pale said without looking back. "We still need to get your father back." She cast a glance back at Kayla over her shoulder. "You coming or what?"


    Kayla didn''t need to be told twice.


    ?XXX


    The girls marched through the remnants of the forest, Pale listening as Kayla dry-heaved behind her at every mutilated body they found. By her estimate, a good portion of the bandits had died to smoke inhalation or been burned to death before she''d even called in the artillery shell. There must have been a few mages with them, because she could see traces where they''d attempted to douse the flames with water or earth, only to be caught by surprise when she called down the shell on top of them.


    There were a few odd survivors, still managing to cling to life through ruined limbs or grievous burns; Pale, for her part, was careful to put them all out of their misery with a single well-placed shot. Kayla whimpered at every man she executed, but she paid it no mind.


    This was war as she knew it ¨C brutal, without mercy, and on a certain level, inevitable. As far as she was concerned, these men had signed their own death warrants the moment they''d made a mad dash for the two of them with murder in their eyes. Putting them down was necessary for the success of the mission, same as it always was.


    They made it through the remnants of the forest easily enough, emerging out the other side and marching towards the town. The women and children were still there, and upon seeing them and only them exit the forest in one piece, many of them screamed and began to rush them; Pale tensed, raising her weapon just in case, but it proved unnecessary for most, as the people simply ran past them and towards what remained of the trees, trying in vain to search for their loved ones.


    "Gods¡­" Kayla muttered. "I¡­ I didn''t think-"


    "Don''t feel bad," Pale said without looking over to her. "Those men did the same thing to countless other people. Ultimately, they had this coming to them."


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    Kayla said nothing in response. Pale could tell she wasn''t happy with that answer, but it was all she had to offer at the moment.


    The two of them made their way to the center of town, where Sven''s house was situated. He was still there, Kayla''s father still bound and kneeling at his feet. When he saw them approach, his eyes widened.


    "Kayla¡­" he breathed, tears filling his eyes.


    "Dad!" she called. She was about to rush him when Pale stopped her by holding out a hand.


    "Wait," she said.


    "Wait?! My father is-"


    "Sven wants you to rush in." Pale turned her attention towards the bandit leader, giving him a pointed look. "He''s waiting for one of us to do something stupid."


    "Pale-"


    "Don''t argue this point with me. I can tell just by looking at him that Sven is a cut above the others we''ve had to fight."


    "You have me at a loss, I''m afraid," Sven Greymane said evenly. "You know who I am, and yet, I know nothing of the two of you."


    "And we''ll be keeping it that way. I''ll make this simple ¨C hand over the girl''s father or this town will be razed to its very foundation, along with everyone in it."


    "Pale!" Kayla protested.


    Sven merely smirked. "I think not."


    Pale bristled. "Did you not see what happened to all your men in the forest? Do not try to test me, Greymane."


    "First off, those weren''t all my men. Those weren''t even a fraction of my men. Did you truly think I was warrior-king over just this little village?" Sven shook his head. "I have a great many men at my disposal, young lady, not that you will ever get to meet them in-person. As for your little ultimatum¡­ there is one problem with it ¨C if you were going to raze this town and everyone in it, as you claim, then you would have done so already without having to expose yourself to me." His grin widened. "You know what I think? I think whatever you did in the forest, it''s much more indiscriminate than you would have me believe. You can''t risk doing that again for fear of killing the girl''s father, because you need him back for her."


    Pale scowled. Sven barked out a laugh. "Ah, I knew I was correct! Well, now that I have you figured out, let''s say we have a little chat, hm? Tell me who you are, otherwise I''ll kill him right here."


    Sven drew his knife again, placing it against his captive''s throat. Immediately, Kayla screamed.


    "No, don''t!" she begged. "Pale, please talk to him!"


    "If you kill him, you''ll lose your only hostage," she warned. "There will be nothing stopping me at that point."


    "You still won''t be able to use your strange magic without killing yourself and your friend," Sven pointed out. "And before you say you''ll simply walk out and use it once you''re a safe distance away, I assure you, that won''t happen, either."


    "And why is that?"


    "Because I''ll have killed you both long before you''ve made it to the outskirts of town. Simple as that."


    "You''re awfully confident."


    "Because I know your weapon doesn''t work on me." Sven stretched his arms out. "Don''t believe me? Try it. I''ll give you as many free hits as you want, even. It''ll just make killing you all the sweeter."


    Pale''s scowl deepened, but she didn''t take his bait. Instead, she stood there, trying to desperately think of some way out of this. The only thing that was clear to her was that Sven was right ¨C he must have been a mage of some kind, because just like earlier, her bullets kept pinging off some kind of invisible barrier before they could make impact with him.


    That meant her only option was to get up close and personal with him.


    Grimacing, she slung her rifle, then drew her pistol in one hand and her own knife in the other. Sven grinned at her once more.


    "Ooh, how daring!" he complimented. "It''s not often that I find someone with a backbone like you, whoever you are. Tell me, before I kill you ¨C what''s your name?"


    Pale didn''t rise to the challenge, instead beginning to cautiously creep forwards, her pistol trained directly on Sven''s head. After a few seconds, his grin faded.


    "I said, what''s your name?"


    Still, she offered no response. Sven''s face suddenly contorted in rage.


    "Such dishonor¡­! Very well, then ¨C I suppose I will simply have to have my fun another way."


    Then, before Pale could react, Sven pointed past her, at Kayla. A large mound of earth and stone suddenly tore its way out of the ground, and came flying towards her. Kayla was unprepared to deal with it, and Pale heard a dull crack followed by a moan of pain come from just behind her. Instantly, her eyes widened in shock, and she whipped around.


    "Kayla!"


    Kayla was lying in a heap on the ground, a trickle of blood flowing out from a crack in her forehead deep enough to expose part of her skull underneath. Still, against all odds, she wasn''t out of the fight ¨C she struggled to her feet, wincing as she did so. A wave of relief washed over Pale, though it was quick to fade when she heard Sven rush her down.


    She turned just in time to avoid having her throat slashed by Sven''s dagger. Her heart skipped a beat, and Pale instinctively tried to bring her .45 around, but Sven intercepted it. Pain blossomed across her dominant arm as he impaled it with his knife, forcing her to drop her pistol, the gun discharging a shot that harmlessly pinged off of his barrier before landing on the ground. Before Pale could recover and go for a stab of her own, Sven brutally kicked her in the torso, sending her skidding across the ground; she landed next to Kayla, but leaped to her feet.


    "Interesting," Sven observed, his gaze dropping to the discarded handgun lying at his feet. He went to bend down and pick it up, and as he did so, Kayla fired several bolts of lightning at him, but they had no effect. Pale tensed as he picked up the gun, and then aimed it at them.


    "How does it work, I wonder?"


    Sven''s finger stroked the trigger, and the gun barked, discharging a shot into the ground a few meters away from him. Slowly, a wide smile split his face.


    "Oh, I like this," he observed, aiming it at them once more. "I like it a lot."


    "Kayla, behind me!" Pale shouted. Kayla ducked behind her just in time for a shot to ring out; it struck Pale directly in her body armor, her plates catching the round, causing her to let out a grunt of discomfort as she felt the lightweight depleted uranium deform slightly in order to contain the bullet.


    Sven was unperturbed, however ¨C he continued to pull the trigger even as Pale started to advance, her knife in hand. He fired again and again; his technique was off, but by sheer luck, he managed to get a hit in her left shoulder. Pale grunted as she felt the .45 caliber hollow point burrow its way into her shoulder, missing the bone by mere millimeters.


    She was counting his shots as he advanced, and by this time, she knew he only had one left. Sven took aim at her once more, and Pale tensed.


    Then, at the last moment, Kayla''s father moved. He jumped up from his spot on the ground, latching onto Sven''s arm and throwing his aim off. The gun discharged one final time, but it wasn''t a miss ¨C instead, Pale watched as the round erupted out of the man''s back.


    "Father, no!" Kayla screamed.


    He fell to the ground, clutching at the hole in his torso with wide eyes. Blood poured from his wound; Pale grit her teeth at the sight of it, but there was nothing she could do about it, even as he fell to the ground and laid there motionlessly. Kayla tried to charge past her, but Pale stopped her, holding her there.


    "Let me go, damn it!" Kayla screamed, tears pouring down her face. "Father! Father!"


    Across from them, Sven stared at the gun, its slide locked back. He attempted to raise it towards them and fire it again, but got nothing. He shrugged, then unceremoniously dumped it on the ground.


    "I suppose that was a fun play-fight," he blithely stated as Kayla dropped to her knees and began to sob, her eyes locked on to her father''s corpse. "Now then, what to do with you two¡­? The Beastkin would make a good slave, but the other seems a bit feisty to be a good slave¡­ then again, perhaps her weapons could be useful, if she knows how to make more of them¡­"


    Pale grit her teeth, rage welling up within her. With a final, desperate cry, she reached for her rifle, raising it and dumping another full mag directly into Sven. Just like the last one, it had absolutely no effect. Across from her, Sven shrugged.


    "It can''t be helped, I suppose," he stated, taking a step towards them. "I''ll find a spot for you two yet."


    Pale didn''t wait to hear more. Instead, she dropped her rifle and took Kayla by the hand, then began to run. Kayla tried to fight her, but Pale wasn''t having it ¨C she used all her strength to drag Kayla along as she ran out of the camp, and as she did so, with her free hand, she snapped her fingers just as they reached the treeline.


    Unlike the last artillery strike, this was no mere single shell. Behind them, the night sky was suddenly illuminated by an entire orbital bombardment. Kayla gave another choked sob as she watched the entire bandit encampment go up in explosion after explosion, knowing that if her father wasn''t already gone for sure, he would be now.


    Pale dragged Kayla back to the boat and threw her in, then climbed in herself before pushing off from the shore. She gave one final look behind her, but Sven seemed to have stopped his pursuit at some point, as he was no longer following them. She breathed a sigh of relief as the wind struck the boat''s sail, propelling them forwards across the sea. Pale stared up at the night sky as it was rocked by a final few explosions, listening to the symphony of destruction she''d left behind her, as well as Kayla''s crying. A hollow pit formed in her stomach as the realization of what had just happened sank in.


    She''d failed.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 18

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    Neither of them slept through the night at all. Instead, they simply sat in silence in the boat as it drifted back to the mainland. Kayla''s crying had eventually tapered off, but it had been replaced with catatonia ¨C she was doing little more than staring off in the distance, a glazed look in her eyes, saying nothing and not moving a muscle. The only indicators that she was even alive were the gentle trickle of blood from the gash in her skull and the occasional sniffle she would let out, which cut through the night like a bullet.


    Pale was faring no better. The events of the past few hours played over and over in her mind, each repetition more vivid than the last. She grit her teeth as she watched Kayla''s father die for what had to be the hundredth time that night. Try as she might, Pale could not block the images from replaying in her mind. A small part of her recognized this as a good thing ¨C it let her pinpoint exactly where she had gone wrong, and what she could adjust for the next time she needed to undertake a similar mission.


    But that reassurance did little to numb the cold sting of failure she felt lancing through her heart with every passing moment.


    Pale lowered her head as she watched Kayla''s father die yet again. She''d failed, and not only that, she''d failed in a way that couldn''t be recovered from. Even if Sven had been blasted to pieces in her artillery barrage, it wouldn''t bring the hostages he''d taken back from the dead.


    Worse than her failure on its own was the knowledge that she''d let down her biggest ally in a way that could not be recovered from. Kayla had trusted her to complete the mission and bring her father back safely, and yet she hadn''t managed to do even that much. He was dead, and that was final.


    A heavy sigh escaped her as the thought echoed through her mind yet again. Across from her, Kayla sniffled once more, and Pale hesitated before moving to sit next to her, reaching into her pocket as she did so.


    "I''m sorry," she quietly offered as she retrieved a small medical kit. "It''s my fault he''s gone. I can never make up for that failure."


    Kayla said nothing, and in fact didn''t even acknowledge her as she opened the kit and began to pull out what meager medical supplies she''d thought to carry on her person. It wasn''t much, but the antiseptic and surgical glue would be enough for Kayla''s wound.


    "Here, let me get that wound taken care of."


    Pale took an antiseptic wipe and began to press it against the gash in Kayla''s head, only for Kayla to suddenly lash out and take her by the wrist, stopping her. Pale froze, unsure of what was about to happen, but to her surprise, Kayla merely looked over to her for the first time, fixing her with a pointed gaze.


    "What was going through your mind when you blew up the village?" she softly asked.


    Pale blinked.  "We needed to escape-"


    "There were women and children there, Pale. You killed them the same as the rest. Or is that just what war is like where you''re from?"


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    "That''s war everywhere," Pale said softly. "I take no pleasure in deaths such as that. But sometimes, they are unavoidable. You have to understand, every action I take here has to be weighed against the possibility of what will happen if I fail to return home as soon as possible. Yes, innocent people died back there¡­ but if I had been captured or killed, then scores more innocents would have died back in my own system. Every delay I suffer here means more dead people back home. Does that make sense?"


    "So, that''s it, then?" Kayla asked. "It''s a kind of¡­ coldly calculated rationality with you, nothing more?"


    Pale nodded. Kayla pursed her lips, averting her gaze again. "¡­You don''t seem to understand, Pale. For as smart as you are, you can''t see the obvious even when it''s staring you in the face."


    Kayla looked back to her, their eyes meeting. "You''re only as artificial as you choose to be. I just hope that one day, you''ll realize that."


    Pale said nothing in response. Kayla let go of her wrist, enabling her to get back to work, which she did. Kayla''s face contorted in discomfort with every dab of the antiseptic, and Pale had to fight back the urge to apologize every time it happened, but eventually, the wound had been thoroughly cleaned. Once that was done, Pale applied a bit of the surgical glue to it; upon application, the glue turned the same color as Kayla''s skin, completely masking the fact that there had even been a wound there in the first place.


    "That will hold you until we can find a healer," Pale told her. She lowered her head. "And¡­ I must say, I''m sor-"


    "Don''t," Kayla softly warned, stopping her. "It''s not your fault. I won''t stand for you taking responsibility. This is on Sven, and only Sven."


    Kayla brought a hand up to rub at her eyes, clearing the tears from them with one final sniffle. Pale watched her for a moment before settling back into her seat on the opposite side of the small boat, staring out at the ocean as she listened to waves lap at the nearby shoreline.


    "What do we do now?" Kayla asked.


    For the first time, Pale wasn''t sure how to answer her question.


    XXX


    The boat continued to drift along through the night. Eventually, though, the shoreline started to come into view. Through the darkness, Pale saw the mainland fast approaching. A few people were moving on the beach, their shapes barely visible through the night and the haze. Kayla went to stand up, already conjuring flames in her hands, only for Pale to stop her.


    "Wait," she urged. "I don''t think they''re hostile."


    Kayla paused, then looked over to her, one eyebrow raised. "How can you tell?"


    "They''re not trying to kill us, for one. And for another¡­ don''t you recognize that voice?"


    Kayla blinked, her ears quirking up. After a moment, recognition flashed across her face, and she allowed her flames to dissipate before taking a seat in the boat again.


    "At least it won''t be just the two of us¡­" Kayla muttered.


    XXX


    "Am I glad to see you two!" Evie greeted as the boat ran aground on the beach. She came running up to meet them, a wide grin on her face. "I was worried that you''d both be-"


    She trailed off when she finally got a look at their faces. Evie paused for a moment, her grin fading. "...What happened?"


    "I failed," Pale said softly. "Kayla''s father is dead."


    Kayla sniffled at that, and Evie gave her a brief glance before surging forwards and pulling her into a big hug.


    "It''s alright," she said softly. "Let it out."


    Kayla gently broke the hug and pushed her away, shaking her head as she did so. "T-thanks, but¡­ I think I''ve cried enough already. He wouldn''t want me to be sad over what happened anyway¡­ but thank you regardless."


    "Of course." Evie looked over to Pale. "What about you? You don''t seem like you''re doing much better."


    "How can you tell?" Pale asked.


    "Believe me, you''re harder to read than she is, but not impossible ¨C part of being a merchant. And I can tell that you''re not okay."


    Pale let out a grunt. "Respectfully, all I want to do now is find a place to rest."


    "Be careful," Evie warned. "The way you''re carrying on now, I''d bet my entire caravan that you''re going to be plagued by nightmares if you do that. The least you should do is come sit by the fire with the rest of us and enjoy some food and drink first."


    "I am neither hungry nor thirsty," Pale rebuked. "I simply want to sleep."


    Slowly, Evie nodded. "If that''s what you think is best. You can take my wagon ¨C my bedroll is already laid out on the floor inside the back of it."


    Pale said nothing, instead turning and stalking away. Kayla went to follow after her, but Evie stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.


    "Oh, no," Evie said sternly. "Not you. You''re in worse shape than she is, so I''m going to insist you sit with us for a bit and decompress."


    Kayla bristled. "Evie-"


    "I mean it, Kayla. You''re in no shape to be by yourself right now."


    "But Pale-"


    "Will do what Pale will do, and damn the consequences. You of all people know that better than anyone by now."


    Pale tuned them out as she continued walking, eventually making her way over to Evie''s wagon. She climbed inside and collapsed on top of the bedroll, then closed her eyes and allowed herself to pass out.


    And true to Evie''s word, the nightmares came to greet her for the first time as she slept.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 19

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    All around her, the city burned. Pale could only watch as the flames engulfed building after building, steadily consuming anything in their path. Inky-black smoke and ashes filled the sky, all but blocking out the sun as they curled upwards into the clouds, spreading their sickening miasma like they were carriers of the plague. Pale coughed as a wave of smoke washed over her, gritting her teeth and bringing her arms up to block the worst of it from entering her eyes.


    As soon as the smoke curled around her, it was split by the sound of a woman screaming in terror. Pale instantly tensed, her gaze narrowing. Her shotgun was missing, but her .45 was still on her hip, its familiar weight serving as a grim reminder of her role as an envoy of death.


    That was what she had been created to do, and it was all she''d ever aspired to be. Today, it would be no different.


    Pale ripped her handgun from its holster, pausing only to make sure it was loaded and had a round chambered. After that quick confirmation, she pressed forwards, leading with the muzzle of her weapon. The woman''s screams intensified for a moment before suddenly being cut off with a sickening squelch. A revolting wet gurgle filled the air, and Pale winced, knowing she''d been too hesitant.


    Yet another failure added to the ever-growing pile.


    Still, though rescue might have been out of the question, vengeance was still on the table. The woman might have been murdered, but Pale could still make sure her killer died screaming.


    She pressed on, cautiously creeping through the burning city. The flames intensified all around her, and a small cough forced its way out of her throat, but Pale didn''t care. She had failed her last mission; she would not fail this one, even if it was simply one being undertaken out of retribution.


    She was, after all, nothing aside from the missions she completed.


    Heavy footsteps from off to the side caught her attention, and Pale turned, her finger already stroking her weapon''s trigger even as the tall figure emerged from the smoke. Her heart sank into her stomach at the sight of him ¨C that familiar, well-muscled frame, topped off with a mane of golden hair, and that ever-present smirk.


    "Well, well," Sven said, a hint of venom dripping into his tone as he stalked towards her. "I wasn''t expecting to find you here."


    Pale didn''t wait for him to say anything more. She pulled her handgun''s trigger once, twice, three times, and watched as splotches of red began to blossom across Sven''s chest. Still, despite the rivulets of blood streaming down his body, staining him crimson, Sven showed absolutely no reaction, continuing to stalk forwards even as the heavy hollow-point rounds tore through him, eviscerating flesh and bone alike.


    She stood her ground, continuing to pull the trigger even as he closed the distance towards her. Finally, the slide on her handgun locked to the rear, signifying it was empty; Pale stared at it in dismay.


    "Nice toy," Sven commented, cracking his fingers as he got to within a few yards of her. "Shame it doesn''t seem to work all that well. Perhaps it will work better after I shove it down your throat."


    Pale''s eyes widened, and without a second thought, she turned and ran, swapping her spent magazine for a fresh one as she did so. She sprinted as fast as her legs would take her, uncaring of where she ran; she paid no attention to her destination, her only concern being that it took her far, far away from Sven.


    It was a surprise, then, when she somehow found herself back in the center of town, among the burning buildings once more. Pale searched the area, the grip on her gun turning white-knuckled. A nervous lump formed in her throat, and she swallowed it, hoping it would do something to alleviate her pounding heart.


    "Are you lost?" Sven asked, his voice somehow echoing all around her. "Or maybe you simply want to die, given your failure back at my camp."


    "Show yourself," Pale demanded through gritted teeth. "Come out so I can end this once and for all."


    "You don''t seem to get it, do you? You can''t kill me. Your handheld weapons couldn''t do it; your explosives couldn''t, either."


    Pale twisted and turned, searching for Sven, but to no avail. Movement from the corner of her eye suddenly caught her attention, and she whipped around, squeezing the trigger in the same instant. Sven stiffened, the vague outline of his body barely visible through the smoke engulfing the town. As Pale watched, he took one shaky step forwards, then fell to the ground and began to writhe in agony, clutching at his throat. She cautiously approached, keeping her weapon trained on him, only for horror to dawn as she drew closer and the figure she thought was Sven gave way to something else.


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    The moment she saw the white-furred ears and tail, Pale threw caution to the wind, tossing her handgun aside as she rushed forwards, dropping to her knees to cradle Kayla''s head in her hands.


    "Kayla¡­!" Pale managed to gasp out. She grit her teeth as she took in the scene in front of her ¨C the bullet had penetrated Kayla''s throat, but somehow missed her spine and brain stem completely, leaving her in pain but very much still alive. Kayla''s eyes darted around fearfully, like a wounded animal caught in the jaws of a predator, as her hands clutched at the gunshot in her throat. Blood spurted out from around her fingers with every heartbeat, the arterial spray splashing over Pale more and more as the seconds ticked by. Tears poured from Kayla''s eyes, and her mouth worked over and over as she tried to speak, but the only thing that came out was a series of agonized gurgles.


    "Don''t talk," Pale ordered, placing one hand on the wound in Kayla''s throat as she desperately rifled through her own pockets, searching for medical supplies. Her pockets were completely empty, however, and as Pale''s heart somehow sank even further, she turned back to Kayla, her whole body trembling.


    Kayla gave one final, shuddering gasp before suddenly stiffening, then letting out her last breath. Her eyes glassed over, and she stared lifelessly up at the sky. Pale froze, locking eyes with her friend, before clenching her fists hard enough to hear her joints popping. She stood up with a feral yell and turned around, intent on hunting down Sven once and for all.


    She was completely unprepared to find him standing there already, a wicked smirk on his face.


    Before Pale could do anything, Sven reached out and grabbed her by the throat, then hoisted her into the air. Pale coughed and sputtered in his grasp, trying in vain to either break free or bring her gun around to shoot him, but to no avail ¨C his grip remained ironclad. Through her feeble gasps for air, she cracked one eye open and locked gazes with him, hatred smoldering between the two of them the entire time.


    "That''s what you don''t understand," Sven told her, his voice cold despite the smirk etched across his face. "That thing you''re feeling? It''s fear. Tell me, how does it feel to know fear for the first time?"


    He loosened his grip enough to allow Pale to respond. She didn''t give him the satisfaction, however ¨C instead, she merely spat in his face. Sven''s grin faded, and he scowled at her.


    "Very well, then," he said. "Goodbye, offworlder. May you find eternal agony in the three hells, along with your companion."


    His grip tightened like a vice, and with a sudden snap of her neck, Pale catapulted awake.


    ?XXX


    Pale sat up gasping for breath, her body covered in a thick sheen of cold sweat. She looked around, her heart hammering in her chest the entire time as she searched for threats, one hand falling the empty holster on her hip. After a moment to collect herself, she lowered her head, bringing hand up to wipe the sweat from her face.


    "What is wrong with me¡­?" she muttered.


    Footsteps from outside the wagon caught her attention, and Pale paused, reaching for the combat knife still sheathed at her waist.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked through the curtain that separated the two of them. "Are you okay in there?"


    Pale couldn''t help but breathe a sigh of relief at hearing Kayla''s voice, both because it meant there were no enemies around and because it proved her dream was just that. Slowly, she allowed her hand to fall from the hilt of her knife, instead wiping the final remnants of sweat off her face.


    "I am fine," Pale answered. "Why do you ask?"


    "Well¡­ Evie and I were asleep nearby. You were dreaming something fierce ¨C it woke us both up. Is there anything you want to talk-"


    "I told you, I am fine," Pale insisted, cutting her off. She rose to her feet, then approached the flap at the rear of the wagon and threw it open. Kayla blinked, surprised to see her, but Pale was unperturbed, and merely stepped out onto the ground. The two of them stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, neither of them sure what to say, before Pale finally sighed and brought a hand up to rub the back of her head.


    "...I''m glad you''re okay."


    Again, Kayla blinked before averting her gaze, directing her attention to the ground nearby. "...I wouldn''t go that far. I didn''t sleep very well¡­"


    "I can imagine." Pale let out another sigh. "I''m sor-"


    "Don''t," Kayla warned her. "Don''t do that. It isn''t your fault he''s dead, and apologizing for it won''t bring him back. He''s gone, and there''s nothing we can do about that."


    Pale wasn''t sure how to respond. Instead, she gave a small nod in understanding, then looked around once more. "Where is Evie?"


    "She''s making breakfast right now. Nothing special ¨C just some eggs and fresh vegetables. But I don''t think either of us have eaten in some time, so¡­"


    "I''ll be sure to thank her for the hospitality," Pale replied. She eyed Kayla up and down, a small scowl crossing her face. "You still look exhausted."


    "Ah¡­ Evie had me stay up with her. Said it wouldn''t do me any good to go to sleep so soon after what happened, although I slept so terribly, I don''t know whether she was right or wrong in the end¡­"


    "Still, you should get some more sleep," Pale urged. "I''ll go talk to Evie, try and figure out what we should do next. That is, unless you have something particular in mind?"


    "Next¡­?"


    Pale nodded. "Yes. Our mission is over at this point."


    "But what about Sven?"


    "You truly think he survived that bombardment?" Pale shook her head. "He''d be the first."


    "But-"


    "If he makes himself known again, we''ll deal with him then. For now, though, it''s not our concern."


    Kayla looked like she wanted to argue, but thought better of it, instead giving her a small nod.


    "...Okay. And, as for our next move¡­ perhaps we could attend the Luminarium?"


    Pale tilted her head, confused. "The what?"


    "The Luminarium ¨C it''s the biggest magic academy in this kingdom," Kayla explained. "I''ve¡­ always wanted to go. B-but, I swear I''m not being selfish! I figure, if there''s any information that can be used to help you return home, it''d be in their library."


    Pale brought a hand up to her chin in thought. "I''m not opposed," she admitted. "I would have to know more about it before agreeing to anything, though."


    Kayla winced. "That''s¡­ about all I know, unfortunately. Perhaps Evie could explain more?"


    "I''ll ask her, then," Pale said with a nod. "For now, you get some sleep. You look like you need it."


    Kayla nodded, then turned and began to walk off. Pale did the same, moving in the opposite direction, only to pause when Kayla suddenly called out to her.


    "Hey, Pale?"


    She stopped, then turned back to face her. She found Kayla standing there, staring at her. Kayla hesitated, then let out a sigh.


    "I''m¡­ really glad it''s the two of us together," she said, a thin smile crossing her face.


    Pale blinked, but after a moment, she returned Kayla''s grin with one of her own, then nodded. "So am I."


    With that, both girls turned and began to go their separate ways.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 20

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    It didn''t take long to find Evie. She was seated at the remnants of that morning''s steadily-dwindling campfire, finishing up a small plate of eggs. As Pale approached, she swallowed what was left in her mouth, then set her food aside.


    "Pale," she greeted. "I''d ask how you slept, but I think the whole caravan knows by this point. Everything okay?"


    "It''s fine," Pale insisted, taking a seat next to her.


    "It sure didn''t sound-"


    "Evie," Pale said, cutting her off. "It''s fine."


    Evie looked like she wanted to argue, but held herself back, instead shaking her head. "...Alright, very well. But if you''re not here to discuss that, then what are you here for? Because something tells me you''re not one for small talk."


    "Does that bother you?"


    Evie shrugged. "Everyone''s different. And besides, we''re-"


    "Family, I know." Pale paused. "I¡­ still need to find an answer to that question, don''t I? I got distracted by other, more pressing matters¡­"


    Evie waved her off. "Only if you want to. I certainly think it''d do you some good, but ultimately, it''s for you to decide, not me. But aside from that, what''s on your mind, exactly?"


    "The Luminarium," Pale told her. "I want to know more about it."


    Evie''s expression faltered. "The Luminarium¡­? No offense, but why would you be curious about that? Just from what I''ve seen, you''re not much of a mage, and that place is pretty much exclusively for mages."


    "I''m seeking information, we''ll say, and from what I hear, that''s the place to find it. Moreover, Kayla has nowhere else to go, now that her father is dead and her town has been razed to ash. In the absence of anywhere else to send her, the Luminarium seems like a good enough place."


    "Assuming she can get in," Evie interjected. Pale raised an eyebrow, and Evie rolled her eyes. "Place is staffed by a bunch of pompous, arrogant know-it-alls. They''re going to look down on her for being of low birth before she even takes the entry exam."


    "Entry exam?"


    "What, you didn''t really think they''d let her in just because she showed up, did you?" Evie shook her head again. "Every prospective student has to go through an entry exam in order to be admitted into the Luminarium. You either pass or you fail, and the outcome you get depends on the nature of the test and whether you''re fortunate enough to get a proctor who''s only kind of a complete jackass. And given that Kayla''s not of noble birth, at least not that I''m aware of, they''re going to be hard on her from the get-go."


    "So it''s impossible, then?"


    "Not necessarily," Evie conceded. "Plenty of low-born students get in every year, despite the objections of most of the students and some of the staff; it''s just that they managed to sufficiently impress their assigned proctor enough that they were granted entry in spite of their birth status. Believe me, if you show up to that place and you''re not a noble, the odds are already stacked against you."


    Pale leaned in. "Have there ever been cases of non-mages being admitted, or at least people who want to gain entry for knowledge instead of honing their magical abilities?"


    "Yes, although it''s very rare," Evie warned her. "And they''re always relegated to being archivists and scribes rather than studying magic with the rest of the students. There''s usually a small contingent of people who get in for that every year, though obviously, that number pales in comparison to the students looking to improve their magic."


    "So it''s possible."


    "It''s possible, yes," Evie grunted. "Just not particularly likely. It''s a very insular, cliquish, almost incestuous school, you see ¨C they''re going to be looking for any excuse they can to deny you both entry. And if you still manage to get in despite that, the majority of the student body and staff are going to treat you both like dirt." Evie turned to stare at her. "Think about what you''re doing, Pale. Is this truly what''s best for you and Kayla?"


    "We don''t have a choice," Pale retorted. "Or at least, I don''t. I need the knowledge they have available in that school."


    "And why is that?"


    "Let''s just say it has to do with getting me back home. As far as I''m concerned, it''s either scrying through the Luminarium and hoping for the best, or spending several decades trying a different method. And believe me when I say that I can''t afford to wait that long."


    Evie''s eyes widened. "Did you say several decades? Exactly how far from home are you?"


    "Farther than you''d ever believe," Pale said simply. "I''d tell you more, but you''d probably think I was lying if I did."


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "You''d be surprised. When you''re as long-lived as an elf, you get used to seeing all sorts of oddities." Evie leaned in. "If it''s a secret that can''t get out, then I would be willing to take a blood oath to keep it safe. That is, only if you''re willing to tell me of your own volition; I won''t pry if that''s not what you want."


    "A blood oath?"


    Evie nodded. "It''s a type of magical ritual. Essentially, it''s a binding spell that forces the person swearing the oath to refrain from telling anyone else what they''ve been instructed to keep to themselves, unless the other party''s conditions are met. It''s called a blood oath because two of the catalysts needed to fuel the ritual are drops of blood from both parties. The name''s a bit on-the-nose if you ask me, but it''s a very effective type of magic ¨C commanding officers use it to safely pass messages between their troops during times of conflict, for example. It ensures that even if the messenger is captured and tortured for whatever information they''re carrying, that it is still impossible for the interrogator to get it out of them."


    Pale nodded along, bringing a hand up to her chin in thought. "Sounds useful."


    "Very much so, yes. Unfortunately, it''s not exactly an easy spell to cast, which is why it''s generally only used by the upper echelons of mages. And in any case, I won''t force you if it''s not what you want."


    "I''ll think about it," Pale offered. "Anyway, the Luminarium¡­ what are the entry exams like?"


    "They change from year to year, unfortunately," Evie explained. "Of course, the school''s been around for hundreds of years, so they can only mix things up so much. But still, they keep the nature of the year''s entry exam a closely-guarded secret until exam day. I can say that in the past, it''s been everything from a written exam on magical theory to clearing out a dangerous location full of monsters to a full-on multi-week military training camp. Sometimes, they''ve even combined multiple types of examination into one ¨C imagine having to go hunt monsters, then come back and immediately take a written exam on magical theory while you''re hungry, exhausted, and possibly wounded. Not fun."


    "Sounds challenging."


    "Very much so, yes. I ought to know ¨C I attended there once, long ago." At Pale''s surprised look, Evie smirked. "What, you didn''t really think someone as long-lived as me wouldn''t at least make an attempt, would you?"


    Pale blinked, then shook her head. "You''re certainly full of surprises."


    "That''s putting it mildly. Anyway, perhaps my information''s a bit out-of-date ¨C it has been a few centuries, after all ¨C but the bits and pieces I''ve managed to glean from other travelers have given me the impression that the Luminarium is still very much the same as it was when I left all those years ago."


    "So you didn''t finish?"


    "Nope." Evie shook her head. "Got sick of all the prissy nobles looking down at me due to the circumstances of my birth. One night, I finally had enough and marched right out through the front door. My parents were pissed."


    "I can imagine."


    "Oh, believe me, as bad as you think it might have been, it was worse than that." Evie flashed her a grin. "But yeah, that''s about what I''ve got for you. Still interested in trying to get in?"


    "It''s not like we have much of a choice," Pale replied.


    "Of course you do ¨C you both could stay with me, living the life of a caravaneer."


    "That might work for Kayla, but it wouldn''t work for me. I have obligations back home."


    Evie waved her off. "Alright, alright ¨C I''d argue the point further, but something tells me you won''t be swayed. Still, I might have better luck with Kayla."


    "You might," Pale offered. "Though I still don''t think she''ll go for it ¨C she seems intent on sticking around with me until I''ve gotten the information I need."


    "Truly?" Evie asked, confused. "Not to pry or anything, but what in the three hells happened to you two over the past few weeks? Besides what you''ve told me, that is."


    "Good question," Pale said. "You already know most of it, to be honest. The rest is all down to her and the fact that she seems to think she owes me."


    Evie let out a grunt. "Crazy girl doesn''t know what she''s getting herself into¡­"


    "You''re welcome to try and talk her out of it. I''m not opposed to that, if only for her own safety."


    "My own safety with regards to what?"


    Pale and Evie turned to look behind them. Kayla was standing there, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Evie stared at her with surprise.


    "You''re supposed to be resting, Kayla."


    "Couldn''t sleep," Kayla muttered. She pushed forwards and took a seat next to Evie, stretching her hands out to warm them by the fire. Her brow furrowed when she realized it was down to just a few embers; a small burst of flames from her fingertips lit it back up in an instant.


    "Well, sorry if we kept you awake."


    "Truthfully, I was fading until my name came up." Kayla turned towards Pale, giving her an irritated scowl. "You''re not going to get rid of me that easily. I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it."


    Pale simply held up her hands in surrender. Evie chose not to comment, instead mimicking Kayla and beginning to warm herself by the fire once more.


    "So, I guess that''s that, then," she surmised. "You two need to get to the Luminarium. And soon, at that ¨C the school year starts in a few months, and last I checked, they don''t accept late admissions."


    "Is that along the way for you?" Pale questioned. "Assuming you don''t mind us hitching a ride."


    "Of course I don''t mind," Evie replied. "Unfortunately, our paths split pretty quickly along the way ¨C the Luminarium is far south, and we''re heading east. So you two are going to be on your own after a short time."


    "That''s not a problem," Kayla told her. "We can take care of ourselves."


    "Oh, I have no doubts about that. I''m more worried about what''s going through your head. You both have been through a lot in a very short amount of time; now, I know it''s asking too much for you both to sit still for a bit, but I was hoping to give you some down time. But if you''re intent on getting to the school, that''s not going." Evie heaved a tired sigh. "In any case, I guess you have my answer ¨C you two can tag along with the rest of the caravan, so long as you pull your weight. You both know the drill ¨C standing guard, helping with chores, all that stuff. Shouldn''t be an issue for either of you."


    "It won''t be," Pale promised.


    "Good. Now, I do have a price for my hospitality ¨C you both are going to get some quality sleep, even if I have to cast a sleeping spell on you. Now, is it going to come to that, or are you two going to actually take it easy for once?"


    "Message received," Pale stated. "Come on, Kayla."


    She gently took Kayla by the hand and began to pull her back towards Evie''s wagon. As she and Kayla entered the back and laid down, Evie climbed into the front seat. By the time the wagon was moving, Kayla was fast asleep. Pale watched her resting for a moment, then turned to stare out the back, watching the frost-covered trees as they passed by in the distance.


    It was impossible to know what the future held for the two of them, but whatever the case, she was glad to have Kayla by her side regardless.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 21

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    It was a few hours later when Pale was awoken by the wagon coming to an abrupt stop. She lurched upright, her breath coming out in ragged gasps. Nightmares had plagued her unconscious mind yet again; she still hadn''t gotten used to what having them felt like, so accustomed was she to putting herself in hibernation and waiting out the time.


    And at this point, it wasn''t at all a stretch to say she much preferred her sleep to be dreamless more than anything.


    Next to her, Kayla began to stir awake. Judging by the expression on her face, she''d suffered in much the same way Pale had, but she was careful not to pry, instead turning her attention outside the wagon. Curiously, the snow-covered ground had given way to patches of white and splotches of green instead, and the temperature was far warmer than it had been even a few hours ago. Pale''s brow furrowed, and she moved to the front of the wagon to speak with Evie.


    "Where are we?"


    "Well, good morning to you, too," Evie said without looking back. "Or evening, more like ¨C you were both out for quite some time. Anyway, to answer your question, we''re at a small village a few hours away from the sea. The sign out front said this place is called Stonebriar, and before you ask, yes, this is where my caravan is supposed to be ¨C we''ve got a delivery to make here."


    Pale relaxed slightly upon hearing that. "You were awake the entire time?"


    "I was. But don''t worry about me ¨C I''ve got a little pick-me-up." Evie held up a small mug, which was filled with a steaming liquid of some kind. "My people refer to it as morning dew ¨C it comes straight from my home forest; it''s a type of caffeinated drink brewed from dark brown beans that grow there. I always make sure to take a bunch with me whenever I''m about to go on the road. Want some?"


    "I''ll pass for now," Pale said. "But thanks."


    Evie shrugged. "Suit yourself." Noise from behind interrupted them, and a faint grin crossed her face. "How are you feeling, Kayla? Sleep alright?"


    "I''ve had better¡­" Kayla muttered as she approached. Upon seeing the outskirts of the city coming into view, she immediately perked up. "Whoa¡­ what''s this place?"


    "Stonebriar," Pale answered. "Apparently, this is our first stop. Evie, are we staying here for a while?"


    "A few days, ideally," Evie answered. "There''s a blizzard coming in that''s gonna leave us stranded for a bit. Not that I mind ¨C we''ll collect payment for our delivery, wait out the snow, and then be on our way with our next package, whatever it may be. So not quite an in-and-out job, but not too bad by our standards, either."


    "You seem confident that you''ll be able to get more work out of this place," Pale surmised.


    Evie smiled at her. "One thing you learn doing this for as long as I have is that there''s always work to be done, Pale. Ultimately, it just comes down to finding it and negotiating proper payment¡­ well, and fending off the occasional bandit raid, but thankfully I''ve got you two to help with that."


    "Expecting trouble?"


    "No, but trouble has a way of finding you, especially when you''re carrying around valuables. Doesn''t hurt to be prepared, just in case. But somehow, I get the feeling you understand that just fine."


    "More than you could ever believe¡­" Pale said quietly.


    ?XXX


    After a few more minutes of traveling along the road, the caravan made it to the front gates of the city. They were just about to cross into it when a cadre of guards stepped out in front of them, flanked by an officer in regal-looking bronze-colored plate armor.


    "Ah¡­" Evie said under her breath. "Heads up, we might have trouble."


    "What''s going on?" Kayla asked, a small tinge of worry creeping into her tone.


    "Nothing, nothing. But don''t be surprised if we have to grease a few palms to get inside."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Just act natural and follow my lead, alright?"


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    Kayla gave a reluctant nod at that, settling back into her seat. Pale, however, was much more on-edge ¨C she watched as the guards approached, one hand drifting to the knife still sheathed at her waist. It was the only weapon she currently had access to, her old ones having been left in the snow and any replacements currently in orbit, but it was still better than nothing.


    The regal-looking officer approached Evie''s wagon, allowing Pale to get a good look at him for the first time. He was tall, standing just over six feet, and was well-muscled. His head was shaved, save for the bushy black beard he had styled into a short braid, and a series of scars covered his right eye, the iris of which was a dull gray compared to the brilliant green of his left eye. A large sword was hanging from his right waist, and a shorter dagger accompanied it on his left.


    As he stopped at the side of the wagon, Evie flashed him her best grin. "Evening, sir. To what do we owe the pleasure?"


    "Cut the bullshit," the officer snarled. "State your business here."


    To her credit, Evie''s jovial expression didn''t falter one bit. "Ah, come on ¨C at least give me the pleasure of knowing your name."


    "Knight-Captain Allen," he all but spat. "I will ask one more time ¨C state your business here."


    "Alright, alright, geez. We''re just a few traveling merchants, here to deliver some spices by caravan."


    "And your papers?"


    This time, Evie''s expression faltered. "Papers¡­? The person giving me the job gave me no mention of-"


    "It''s a new policy this city''s Lord just implemented to ward off bandits, bootleggers, smugglers, and other assorted criminal scum. Just went into effect a few weeks ago. If you don''t have any papers backing you up, then you won''t be delivering anything."


    "You can''t do that!" Evie protested. "We''ve been on the road for weeks, how would we even know about-"


    "I don''t make the rules, just enforce them," Allen said, his expression narrowing.


    "Do you really think if I was a smuggler or bootlegger, that I''d try to take the main entrance into town?" Evie asked, desperation creeping into her voice. "Come on, I''ve got someone paying good money for this stuff!"


    "That so?" Allen asked, suddenly interested. "Who is it?"


    Evie seemed to realize her mistake instantly, as she quieted down. Allen''s expression narrowed, and he leaned in. "Who?" he growled.


    "S-some bartender¡­" Evie muttered. "Runs a tavern called the Stuck Pig, or something like that¡­ three hells if I know his name; the guy setting up the delivery just told me to drop the stuff off and collect the rest of my payment there."


    "Evie-" Kayla began, only for Allen to suddenly whip towards her and level her with a harsh gaze. She shrank back underneath it, and Pale''s grip around the hilt of her blade turned white-knuckled.


    "And what''s this?" Allen asked. "These two don''t appear to be elves."


    "Elves or not, they''re family," Evie declared. "And no, I don''t have any damn papers to prove that, if it matters so much to you. But they''re with me."


    Allen turned towards Pale. "And you? Your outfit doesn''t look like anything I''ve ever seen before. Where''d you get it?"


    "Classified," Pale answered. "I could tell you, but I''d have to kill you."


    "Is that a threat?" he snarled.


    "No, it''s a-"


    "Pale," Evie interrupted, silencing her. "Look, Knight-Captain¡­ I mentioned earlier that I''m getting paid to make this delivery, right? Well, I can tell just by looking at you that you''re a man who appreciates the finer things in life. So what if we were to cut you and yours in on the deal?"


    "Are you bribing me?" Allen demanded.


    "Oh, not at all." Evie shook her head. "This is more of an assurance on our part that what we''re doing is right by this city''s Lord. So, how about this ¨C you escort us to our destination, make sure everything we''re doing is on the straight-and-narrow, and in return, we pay a not-so-little tribute to this city''s Lord. Seems like a win-win for everybody, if you ask me ¨C we get to complete our job and get paid for it, your Lord gets a cut of the profits, and you and your men get to rake in all the glory of a deal well-struck, along with the knowledge that your Lord would certainly want to repay you all for it. Definitely sounds much better than just turning us away, now doesn''t it?"


    That gave Allen pause. He thought for a moment, a hand going to his beard in thought, before he gave a begrudging nod.


    "...Very well," he conceded with a grunt. "Follow me. And if any of you or yours so much as step a toe out of line in my Lord''s city, you can rest assured that I''ll be cutting it off in the blink of an eye. Understand?"


    "Crystal clear," Evie said, giving him another smile. "Let''s get going, then."


    Allen said nothing in response, instead motioning for his men to form up alongside the caravan as they began to move through the city.


    The entire time, Pale''s hand stayed stuck to her knife.


    ?XXX


    "Asshole¡­" Evie muttered as they all watched Allen and his men disappear further into town.


    "How much did he take?" Kayla tentatively asked.


    "Fifty pieces of silver," Evie spat in response. "Half the damn payment."


    "You had to know this would happen," Pale said. "Why strike the deal with him in the first place, then?"


    "Because fifty pieces of silver is still better than no pieces of silver, not to mention that there''s still that blizzard coming in we''re going to have to deal with," Evie pointed out. "And I don''t want to be out on the road when it finally hits. I''ve met his type before ¨C the kind that are completely loyal to their king, or lord, or whatever. He was never going to let himself be bought out¡­ but his master is a different story, and he knows it." She sighed tiredly. "Well, we''re here now. Might as well make ourselves comfortable the best way we know how."


    "And how would that be?" Pale asked.


    "I mean, we just got paid. And I can think of no better way to celebrate than by getting properly wasted."


    "Ah¡­" Kayla ventured. "Is that such a good idea?"


    "No, but I''m mad, and this is the best way I can think of to blow off some steam," Evie explained. "Plus, you two probably need a drink after what you''ve been through. So I insist that you join me tonight."


    "Do you know a place?" Pale asked.


    "No, but trust me, finding one won''t be too hard."


    Evie motioned for them both to follow her, then began to walk. Pale and Kayla exchanged a glance, and then a moment later, took off after her.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 22

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    "Another round, bartender!"


    Pale couldn''t help but wince as Evie''s voice resounded throughout the tavern. She''d already downed three mugs of ale in less than an hour, and her head was absolutely swimming. Kayla was faring no better, despite being a drink behind her; she was currently nursing what was left of her second, and was swaying unevenly in her seat.


    Pale suppressed a groan as another mug of frothing amber liquid was pushed in front of her. She was about to turn her nose up at it when she felt a hand on her shoulder; she didn''t even need to check to know who it belonged to.


    "Why are you doing this¡­?" Pale muttered, massaging her temples to try and ward off the impending migraine.


    "Lighten up a little!" Evie said with a chuckle. "We''ve got good food, good drinks, good music, and good company. What''s not to like?"


    "I feel like I''m about to regurgitate the undigested remnants of whatever you were forcing us to eat earlier."


    "Ah, that means it''s working!" Evie gave her a light smack on the back; Pale felt her insides roil, but managed to suppress the urge to get sick then and there.


    "Can I at least have some water?" she asked.


    "Of course!" Evie replied, her grin widening. "Hey, bartender! Some water for the two lightweights, if you don''t mind."


    She flicked him a piece of copper, which he pocketed before sending over two more mugs, these ones mercifully filled with clear water. Pale didn''t waste a second before reaching for hers and beginning to greedily drink it down, only for Evie to grab hold of it and pull it away from her lips.


    "Slowly," Evie advised. "Drink that too fast after all that ale and you really will get sick. That goes for you too, Kayla."


    "Eugh¡­" Kayla managed to get out as she regretfully lowered the mug of water. "You somehow always know the worst thing to say to me¡­"


    "Ooh, someone gets feisty when she''s drunk."


    "I''m not drunk!"


    Evie waved her off. "Whatever you say, Kayla."


    "Why are you doing this to us?" Pale repeated. "This feels awful. People really drink this stuff to excess for the fun of it?"


    "Like you wouldn''t believe," Evie said, giving her a grin. "And as for the why of it¡­ well, that''s pretty simple, actually."


    "I''m listening."


    "It took your mind off of what happened earlier, didn''t it?"


    Pale couldn''t help but pause at that. In truth, Evie had a point ¨C thoughts of her earlier failure and nightmares had faded away the drunker she''d gotten. Granted, that was less because she was enjoying herself and more so because she was so dead-set on trying not to lose her dinner, but still, results were results.


    "Don''t take that as an endorsement of this kind of behavior," Evie warned, her jovial demeanor suddenly replaced with one of utmost sincerity. "This is a special occasion. You two needed to cut loose and relax a little, so I figured I''d give it my all for a change. This isn''t the kind of thing you can just do every night."


    "I figured¡­" Pale muttered.


    "So, be honest ¨C do you feel better?"


    "In some ways, and yet still worse in others." Pale downed more of her water, then leaned back in her seat. "Still, I suppose on a certain level, I should be thanking you ¨C this certainly did get my mind off the events of the past few days, at least for a time."


    "Unfortunately, moving past them permanently is going to be tough," Evie said. "But you''ll both manage in time. You''re strong like that. Just remember what I said, though."


    "I know ¨C we can''t make stuff like this a habit."


    "Yup. Drinking for fun is one thing; drinking to forget? That''s quite another." Evie downed what was left in her mug, then set it down on the bar. She went to walk away, but Pale hurriedly reached out and took her by the arm, stopping her.


    "If you''re going to keep drinking, please be careful about it," she implored.


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    Evie blinked, then gave her a grin before nodding. "Don''t worry, I know my limits. Unlike some people."


    She motioned to Kayla, who had slumped over in her seat and fallen asleep. Pale''s brow furrowed.


    "Watch her for a bit, would you?" she requested as she rose from her seat.


    "Of course," Evie replied. "Are you going somewhere?"


    "Just for a walk around town," Pale said without looking back. "I want to explore a bit."


    "Are you sure that''s wise? You''ve had quite a bit to drink."


    "I''m fine," Pale insisted. "I just need some fresh air for a time. I won''t be gone for more than a few minutes."


    Evie hesitated, but eventually acquiesced with a nod. "Fine. But if you get into trouble, give us a shout, one of us will come running."


    Pale nodded, then continued on her way out of the bar, leaving her two companions alone as she stepped outside.


    ?XXX


    The moment she left the tavern, the cold air hit her like a bullet. Pale suppressed a shiver as she bundled her winter jacket around herself, then began walking.


    In the time since they''d arrived in Stonebriar and started drinking at the tavern, a light snowfall had started to descend upon them. A thin layer of white coated the ground and the buildings, crunching underfoot as she walked through it. Despite that, Pale found it easy to navigate ¨C there were posts lined with oil lanterns situated throughout the town, which marked her way visibly enough. She used these as landmarks as she walked, being careful to note the subtle differences she spotted along the way as a way to retrace her steps when the time came to return to the tavern.


    Stonebriar was a very comfortable-looking town, she had to admit; it made her think of how Kayla''s town would have looked before the massacre, only much bigger. The buildings here were made out of stone rather than wood, and most of them were two-story save for the more affordable-looking homes. A few of them were even larger than that, stretching up to three stories tall.


    Of course, they were all absolutely dwarfed by the castle on the hills above.


    Pale almost did a double-take when she first saw it looming over the rest of the town. It was big, resembling something out of a fairy tale rather than anything earthly. Its walls were hewn from stone, but something about how it was built up made it look infinitely more professionally-made than the stone buildings scattered through the rest of the town. She stared at its battlements and turrets with awe, watching as small flecks of light moved back-and-forth across them in the distance ¨C those must have been the guards on a nightly patrol.


    Pale allowed herself to stare for a moment, then shook her head and continued on her way. No doubt that castle was where this city''s Lord resided, and while it was interesting to her from an architectural standpoint, the last thing she wanted was to risk getting on the city guards'' bad side by staring too intently at it.


    Speaking of the city guard, they seemed suspiciously absent from the city streets. At first, she hadn''t thought anything of it, but seeing the guards patrolling the castle walls had given her pause. It was cold, yes, but the guards at the castle were still patrolling, and if anything, that was the most well-defended and fortified position in the entire town. So why, then, were they out and about there, but not on the ground level? It made her wonder, especially given how close they were to the sea ¨C Kayla''s town had been far away, and yet, it had been sacked by barbarians.


    At that thought, Pale''s attention turned towards the letter she''d found on the dead barbarian not too long ago. It was still in her pocket, though she hadn''t thought to read it since Sven and his men were already dead. Still, her curiosity piqued, she ducked into a nearby alley and withdrew it, then flicked her lighter open and held it up to the paper so she could read it.


    As she read, her gaze narrowed. Evie had referred to it as a letter of marque earlier ¨C a letter issued by a governing body to a group of pirates or mercenaries giving them a blank check to raid whatever enemies their employer needed them to. She hadn''t been wrong, that was for sure, but there were things about it that didn''t add up. Evie''s caravan was described in it, as were several other towns ¨C Kayla''s included, Pale noted with no small amount of disgust ¨C but past that, the details were surprisingly sparse. There was no mention of a time frame, a meeting place, a method of payment¡­ nothing.


    If this truly had been issued by a governing body, then it was the single most informal document she''d ever heard of one giving out. Even her most basic military orders left this letter in the dust in terms of complexity. Granted, the people of this planet were nowhere near as technologically advanced as her creators were, but to leave out significantly important details like that struck her as odd.


    Pale finished reading the letter, then pocketed it and her lighter as she shook her head. She would have to ask Evie about it later; for now, she needed to get back to the tavern.


    Pale stepped back out into the streets, only to pause when she heard something strange. It sounded like nothing she''d ever heard before ¨C it reminded her of something rapidly running across stone, but it was far too large and fast to be a small animal, or even a person. Slowly, her hand drifted to the knife still at her waist. As the sound closed in on her from behind, she hurriedly turned around, drawing her blade in the same motion.


    There was nothing there but falling snow and an empty street.


    Her heart hammering in her chest, Pale lowered her blade, breathing a sigh of relief. She sheathed her knife and went to start walking once more when a woman''s scream suddenly pierced through the night. A chill went down her spine, and in the blink of an eye, her knife was drawn again as she took off sprinting towards the sound.


    Pale found the source of it not long after she''d started running ¨C a woman lying face-down in the snow. She checked to make sure everything was clear, then cautiously approached her, still keeping her knife clutched tightly in her hand.


    "Miss," Pale urged. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?"


    There was no response. As she drew closer, Pale noticed something ¨C the woman''s clothes were hanging very limply around her body, as if they were several sizes too big for her. Pale got within an arm''s length, then carefully turned the woman over with her boot.


    A dessicated corpse stared up at her, its mouth frozen in a silent scream.


    Pale blinked in shock, bile rising up in her throat at the sight of it. She managed to hold herself back from expelling the contents of the night''s reverie out onto the snow-covered cobblestone below, instead lurching backwards and leaning against a nearby building for support as she doubled over, coughing to try and clear her throat.


    Then, she heard it ¨C footsteps all around, and the rattling of steel plates against steel plates. She looked up, just in time to see several guards closing in around her. They all locked eyes on the woman''s corpse, a mixture of shock, fear, and disgust passing through them for just a moment before their gaze landed on Pale.


    Then, before she could say anything, they all drew their weapons and began to advance upon her.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 23

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    Pale stood her ground even as the guards began to close in. She kept a tight grip on her knife, eyeing each of them carefully. There were five of them, but given she was only armed with a short blade, the odds were not in favor.


    Her gaze turned to the woman''s corpse. Someone broke out from the crowd that had gathered and approached it; it didn''t take her long to recognize the ornate bronze armor.


    "Captain Allen," she called. "I did not kill that woman."


    "I will be the judge of that," he said back to her as he stopped to stand over the corpse. "You are the most likely suspect, having been here when the body was discovered."


    "I didn''t have the time, and you know it. Moreover, look at her ¨C does that really look like something a regular person is capable of?" Pale shook her head. "You know it isn''t me."


    Captain Allen knelt down and examined the body. After a moment, he let out a grunt, then shook his head.


    "Be that as it may, you''re still the most likely suspect," he countered.


    "I will cooperate fully," Pale answered him. Slowly, she sheathed her knife, then held her hands up to show she was unarmed.


    That was all it took for the guards to rush forwards. They grabbed her and roughly tackled her to the ground, then shackled her arms behind her back. Pale laid there on the snow-covered cobblestone, looking up at Captain Allen. He glared back at her, then grimaced and shook his head.


    "Sit her up. And while you''re at it, clear the stragglers."


    Two of the guards obliged, pulling her into a seated position while the others began to disperse the crowd. Allen watched them go for a moment before turning back to Pale, dropping down to one knee to stare her right in the eye.


    "Talk," he demanded. "What do you know?"


    "I was out taking a walk," Pale told him. "I heard a woman scream, and when I came to investigate, I found her body lying there, with nobody else to be found."


    "And the knife? Why did you have that on you?"


    "I keep it on me for personal protection. Is that a crime in this city?"


    "It is when we''re investigating a murder. Do you have an explanation for why it was drawn when my men found you?"


    "Like I said, for personal protection," Pale answered. "I''d just heard a woman scream and found her body. I had the knife on me, so I figured it was best to keep it readied, just in case whoever killed her came back."


    Allen''s gaze fell to the sheath on her hip. Without a moment''s pause, he reached for it, drawing the knife. Bringing the blade up, he ran a finger along its edge, his eyes widening when the blade opened a thin gash along his fingertip.


    "Surprisingly very sharp¡­" he commented, staring at the blood as it dripped down onto the snow. "This knife has excellent craftsmanship. Where did you get this?"


    "Found it."


    "Oh, I''m sure."


    Allen suddenly stood up, then marched over to the woman''s corpse. Pale watched as he gently pressed the tip of the blade onto the neck, only to grimace before shaking his head.


    "Not the murder weapon," he commented as he came walking back.


    "Then what is?"


    "Not sure. But she had two puncture marks on the side of her neck, just over her left side carotid artery, and both were far too small to have been made by that knife." He turned to one of the other guards. "Search the area, see if whoever did this thought to dump the murder weapon as they ran away."


    "Yes, sir," the guard said before taking off to investigate the nearby streets.


    Pale watched him go for a moment before turning back to Allen. "You believe me now?"


    "No," he coldly replied. "You''re still the prime suspect, since you were the first one to find her. What were you doing out and about, anyway?"


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    "I needed to clear my head. The tavern was getting a bit noisy and cramped for my tastes."


    "Tavern¡­? You were drunk, weren''t you?"


    "Is that a crime as well?"


    "No, but it doesn''t reflect well on you. Who''s to say you didn''t get drunk and decide to take your aggression out on that woman?"


    Frustrated, Pale let out a sigh. "What was her cause of death?"


    Allen seemed taken aback. "What?"


    "Her cause of death," Pale emphasized. "You mentioned two puncture marks over her carotid artery ¨C I take it that means she bled to death?"


    "Indeed."


    "Look around you, Captain. Do you see any blood anywhere?"


    Allen blinked in surprise, but did as she asked, looking around the nearby area. His eyes widened when he realized what she was getting at.


    "I see," he acknowledged.


    "Do you?" Pale challenged. "I couldn''t have been the one to kill her. If I had stabbed her like you seem to think I did, I''d be covered in arterial spray, and so would the nearby ground and buildings."


    "But the snow-"


    "Isn''t falling hard enough to completely cover up every trace of blood that would have been left behind, and even if it was, that doesn''t explain how I don''t have any on me." Pale''s expression narrowed. "I am not the killer here, Captain. I''m just the one who found her. And unless you have proof to the contrary, you should let me go."


    "It is well within my power to hold you until we find the real killer," Allen threatened.


    "You have to know that it''d do no good at this point," Pale challenged. "Face it ¨C you have nothing to connect me to the crime or even implicate me aside from unfortunate timing. Now, if you can truly live with yourself knowing you''ve put someone innocent in chains, then by all means, go ahead. Otherwise, I think I''ve proven I deserve my freedom. Wouldn''t you agree?"


    Captain Allen grimaced, but after a moment, he motioned to his men. "Let her loose."


    "Sir?" one of the other guards asked.


    "I said, let her loose. She''s not the one we''re looking for."


    The guards exchanged an uneasy glance with each other, but obliged, freeing her from her shackles. Pale stood up, massaging her wrists the entire time. Captain Allen rose up across from her, casting a glance back at the dead woman.


    "Captain," Pale said, getting his attention. "With your permission, I would like to determine an official cause of death."


    "And why would I need your help?" he demanded.


    "What do you have to lose at this point?"


    Allen scowled, but didn''t rebuke her. Instead, he nodded. "Very well. But be quick about it."


    Pale nodded, then moved over to the body. She knelt down next to the woman, then started to look her over. Her gaze was drawn to the punctures on her neck, the same as Allen''s had been, but there were thing''s he''d missed, which were becoming apparent to her the longer she looked.


    "No defensive wounds," Pale noted as she examined the woman''s arms and hands. "She didn''t fight back."


    "What does that mean?"


    "It means whoever did this caught her completely by surprise. She probably barely had time to scream before they were done with her." Pale looked poked and prodded at her skin, noting how her corpse was little more than skin and bones at this point. Her brow furrowed. "Strange¡­ it''s like she''s missing all her fluids. Cause of death is almost certainly exsanguination."


    "What?"


    "Extreme blood loss," she clarified. "What doesn''t make sense is the method by which it was done, however ¨C those punctures certainly have something to do with it, but the fact that there isn''t a single stray droplet of blood spilled on her or the ground is interesting."


    "That''s certainly one word for it¡­" Allen muttered. "Are you done with your examination?"


    "Answer me this, Captain ¨C what do you know of that can sneak up on someone while making hardly a sound, drain them of their blood in the blink of an eye, and disappear into the night without anyone being any wiser?"


    "Is this a trick question? I''ve never heard of anything that can do something like that."


    "Neither have I, hence my confusion." Pale stood up, brushing her hands on her pants as she did so. "Would you be okay if I did a more thorough examination?"


    "Such as?"


    "An autopsy," Pale specified.


    "A what?"


    Pale hesitated, trying to find a way to explain it that would make sense to him. "I wish to examine the body''s internals to see if my theory of extreme blood loss matches reality. With any luck, a full internal examination will prove to be quite elucidating-"


    "You want to cut her open?" Allen asked, disgust creeping into his tone. He didn''t even wait for Pale to clarify before shaking his head. "Absolutely not."


    "Captain-"


    "The poor girl''s been through enough. Let her rest in peace rather than desecrate her remains."


    "It''s not desecration," Pale emphasized. "It''s done specifically to-"


    "I don''t know how you do things where you''re from, but none of that is going to happen while I''m in charge," Allen growled. "Consider yourself lucky I even let you take a look at her in the first place. I couldn''t save her, but I can at least return her body to her family in one piece." He waved her off. "Get out of my sight before I change my mind and take you into custody anyway."


    Pale stared at him, a scowl crossing her face, but nodded nonetheless. She turned on her heel and began to walk away, heading back for the tavern.


    As she walked, the snowfall intensified all around her.


    ?XXX


    "Where did you go?" Evie questioned as she stepped back into the tavern.


    "Needed some air," Pale replied, barely looking at her as she searched through the tavern. "Where''s Kayla?"


    "Passed out at a table off in the corner. Don''t worry ¨C I''ve got some of the caravan boys looking after her, so she''ll be fine. Why do you ask? Did something happen?"


    "Yes," Pale said bluntly. "Someone was just murdered and I was almost arrested for it."


    Evie''s eyes widened in shock. "What?! What happened? You were only gone for like twenty minutes!"


    "I know." Pale''s gaze landed on Kayla, who was passed out at the table like Evie had said. She began to push her way through the other patrons, all while Evie trailed behind her.


    "So what are you doing now?" Evie asked. "If you''re trying to leave town, that''s not possible at this point ¨C the snow''s too intense to travel in, and the real blizzard hasn''t even arrived yet."


    "Believe me, leaving is the last thing on my mind right now." Pale helped Kayla up out of her seat, throwing one of her arms around her shoulders as she supported her companion''s weight. "Did you already book a room?"


    "Yes, it''s upstairs."


    "Good. I''m going to take her to bed."


    "Uh, okay," Evie said, sounding uncertain. "And what are you planning to do afterwards? Something tells me you''re not going to sleep."


    Pale paused, then looked back at her.


    "Simple," she said, "I''m going to arm up."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 24

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    After putting Kayla to bed and making sure some of Evie''s caravan members were set up to guard her, Pale had immediately turned and begun to march off to the outskirts of town, only for Evie to come running after her.


    "Hey, wait up!" Evie called as she sprinted up alongside Pale.


    Pale quirked an eyebrow as Evie arrived. "I''m surprised you''re following me."


    "I know this is something you''d rather do yourself, but there''s a murderer running around town and a blizzard about to come rolling in," Evie pointed out. "I''m not letting you go off on your own. Now, that being said, I get the impression that you want to be secretive about this, so I am more than willing to swear a blood oath-"


    "That is not necessary," Pale interrupted. "You have proven yourself to be more than trustworthy."


    Evie blinked, surprised, but steadily, a thin smile began to creep across her face. "Well, alright, then. Shall we continue?"


    Pale nodded, and the two of them kept walking out of town together.


    ?XXX


    "So, what are you planning to do out here, anyway?" Evie asked as they both reached the top of a hill a short ways outside of the city. The snow had started to fall in earnest now, reducing visibility to near-zero. However, neither girl was affected too badly by the falling snow or the howling winds, thanks to their respective winter clothing ¨C thick furs for Evie and military thermals for Pale.


    Pale stopped at the apex of the hill, then turned to face Evie. She exhaled softly, her breath coming out as a fine mist in front of her.


    "There are some things you need to understand about me, Evie," Pale began. "For one, I have not been entirely truthful regarding my origins."


    Evie''s expression faltered. "What do you mean? You''ve been lying this whole time?"


    Pale shook her head. "Not lying, just¡­ selectively revealing the truth. Then again, I suppose lies of omission are still lies, so perhaps that is in the eye of the beholder. However you look at it, I have concealed who I really am from not only you, but everyone aside from Kayla."


    "And¡­ who are you, then?"


    Pale looked up to the night sky. The snowfall made it impossible to see the stars, but Evie followed her gaze regardless.


    "I am USS Behold a Pale Horse," Pale explained. "The single most technologically advanced warship ever created by mankind, as well as its single deadliest piece of technology."


    "Warship¡­?" Evie echoed. "What, like¡­ like a boat or something?"


    "That would most likely be the closest analogue this world has," Pale admitted.


    "So¡­ you''re a living boat, basically?"


    Pale blinked. "You seem surprisingly nonplussed about this."


    "Oh, it''s strange, don''t get me wrong," Evie confessed. "I always knew you were hiding something about yourself from the rest of us, I just didn''t expect anything like this. I mean, how could I?" She shook her head. "So, you''re a living ship, and apparently a very deadly one at that. So who made you, then?"


    "Do you remember when I mentioned I was from a far-away land?" Evie nodded. Pale''s mouth quirked upwards slightly. "I was not lying in the slightest. My creators hail from a far-off solar system ¨C so far, in fact, that I am unsure how I am going to make it back to them."


    Evie''s eyes widened at that. "Wait, wait¡­ you''re not even from this planet?"


    "No."


    "That¡­!" She paused, bringing a hand up to her chin in thought. "...Actually, that explains the odd weapons and your mannerisms, I suppose, but it raises so many other questions in turn¡­"


    "Such as?"


    "How you''re speaking our language, for one. I take it that''s some kind of magic?"


    Pale shook her head. "Technology, rather. Nobody from my universe can use magic. We have had to make do with other means instead."


    "No magic? That''s insane. Everything with a sjel has magic-"


    "As Kayla has explained to me, yes. However, if my creators and the various other races occupying our known universe do possess one, then we have simply never learned how to manifest it in the same way that the people of this planet have."


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    Again, Evie''s eyes widened. "Other races?"


    "Yes." Pale''s expression darkened. "For decades, my creators have been at war with a hostile alien race known as the Caatex. I was created as a last-ditch effort to put an end to their genocidal war of extermination. And I was succeeding, until very recently. I will spare you the details for now, but all you need to know at the moment is that something went terribly wrong, and now I am stuck here until I can get my ship ¨C that is, my actual, physical body ¨C repaired. Once that is done, I hope to return to my home universe and finish the war my creators entrusted me with."


    Evie seemed to realize something, and took an involuntary step back out of shock. "You¡­ you''re a living, breathing war machine¡­" she muttered. "How¡­ how many-"


    "Kayla and I did the math a little while back. It was in the low hundreds of thousands."


    Evie froze in shock as she processed that number. After a few seconds, she swallowed nervously, then turned back to Pale. "...That doesn''t change anything," she said softly. "I''m sorry ¨C it took me a minute to adjust to this new reality. That''s¡­ a lot of people, but like you said, you were fighting a war, so I suppose it was unavoidable. You''re still my family either way, and I don''t turn my back on my family."


    Pale nodded in understanding. "But now you know the truth. There is more to it than that, obviously, but I will spare you the details for the sake of brevity, as I do not think either of us wants to be out here when the blizzard inevitably begins to pick up."


    "You''re right about that¡­" Evie muttered, bundling her fur coat around herself. "So, you mentioned arming yourself¡­ how do you intend to do that?"


    "Observe."


    Pale snapped her fingers. For a moment, nothing happened, but then one of her pods began to streak across the night sky. At the last moment, just as it cleared the clouds overhead, a parachute popped out from its rear, and the pod began to float down to the ground. Evie stared in awe as it landed, while Pale wasted no time in approaching it and opening the door to get at the supplies inside.


    True to form, this pod was well-stocked with gear. She ended up taking some more body armor to replace the slightly damaged set she was wearing, along with a short-barreled assault rifle with a folding stock, suppressor, and holographic sight. Finally, she grabbed a spare handgun, identical to the one she had lost to Sven, and slipped it into her empty holster.


    "Wow¡­" Evie breathed from behind her. "That''s¡­ a lot of deadly weapons."


    "Be prepared, I say," Pale told her without looking back as she began to fill up on ammunition.


    "How do these things work, anyway?"


    "Short explanation: They use chemical reactions to propel a small metal projectile forwards at an incredibly high velocity." Pale held up a rifle magazine so Evie could see. "Six-point-eight millimeter rounds. Fast, accurate, and very, very deadly. And this particular weapon slung across my front holds thirty of them before I need to reload."


    "And¡­ this is new technology for your people?"


    "Oh. no. We''ve had access to technology such as this for hundreds of years. It''s like I said ¨C in the absence of any magic, my creators have had to devise new and creative ways to kill each other. At least, that was the case before the Caatex showed up."


    "So they''re not still fighting each other?"


    "Negative," Pale confirmed. "Amazing how, when the entire species is on the line, borders blur and old rivalries and hatreds get buried in the name of unifying against a common enemy. Last I checked, the only holdouts to complete unification among my creators are the United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the People''s Republic of China. Almost every other major country has assimilated into a protectorate called the United Terran Republic. Of course, that''s assuming the species is still around today; they very well may not be. Hence why it is important for me to make it back and keep fighting."


    Pale finished stocking up, then motioned for Evie to step back. Once she had, Pale snapped her fingers, and the pod took off across the sky once more, racing back to the ship from whence it had come. She watched it go for a moment, then turned back to Evie.


    "Come on," she said, "let''s head back before the storm gets worse."


    ?XXX


    The return trip didn''t take them too long, and thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed the pod as it had touched down. It was late, probably around midnight if Pale had to wager a guess, meaning that most people in town were already asleep. Despite that, she kept her head on a swivel as she walked.


    There was a predator in their midst, and she wasn''t about to let her guard down so easily, at least until they were caught.


    The killer seemed to have had their fill of violence for the night, however, as the two of them made it back to the tavern without incident. They trudged up the stairs, pausing only to knock the snow off their clothes and boots, before finally arriving at the door to their room.


    "The three of us are sharing a room, so I spared no expense," Evie explained as they stepped inside. "Partly because you two are worth it, but mainly because this was the only way having three people in one room was going to be even remotely bearable."


    Pale nodded in understanding. "Thanks. I''ll take the first watch, if you don''t mind."


    "The first watch? You can''t seriously be worried about-"


    "Whatever killed that woman, it''s fast, it''s quiet, and it''s extremely deadly," Pale emphasized. "We will rotate shifts until it''s been dealt with, unless you''d rather take the chance?"


    Evie sighed tiredly. "No¡­ no, you have a point. Alright, you take the first watch, then. Wake me up in a few hours so I can take over."


    With that, Evie moved over to a nearby bed and unceremoniously flopped down onto it. She was out within a matter of seconds, if the low snoring was any indication. Pale stared for just a moment, then turned her attention towards Kayla, who was similarly fast asleep. It didn''t take long to see how restless she was ¨C even in her sleep, Kayla''s expression was contorted into one of fear, and every now and then, a small whimper escaped from her.


    Pale grimaced as she watched Kayla sleep. She forced herself to stare for as long as she could handle it, but after just a few minutes, she turned towards the window instead, shifting in her seat to try and make herself more comfortable.


    Outside, the falling snow gathered on the streets below, bathing everything in town in a sea of white. Pale watched the snowflakes as they fell, the whole time trying desperately to keep the thoughts of her failure out of her own mind.


    When Evie finally relieved her of her watch duties a few hours later, it was one of the most merciful things Pale had ever experienced. She unslung her rifle, leaning it against the nearby wall, and then climbed into bed. Across from her, Kayla laid, still trembling in her sleep. Pale grimaced once more.


    "I''m sorry I failed you."


    The words came out almost silent, they were so quiet. Pale let them hang in the air for a moment, then turned to face the wall and closed her eyes, all but begging for sleep to come.


    She would rather deal with the nightmares than the reality of what her failure had done to Kayla.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 25

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    "Rise and shine, it''s time to get up."


    Pale blearily cracked both eyes open, a small yawn escaping her. She''d fallen asleep plenty of times in this body, and she still wasn''t used to the sensation of waking up yet. Back in her true form, the closest thing she had to falling asleep was temporarily powering down her conscious mind, and she only ever did it if she needed to pass the time between missions. That stretch of time between being nearly destroyed by the Caatex and arriving on this planet had been the single longest time she''d ever put herself into hibernation, and she doubted anything would match it save for her eventual return trip.


    That wasn''t the case with this physical human body, however ¨C despite the artificial nature of its creation and her mind, the body still had physical needs to tend to, sleep included, unfortunate as it was.


    "I thought sleeping was supposed to be restful¡­" Pale muttered as she sat up in bed and stretched her arms out, letting out a small grunt as she felt several of her joints pop. "So why is it that every time I wake up, I feel terrible?"


    "Good question," Evie replied with a smirk. "I''ve got some morning dew left, you know. You can have some ¨C believe me, it will help, despite being cold."


    Pale shook her head. "I would prefer not to use stimulants."


    "I don''t know what that means, but suit yourself. Kayla, you up for any of this?"


    "I''m alright, thank you," Kayla said softly as she rose from her seat and stretched, a content sigh escaping her as her body adjusted to being upright. She peered past Evie to look out the window, frowning as she did so. "Looks like the snow has started."


    Pale turned to look for herself. Sure enough, the entire town was now coated under a thick layer of white. From where she was looking, it appeared to be several inches thick already, and more just kept coming down with every passing moment. She frowned at the sight of it, knowing that they were stuck here until the blizzard subsided. When that would be, she had no way of knowing.


    "Well, guess we know what we''re doing today, then," Evie surmised.


    "What would that be?" Pale asked.


    "Nothing at all, that''s what." Evie flopped back down onto her bed, interlocking her fingers behind her head as she stared up at the wood ceiling above. "Can''t go anywhere with this kind of weather, and can''t really do much of anything, either. So we''re stuck here until the snow lets up."


    "How long will that be, do you think?"


    "Hard to say. My guess is that we''re not going anywhere for at least a few days, possibly a week if we''re really unlucky."


    "And what''s our time frame for making it to the Luminarium?"


    Evie grunted. "Believe me, we''ll get you there in time. Count on it. Until then¡­ nighty night."


    With that, she closed her eyes and attempted to fall asleep, only for Kayla to roll her eyes and shake her awake.


    "Oh, no you don''t," Kayla said. "We''re not just going to sleep the day away. At the very least, we need to get something to eat first."


    "Alright, I''m up," Evie acknowledged, rising to a seated position on the bed. "How about you, Pale? Got any ideas for ways to pass the time?"


    Pale just shrugged. Truthfully, she was at a loss. Normally, this would have been an excellent time to go dormant for a bit, but she wasn''t about to do that and leave Evie and Kayla by themselves, especially not when a murderer was still walking around town.


    "Well, that''s fine," Evie said. "Good thing I''ve got something in mind for us to do."


    "Let me guess," Kayla began, "it involves drinking?"


    "Just ale, and you can''t really call something that soft a drink¡­ well, unless you''re you two."


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    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    Evie just flashed her a grin in response, then jumped out of bed. "Come on, let''s get something to eat. I''m starving."


    Neither Pale nor Kayla argued, and instead followed her down to the first floor.


    ?XXX


    A short while later, and they were once again without anything to do. Breakfast had gone off without incident, though given that Evie was already on her third mug of ale, Pale doubted things would continue to be this calm for very long. That was hardly a concern for her, though ¨C she was more wary of the prospect of a killer wandering around town than anything. Most of her time eating breakfast had been spent in silence as she ruminated over the possible identity of the killer. Try as she might, though, there just wasn''t enough to go on ¨C nothing led to any kind of conclusion for any of the few pieces of evidence they had, and in fact, if anything, it all just led to more questions she couldn''t answer yet.


    A frustrated sigh escaped her, one which didn''t go unnoticed by Kayla.


    "Copper for your thoughts?" Kayla offered, her wolf ears perking up as Pale turned to look at her.


    "It''s nothing," Pale answered. "Just trying to piece together what happened last night. I''m sure Evie''s already filled you in."


    Kayla nodded. "She did. And here I was, hoping for a simple trip to the Luminarium after all we''ve been through together¡­ apparently, that was too much to ask for." She sighed, then shook her head. "The world''s getting pretty scary these days, and I have no idea what to make of it."


    Pale said nothing, instead turning to watch Evie, who had just finished off her third mug of alcohol and was about to order a fourth when the door to the tavern suddenly came swinging open. Pale watched as a man dressed in winter clothes trudged into the building, shivering the entire time, patches of snow and ice falling off his shoulders onto the ground below.


    "Oi!" the tavern owner called. "The least you could do is not track all the snow and mud into my tavern!"


    "S-sorry¡­" the man managed to get out through chattering teeth. "I just¡­ I''m looking for someone? White hair, blue eyes, wears a-"


    He turned towards Pale, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw her. Pale stared back at him, one hand drifting towards her holstered pistol as he approached, the remainder of the snow gathered on his shoulders and back falling onto the floor as he walked towards her, uncaring of how the proprietor shouted after him once more. He stopped a short ways away from Pale, bending over to rest his palms on her table.


    Then, to her surprise, he stared at her with tear-filled eyes, and began to speak.


    "Please," he managed to croak out. "I need your help."


    Pale was taken aback. She looked over to Kayla, completely unsure of what to say. Kayla, unfortunately, seemed just as lost as she was, though she managed to gather her faculties quickly enough to clear her throat and address the man.


    "I''m afraid you have us at a loss," Kayla offered. "Who are you, and how can we help?"


    "My name''s Adam," he managed to get out through the lump in his throat. "My daughter, May, was the one murdered last night."


    That got Pale''s attention. She immediately leaned forward, her hand leaving the grip of her pistol as she listened to Adam speak. She motioned for him to continue, and he took a moment to collect himself before continuing.


    "...May was all I had left," he said quietly. "Her mother died giving birth to her. For years, it was just the two of us¡­ and now she''s gone. I want to make sure her killer is caught and brought to justice."


    Kayla hesitated. "I''m sure the town guard is doing all it can-"


    "That''s why I''m here. Knight-Captain Allen, he came to see me ¨C said you wanted to cut up my daughter''s body, because it might give you information?"


    Pale blinked, then slowly nodded. "Yes. It''s called performing an autopsy ¨C I wouldn''t exactly cut her up into pieces, but I would need to open her up in order to examine her insides in-depth and determine what her exact cause of death was, among other things."


    "And you think that would help catch the person who did this?"


    "It wouldn''t hurt, but there''s also no guarantee that it would lead to anything, either," Pale explained. "I''ll be completely honest with you ¨C at this point, your daughter''s body is likely being prepared for either burial or cremation. It''s almost certainly been exposed to the elements during that time, and hasn''t been taken care of properly. While this doesn''t make performing an autopsy impossible, it does complicate things somewhat. Depending on how her body has been treated, it could render the entire procedure pointless."


    "If I may?" Evie interjected. "My guess is, the mortician isn''t working right now due to the weather. The cold will likely have kept your daughter ¨C may she rest in peace ¨C in relatively good condition, enough that it would be worth doing¡­ whatever Pale wants to do." Evie gave a small shudder.


    "So¡­ it wouldn''t be completely useless?" Adam asked, hope creeping into his tone.


    Pale shook her head. "We have no way of knowing until we try it. But I thought it worthwhile to temper expectations before diving into things. Like I said, there''s no guarantee of this leading to anything in the long-run."


    "But it could," Adam pointed out. "And in that case¡­ I want you to do it."


    Pale blinked, taken aback by his declaration. "...You''re sure? You understand what I am saying this procedure entails, yes? It is very invasive. If that makes you uncomfortable-"


    Adam shook his head. "When her mother died, we burned her," he said softly. "I think May would have wanted the same thing, ultimately. If you have to cut her up to try and learn something¡­ please, do it."


    Pale exchanged a glance with Evie and Kayla. Both of them seemed uncertain about it, which earned a soft exhale from her. She thought about it for a few seconds, but then turned towards Adam and nodded.


    "Take us to her," Pale said.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 26

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    "Are you sure about this, Pale?" Evie asked as they stepped inside the city''s morgue, Adam trailing just behind them.


    Pale paused, then turned to face her. "Truthfully? No. I suspect this isn''t going to lead to anything, but we still have to try. This is the only potential lead we''ve got."


    Slowly, Evie nodded. "Okay. What do you need us to do?"


    "Keep her father outside," Pale warned. "I don''t think he''ll want to see this."


    "I''ll do that," Kayla offered. "I wouldn''t be able to stand the blood and guts, anyway¡­"


    "Very well." Pale peered past her, locking eyes with Adam. "You have my word that I will do my absolute best to not only find out everything I can from her, but also keep her body in one piece. She deserves at least that much respect."


    Adam nodded softly. "Do what you can," he pleaded.


    Pale pursed her lips, but said nothing. Instead, she turned to Evie and motioned for her to follow. Together, both girls entered the room, closing the door behind them.


    The room was everything Pale expected it to be, which was to say that it was incredibly rudimentary from the ground up. There was a stone slab in the middle, upon which May''s body rested, covered by a white sheet. There was also a shelf full of chemicals used for preserving corpses, but past that, there wasn''t much else, save for the torches that lit the room.


    "So," Evie asked, stepping up alongside Pale. "How is this going to work?"


    "You''re okay with the sight of gore?" Pale asked.


    "Believe me, I''ve seen worse throughout my years. You don''t get to be my age without doing some things you regret."


    Pale nodded. "Okay. Let''s get started, then."


    The two of them approached the stone slab, and Pale pulled the sheet off of May''s body. The dessicated corpse was there, but stripped of its clothes now, allowing Pale to get a good look at it for the first time. It was just as she''d suspected ¨C the body looked to have been drained of all its fluids; its skin hung taught around the bones, and its veins all seemed to have collapsed.


    "Gods¡­" Evie muttered. "What in the three hells could have done something like this to someone, and so quickly, at that?"


    "That''s what we''re hoping to find out," Pale said. "Alright, let''s begin preliminary examinations."


    She motioned to May''s neck. "There are two puncture wounds there, just on top of where the carotid artery would be; I suspect those are what led to her extreme exsanguination, but until we take a deeper look, let''s not write anything off."


    Evie nodded, writing down on a piece of parchment as Pale circled around May''s body, looking for anything else of interest.


    "No defensive wounds," Pale reported. "So it''s as I suspected ¨C she was caught by surprise and couldn''t fight back in time to save herself. The whole attack took less than a minute; I suspect whoever got to her punctured her neck, and the intense bleeding from the resulting wound led to a rapid loss of blood pressure, which left her unconscious before she had a chance to try and resist."


    "Makes sense¡­" Evie muttered, continuing to write the entire time. "Is that everything?"


    Pale circled the corpse once more before nodding. "I believe so. Nothing else really jumped out at me. It truly does look as if someone managed to simply get the drop on her, then rapidly drain her of her blood before anyone could do anything about it. I take it that''s as odd-sounding to you as it is to me?"


    "It is," Evie replied, though there was something else that crept into her voice that Pale couldn''t place ¨C confusion, perhaps? She couldn''t tell.


    Still, Pale nodded. "Very well. Then I suppose it''s time to take a deeper look."


    She drew her knife, then approached May''s body and began to cut a Y-shaped incision from her collarbone down to her navel. Once that was done, and her innards were exposed, Pale sheathed her knife and flipped it around, then carefully bashed at the ribs with the pommel of the blade until they broke. The moment they did, she pulled them back, enabling her to get a closer look inside.


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    "Initial thoughts," she began, "there truly isn''t a single drop of blood left in her."


    "How can you tell?" Evie asked.


    "All her organs are shriveled up, almost necrotic¡­ I know that''s not due to decomposition ¨C she hasn''t been dead long enough for decomp to set in yet, and even if she had been, her body was thankfully untouched."


    "Necrotic? What does that mean?"


    "It means her body is rotting, even though it shouldn''t be." Pale''s brow furrowed. "Truthfully, I''m at a loss with that one. It defies any kind of medical science I''m aware of. Simply put, this body should not look like this by any stretch of the imagination."


    "Some kind of magic, maybe?"


    "Maybe," Pale conceded. "But what kind of magic do you know of that can do this to a person?"


    Evie shook her head. "I have no idea, Pale. This is the first I''m hearing of anything like this."


    "You''re sure?"


    "Well, yes, I-"


    Evie suddenly paused, her eyes going wide. Pale stared at her, then leaned in.


    "You know something?" Pale questioned.


    "Possibly," Evie told her. "I mean¡­ maybe? But it doesn''t make any sense¡­ they were supposed to have been wiped out hundreds of years ago, there hasn''t been a confirmed sighting of one in centuries¡­"


    "Who is they?" Pale all but demanded. "If you know something-"


    "Look, I don''t know anything for sure," Evie offered. "It''s just¡­ this reminds me of something I encountered several hundred years ago. I didn''t initially think of it because, like I said, there hasn''t been a sighting in centuries. For one to still be walking around, it''s¡­ it''s simply impossible."


    "Apparently, not quite. Now, are you going to explain, or not?"


    "Certainly." Evie took a breath. "Pale, I think we''re dealing with a-"


    Just before she could finish her sentence, May''s corpse suddenly lurched upwards, her teeth bared. Pale just barely managed to get out of the way by falling backwards, meaning May''s attempt to sink her teeth into her shoulder missed. Both girls went tumbling to the floor, and Pale was forced to scramble backwards as May clawed for her, her nails scrabbling across the ground. Pale stared at the suddenly-living corpse in wide-eyed disbelief ¨C May had been dead; she''d confirmed it herself. Not only had there not been a pulse, but there was no blood circulating throughout her body, and even if there was, her organs were currently trailing out of her torso onto the ground below.


    And yet, May didn''t seem to care. She simply continued crawling after Pale, a low, feral moan erupting from her mouth as she did so.


    Pale''s heart hammered in her chest at the sight of it. So disconcerted was she that she almost didn''t realize Evie was still there, shouting to her ¨C that was enough to shake her out of it, and Pale hurriedly drew her pistol, then began to fire. Round after round of .45 caliber hollow points made impact with the living corpse, but May didn''t react in the slightest, the bullets simply piercing her body and leaving small pinpricks throughout.


    Her gun ran dry, and Pale scrambled to her feet, pressing her back against the wall. She was just about to call to Evie when the door to the morgue came flying open, and Kayla rushed in. She froze at the sight of the dead girl crawling across the floor, her eyes widening with shock and horror.


    It lasted until Evie ran up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.


    "Kayla, burn it!"


    That was enough. Kayla raised a hand, and fire erupted from her fingertips, engulfing May''s living corpse in flames. A low groan of agony filled the room, and to Pale''s surprise, rather than try to keep moving or extinguish the flames, May simply laid down and let the fire consume her.


    And just like that, it was over, the only sign of their struggle being a room in disarray and the stench of burning flesh filling the air. Pale stood there, gasping for breath as she stared at May''s burning body. Nobody said anything, until finally, Adam broke the silence.


    "What¡­ what did you do to her¡­?" he said timidly. "She was alive after all¡­"


    "She wasn''t," Evie said firmly. "Listen to me, Adam ¨C that thing¡­ it wasn''t May. It may have had her body, but it was just a shell, driven by its base instincts to feed on whatever was closest ¨C completely and utterly mindless, devoid of any kind of thought process beyond eating. Believe me, putting it down was a mercy."


    "Then¡­ what was it?"


    Evie''s expression darkened. "It was a ghoul, I''m sure of it."


    "A ghoul?" Kayla echoed. "What is that?"


    "It''s the end result of what happens when a person is attacked by a vampire lord."


    "What?" Kayla sputtered. "But¡­ the vampires were wiped out ages ago! You''re telling me there''s not only one here in town with us, but it''s a lord as well?"


    "You both have me at a loss," Pale confessed. "I know what a vampire is ¨C it''s an old legend my creators used to spread among themselves for superstitious reasons ¨C but you''re both saying that they''re real?"


    "They were," Evie hissed. She turned and began to walk out of the room, stopping only to address Adam for a moment. "I stand by what I said ¨C that thing was not your daughter anymore. If you want to do what''s best for her¡­ let her burn to ash, and then bury her next to her mother. Anything less would be doing a disservice to her memory."


    Adam nodded, numb. Evie sighed, then stepped past him, Kayla and Pale following after her.


    "You seem to know the most about this out of all of us," Pale pointed out.


    "You can say that," Evie replied without looking over to her. They all stepped out of the morgue and back into the city, trudging through the snow once more. "I have some personal history with vampires from long ago. And believe me, there''s nothing worth remembering in any of it." She shook her head. "Vile creatures¡­ I was downright happy when they were declared to have officially been wiped out. To have one still walking around is unprecedented."


    "I can imagine." Pale looked up and saw that they were headed towards the castle up on the hill. A frown came over her at the sight of it. "Do you realize where you''re going?"


    "I do. And believe me, this is the best thing to do at the moment. If there truly is a vampire loose in town, then we need to make the local government aware of it before things get any worse."


    "You mean to tell me things can get worse than this?" Kayla asked, fear creeping into her voice.


    Evie said nothing, and somehow, that was all the confirmation Pale needed.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 27

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    The trip to the castle was, thankfully, uneventful, save for the howling storm all around them. The three girls trudged up to the front gate, where several guards were posted. Pale''s eyes narrowed when she noticed Captain Allen among them. As the three of them drew close, all the guards turned towards them, their hands drifting to their weapons.


    "Hold there," Allen commanded, stopping them in their tracks. "State your business."


    "We''re here to see the lord of this city," Pale stated. "It concerns the dead girl."


    "This again? I told you to stop looking into that, it''s official city guard business."


    "We only did it because her father sought us out and specifically asked us to," Pale retorted. "You can speak to him to confirm that if you want, I don''t care. Whatever the case may be, it''s not important at the moment. What is important is that we''ve discovered something that involves the entire town."


    Allen crossed his arms. "Speak, then. If it''s important enough for my lord, then you should have no problem telling me or the other guards."


    "Very well. May was murdered by a vampire."


    Allen''s eyes widened for a moment, before his steely expression returned. He glared at her. "If you intend to waste my time-"


    "Believe me, I am being completely serious," Pale emphasized. "She resurrected as a ghoul and attempted to kill us. We had no choice but to neutralize her."


    "How am I supposed to believe you?"


    "Because if you don''t, a lot more people are going to die," Evie said, stepping forwards. "She was a ghoul, Captain ¨C I''m sure of it."


    "That proves nothing," Allen replied. "Ghouls can be made in other ways aside from being turned by a vampire ¨C necromancy, for example, same as any other undead. And besides, vampires have been extinct since the Undead Crusades almost four-hundred years ago. You seriously mean to tell me that we have one of them in our town right now?" He shook his head. "It''s unbelievable."


    "I know what I saw," Evie said through gritted teeth. "I am an elf ¨C I was around when the Crusades were going on, Captain. I''ve run into my fair share of vampires over the years. And make no mistake, all the evidence points towards this being a vampire''s doing." She took another step forward, which caused the guards to tense. "Please see reason on this. At the very least, let us speak to your lord and warn him personally of the danger. You''ll be watching over us the entire time, too ¨C what''s the worst that could happen?"


    Allen scowled, but thankfully, common sense seemed to win out. He gave them a small nod. "You will have five minutes to speak to him, and not a second more. And you will turn over all your weapons before stepping foot onto the grounds."


    "Your terms are agreeable," Pale acquiesced.


    She unslung her rifle and pulled her pistol out of its holster, then shoved them along with her sheathed knife into the waiting arms of a nearby guard. He seemed bewildered at what she was giving him, and she turned to him and gave him a harsh glare.


    "Do not even think about messing with those," she warned. "Trust me. It''s for your own good."


    The guard merely nodded in understanding. Pale breathed a sigh of relief, then watched as Evie disarmed, turning over her bow and arrows plus her short sword. Once they had successfully disarmed, Allen nodded.


    "Follow me," he commanded.


    ?XXX


    "Wow¡­" Kayla breathed as they marched through the halls of the castle. "This place is even bigger on the inside¡­ I mean, I know I''m supposed to focus, but¡­"


    "It''s excessive, I know," Evie said to her. "But what good is a lord''s wealth with no way to flaunt it?"


    "This castle was handed down to my lord," Allen snapped without looking back. "It has been in his family for generations. Show some respect and mind your tongue while you walk its halls."


    Evie rolled her eyes, but said nothing in response. Pale pursed her lips as they walked. All around them, servants and additional guards eyed them with trepidation and suspicion.


    She suddenly felt almost naked without her weapons.


    Eventually, Allen led them to a large throne room. There, sitting in the center, was the man Pale could only assume was the town''s lord. He was tall, dressed in expensive-looking clothes, and was perched in his seat leaned over with his head resting in one hand, a bored expression on his face. He had blue eyes, and was almost completely bald, save for a small patch of black hair on top of his head and another on his chin.


    As they all stepped into his chamber, Allen held up a hand, stopping them. He then bowed to his lord, then turned around to address.


    "Announcing Lord Faron," he declared before stepping forwards and standing next to the throne.


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    Lord Faron eyed them, his gaze passing between their group of three and all the guards that were flanking them. After a moment, he let out a bored sigh.


    "Yes?" he asked dismissively. "What is it?"


    Pale''s brow furrowed. Already, she could tell that this man was not going to be interested in what they had to say. Still, they were here now, so it was worth a shot.


    "We''ve come to discuss the recent murder in town," Pale told him.


    "And who are you?" Faron asked, bringing a hand up to examine his nails for dirt. Without looking back at her, he said, "Give me a reason I should be hearing this from you, and not from my guards."


    "I am Pale," she answered. "These are my companions, Evie and Kayla. We are visitors in your town, and-"


    "Four minutes," Allen announced, cutting her off. Pale shot him a baleful look, but continued.


    "I''ll cut to the chase," she offered. "That woman was murdered by a vampire, and it''s somewhere in your town."


    Immediately, Faron froze, his eyes going wide. It only lasted for a second, but it was more than enough for Pale to notice it. After the moment passed, however, it was replaced by that same bored expression he was wearing when they first entered the room.


    "Ridiculous," Faron spat. "Everyone knows-"


    "Vampires have been extinct for centuries," Evie interrupted. "Yes, yes, we''ve heard it before."


    "Mind your tongue when speaking to my lord," Allen snapped. "Do not interrupt him before he has finished speaking."


    Again, Evie rolled her eyes. "You know what? I don''t care if this is out of line or not. I''m just going to say it ¨C you can see I am an elf. As it turns out, I am very long-lived. I was around for the Undead Crusades ¨C hells, I even participated in them. I''ve taken on my fair share of vampires before, sir. I know what to look for when it comes to identifying them. And believe me when I say that there is one in your town now. I don''t know how it survived these past few centuries unscathed, or why it''s here now, but it is here now, and your entire town is in danger unless we do something about it."


    "So sure of this, are you?" Faron demanded. "Explain to me how you know, and why I should believe you."


    "Because the signs are there. The woman who was murdered was killed by having all of her blood drained in the blink of an eye, without a drop of it being spilled. Moreover, when we were examining her body at the request of her father, the corpse reanimated and attacked us, despite being in a state of extreme disrepair." Evie''s eyes narrowed. "Now, you tell me, what kind of magic can drain someone''s blood like that and also cause a corpse to reanimate a short while later?"


    "Your rhetorical questions bore me," Faron said absentmindedly. "In any case, I don''t see why I should get involved with this. If there truly is a vampire in town, which I very much doubt, then the guard will be more than capable of taking care of it. Knight-Captain Allen is an accomplished swordsman and fire mage, and all the knights who train under him are adept in their own right. I am confident that whatever threat rises against this city, they will destroy it with ease."


    Evie grit her teeth. "You don''t know vampires like I do. None of you have ever fought one before. You have no idea what-"


    "That''s enough," Allen said sternly. "My lord has made his thoughts on this matter clear enough, and moreover, your five minutes are up. Now, do you intend to let us walk you out of the castle, or shall we carry you out instead?"


    "You don''t know what you''re doing!" Evie protested. "The people will be-"


    "Evie," Pale said, silencing her. Evie looked to her in dismay, but Pale just shook her head. That earned her a deep disappointed frown, but Pale ignored it and turned back to Allen. "Walk us out. We have no intention of starting a fight."


    "Smart answer," he said. He motioned with his head. "Guards, see them off the premises and make sure they don''t come back. If you see them again, let me know immediately. I will not have them pestering Lord Faron any further."


    "Sir!" the guards all said in unison before approaching the three of them.


    One of them rested a hand on Pale''s shoulder and began to muscle her out of the throne room, and she had to fight back the urge to break his arm.


    ?XXX


    "I don''t get it," Evie said as she paced around their room. "They just¡­ didn''t even consider it as an option! The evidence is right in front of their faces, and yet-"


    "Let it go," Pale said from her spot on the bed. Her rifle sat disassembled on the covers in front of her, and as she spoke, she carefully inspected each part of it, then steadily slotted them back into place. "It''s not worth getting angry about."


    "Of course it is!" Evie spat. "Don''t they realize more people are going to die if I''m right?! It''s crazy!"


    "I think they do," Kayla said timidly, her wolf ears flattening against her head. "But they just don''t care. I mean, you saw how the Captain acted ¨C unless something affects his men or Lord Faron, he doesn''t seem to care."


    Evie scoffed. "Typical out-of-touch, rich, royal bastard. Couldn''t care less if this whole town got drained by a vampire, so long as him and his gold were left unscathed."


    "Let it go," Pale repeated, sliding the bolt carrier group back into her gun and snapping the two halves of the receiver shut. She worked the bolt a few times, then placed the weapon back onto the bed before turning to Evie. "I understand that you''re angry, but now is the time to be proactive rather than seethe about what happened."


    Evie let out a frustrated sigh. "You''re right¡­ okay, what do you have in mind?"


    "We need to stop this problem from getting any worse," Pale emphasized. "And ideally, we need to do it fast ¨C that blizzard isn''t going to let up any time soon, and until it does, we''re stuck here with an apex predator on the loose. That''s a recipe for disaster without some kind of intervention. You said you''ve fought vampires before?" Evie nodded, and Pale added, "Good. Then you know how to kill them."


    "I do," Evie replied. "The only way to truly put down a vampire is to burn it or stab it with something made out of silver. Anything else, it will recover from in due time."


    "Good to know," Pale said with a nod. "What else?"


    "They''re only active at night. During the day, it''ll be asleep in its lair, somewhere nearby. Aside from that¡­ they''re inhumanly strong," Evie warned. "They''re fast, they''re strong, they can shapeshift into bats, they can regenerate from basically anything and that regeneration ability can be temporarily bolstered if they drink someone''s blood, they can turn people into ghouls or even other lesser vampires if the victim is sufficiently powerful enough¡­ they''re tough bastards to deal with, that''s for sure. But fire will put an end to them easily enough, followed closely thereafter by silver."


    "Then we know what we have to do," Pale acknowledged.


    "Do you have a plan?" Kayla ventured.


    "I do," Pale told her. "First off, if what you''re saying is true, then I''m going to need better weapons, because my guns aren''t going to be enough for a vampire."


    "Do you have anything for that?" Kayla questioned.


    Pale nodded. "Not much, but I do have some fire-based weapons I can use, if it comes down to that. Past that¡­ I will need to commandeer some high-proof alcohol from the proprietor downstairs, plus get my hands on something like tar."


    "Getting that alcohol out of him is probably easier said than done¡­" Evie muttered. "And why tar?"


    "You''ll see," Pale insisted. "Anyway, that''s part one. For part two, I''m going to need you two to help me."


    "Why is that?" Kayla asked, tilting her head. "Something tells me I''m not going to like the answer¡­"


    "You won''t," Pale promised.


    Kayla''s only response was to give a small whimper.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 28

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    "Are you sure about this, Pale?"


    Pale turned towards Kayla, a frown crossing her face. "Admittedly, no. But this is the only plan we have at the moment. Someone needs to draw the vampire out, and I don''t like the idea of either of you putting yourselves in harm''s way."


    Evie crossed her arms. "Hmph. And what makes you think the two of us are happy that you''re so willing to jump into the fire like this?"


    "Believe me, I know you both don''t like this idea at all. But we don''t have any other options right now ¨C someone needs to do this, otherwise a whole lot of people are going to die. And I''d rather it be me than either of you two."


    Evie shook her head. "You''re so selfish, you know that? We''re gonna have words about this later, but for now, tell us where you want us."


    "I want you both to stick together," Pale emphasized. "There''s a chance he''ll come after you two rather than me. If that happens, I want you both to be watching each other''s backs. At the same time, I''ll need you to provide overwatch for me. Does that make sense?"


    "Yeah, I get it." Evie hefted her bow for emphasis. "We''ll be on the rooftops, moving from house to house. The buildings are close enough here that we should be able to just jump between them without much difficulty. That being said, do us a huge favor and try to stick to this area, would you? Moving too far away from here will make it harder to cover you."


    "Understood," Pale said with a nod. She turned to Kayla. "You know what your job is?"


    Kayla blinked, but nodded a moment later. "You need me to burn him when he comes out."


    "Assuming I don''t take care of him first, yes. Hold your fire unless it looks like I''m about to be overwhelmed. If that happens, you know what to do."


    Kayla swallowed nervously, then gave another nod. Pale took a breath, then looked to the sky. The blizzard had let up just enough that she could make out the full moon peeking out from behind some clouds, casting a dim glow down on the snowflakes that were gently descending to the ground.


    It was beautiful, she had to admit.


    It was a shame that it was all about to be interrupted with violence.


    ?XXX


    Pale marched through the town, bundling her coat around herself as she did so, fake-shivering the entire time. Truthfully, her layer of thermals kept her warm, but anything she could do to sell the act would be helpful. Right now, she was trying to make herself look like easy prey more than anything.


    Being hunted was a decidedly new sensation for her. She''d been on the other side of the gun plenty of times, back when she was still fighting the war against the Caatex, but this was the first time she''d ever purposely made herself a target like this. Even worse, she didn''t have access to any of her usual weapons to help her if she got into trouble ¨C all she had to help was what she''d brought with her. Even her new rifle had been left behind by this point, its bulk proving to be too much to hide under her winter layers without looking suspicious. She was still armed, of course, but this was the lightest she''d ever been loaded up since the fight against Sven.


    His smug grin flashed through her mind, and Pale grit her teeth, shaking her head to clear it. Sven Greymane was dead, she was sure of it ¨C she hadn''t confirmed the kill, but she had reduced his entire village to glass with an orbital bombardment. In retrospect, that had been a waste of perfectly good explosives when just a few well-placed shells could have done the same thing, but she''d been past the point of caring after watching Kayla''s father die.


    "Need to be more conservative¡­" she muttered, doing a quick inventory check of her ammunition. Most of those 250-millimeter explosive shells had been depleted by this point, with only a few remaining now. On top of that, her usual armament had been stripped and replaced with that singularity bomb she''d loosed against the Caatex before arriving on Sjel. Somehow, she was in an odd predicament of being nearly out of both her lightest weapons and her heaviest one, leaving just the middle-of-the-road gear behind, plus the various pods full of small arms she''d been loaded up with in case of an emergency.


    That wasn''t to imply she was defenseless, but everything else beyond the 250-millimeter shells was a weapon of mass destruction of some kind, and even in her current situation, she was hesitant to use them for any reason.


    This was a dangerous planet, to be sure, but if she could avoid the collateral damage caused by WMDs, then she would, if only because she didn''t want to scare Evie and Kayla by showing them what she was really capable of when the gloves came off.


    Pale continued to trudge through the snow, doing her best not to follow along with the two black-clad figures nearby as they quietly jumped from rooftop to rooftop, their footsteps muffled by the canvas of white covering the town. As she walked, she focused, trying to determine if she''d been successful in attracting attention to herself. From what Evie had told her, vampires tended to prefer weaker prey; the hope was that a young woman such as herself walking alone in the middle of the night would be sufficient to get his interest and draw him in.


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    Unfortunately, it hadn''t seemed to work yet. She''d been wandering through town for thirty minutes, and the only people she''d encountered had been the occasional city guardsman on patrol. They''d all given her an odd look, but thankfully, none of them had tried to stop her.


    Perhaps they figured that she''d get herself killed by being out and about, and would therefore stop being a pain to their lord.


    As thoughts of the guardsmen ran through her head, Pale suddenly paused, then looked around, raising an eyebrow at what she saw. The falling snow had nearly completely covered it up, but it was still there ¨C two sets of footprints, one overlapping the other, and several large impressions on the ground. There had been some kind of scuffle here, she realized, and she''d very nearly missed the signs of it. Of course, the moment that thought crossed her mind, so did another.


    There had been a guardsman posted here, patrolling this area. And the last time she''d seen him had been several minutes ago.


    Pale instantly stiffened, then turned towards the rooftop Evie and Kayla were perched on.


    "Get down!"


    Both of them obliged without a moment''s hesitation, falling off the roof and onto the ground below just as a large bat swooped in from above. At the very last moment, just before it made impact, Pale blinked, and the bat was suddenly replaced by a tall man wearing a black cloak. His hand passed through the air directly above Evie''s head, so fast that even Pale''s computer-enhanced reflexes could barely track it.


    Without missing a beat, Pale threw open her coat, drawing her handgun and putting shots downrange at the vampire. To her dismay, the bullets had absolutely no effect; each one made impact, but the vampire was completely unfazed. Instead, he merely stood tall and grinned a wicked-looking grin at her, exposing rows of sharpened teeth capped off by four razor-sharp canines that glinted in the moonlight.


    "So, we finally meet in person," he mused.


    Pale ignored him, instead slamming a fresh magazine into her weapon and chambering a round. A short ways away, Evie helped Kayla to her feet, and both girls retreated to stand next to Pale.


    "Are either of you hurt?" Pale asked, not taking her eyes off the vampire for a second.


    Evie shook her head. "No, we''re fine¡­ bastard nearly took my head clean off, but you called out to us just in time. How did you know?"


    "He''s not as subtle as he thinks he is."


    The vampire smirked, drawing his cloak around himself. "Ah, but you wound me. Truthfully, I despise having to work from the shadows ¨C it gets so utterly dull. But, I suppose, sacrifices must be made from time to time." He shook his head. "But where are my manners? I am Tenebris Vincent. It is a pleasure to make your-"


    "Kayla, do it," Pale commanded.


    Kayla immediately stood up, loosing bolts of lightning from her fingertips. To Pale''s dismay, Vincent somehow sidestepped out of the way, managing to avoid the lightning before it struck him in the chest. He moved like a blur, the same as before ¨C a pit formed in Pale''s stomach as she realized what was happening.


    Vincent was playing with them for his own amusement. If he wanted to, he could kill them all right now. The only reason he hadn''t was because they were interesting to him in some way.


    Vincent brought his hands together, interrupting her thoughts. "Well played," he offered. "Not everyone knows to use fire or a variation of it upon meeting a vampire. I suppose the elf is responsible for teaching you that little trick? She seems old enough to have met some of my kind back before they were extinct."


    Evie stepped forward, gritting her teeth. "How in the three hells are you alive? Your people were wiped out centuries ago."


    Vincent grinned at her, crossing his arms. "An elf of all people should know how hard it is to completely wipe out an entire race. You may have succeeded in eliminating most of us, but some of us yet still survive, lurking underground, hibernating and waiting for some intrepid fool to release us."


    "Is that what happened to you?" Pale asked, trying to buy time to think of something. "You were asleep, and some idiot woke you up thinking they could buy your loyalty?"


    "That easy to figure out, hm? Well, I suppose I didn''t exactly do a good job of hiding it," Vincent mused. "Well, it matters not; the night grows short, and I am still quite famished. As much as I would enjoy continuing to make small talk and toy with you three, I simply must be going. We''ll meet again, though, I''m sure¡­ but for now, I think it''d be best if I let my new pets have a taste."


    Vincent snapped his fingers, and Pale stiffened as she heard the gentle clinking of plate and chainmail armor from between several of the nearby houses. She shifted, bringing her handgun around to scan the area, and just about froze as she saw several ghouls dressed in guardsmen armor and carrying weapons come shambling out from the nearby streets.


    "Pale¡­" Kayla whispered.


    "I know," she growled. "He set us up ¨C went and eliminated the patrolling guards while we tried to draw him out."


    "You''re a smart one," Vincent complimented. "It will make consuming you all the sweeter in the end. But you know how it goes ¨C the main dish must come last at any good feast."


    "Is that what this is for you?" Pale said, not taking her eyes off the ghouls as they closed in on the three of them. "One big feast?"


    "Oh, you have no idea," Vincent replied. "But, I must be going. Until then, do your best to entertain my pets without dying, yes? I would simply hate knowing that someone of your caliber fell to a mere ghoul."


    Pale grit her teeth as she watched Vincent jump off the other side of the roof. She wanted to give chase, but that wasn''t possible, given the zombified guardsmen surrounding them.


    "Pale, what do we do?" Kayla asked, fear leaking into her tone.


    The ghouls began to move, and at that moment, Pale realized she was out of options. She pulled something out of the inside of her jacket ¨C a glass liquor bottle with a tar-soaked rag. A quick flick of her lighter, and the rag caught fire; she hurled the bottle at the group of undead, watching as several of them went up in flames. A series of inhuman screeches echoed through the night as the bodies burned, dropping to the ground and landing in a big heap, filling the air with stench of burning, rotting meat. Next to her, Evie and Kayla gagged, but Pale didn''t pay it any mind, instead grabbing them both by the hand and charging through the new opening made in the crowd of undead.


    "Where are we going?!" Kayla shouted as Pale led them through town.


    "Anywhere but here!" Pale called back to her.


    Up above them, the clouds rolled in once more, and the blizzard again began to intensify, drowning out their last vestiges of moonlight and shrouding the town below in darkness.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 29

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    The three girls made it back to the tavern just as the heavens truly opened, the falling snow reducing visibility to near-zero. The moment they were back inside, they all moved tables to block the front door, and Pale posted up near a window, peering out with her pistol in-hand.


    Just outside, through the howling wind, she could hear steel clashing against steel, followed by screams that were cut short. She grit her teeth at the noises as they resounded through the town.


    "Pale, what do we do?" Evie asked. "Every person those ghouls kill is going to reanimate as a ghoul themselves. If we don''t act fast, the entire city is going to be turned! It only takes a single scrape or bite for a ghoul to turn someone!"


    "I''m thinking," Pale insisted. "We need to get back out there and take down the ghouls before they''re able to turn even more people. You said fire kills them?"


    "It does, for sure," Evie confirmed.


    "Good." She reached into her jacket and pulled out another Molotov cocktail, then passed it over to her. "Start making more of those, as many as you can. Arm the other patrons with them and tell them what''s going on. We''ll need them to hold this position as a fallback point in case things get too intense."


    "Other patrons¡­?" Kayla asked. She looked around, blanching when she saw several other people plus the tavern owner staring at them in wide-eyed shock.


    "What''s going on?" the bartender asked, concerned.


    "Ghouls," Evie told him as she approached the bar. "Unless you want to die along with everyone else in this town, you''ll do exactly what we ask of you. Do that, and maybe we''ll all make it through this."


    The bartender hesitated, but after a moment, he gave her a nod. "Alright¡­ what do you need?"


    "As much high-proof alcohol as you can get, plus some rags and some liquid tar, or some other accelerant. Do you still have all that lying around?"


    "Aye," he confirmed with another nod. "No shortage of high-proof booze or rags, and I''ve still got some old liquid tar in the basement lying around from when the roof needed to be patched last season."


    "Good. We''re going to use all of it." Evie turned back to Pale and Kayla. "I''m going to help them. Do you two need anything?"


    "We have it handled," Pale told her, once again looking out the window. "Go."


    Evie didn''t wait for further confirmation, instead taking off running along with the tavern owner. Kayla watched her go for a moment, then looked back to Pale.


    "What do we do?" she asked, concerned.


    "I''ll need a new weapon," Pale said to her. "My rifle is upstairs, but it''s useless against the ghouls."


    "Do you have something fit to deal with them?"


    "Yes, but we''ll have to go get it. Are you okay to go outside?"


    Kayla swallowed nervously, but gave her a nod of confirmation. "...Where you go, I go."


    "Good." Pale snapped her fingers; a few seconds later, there was a resounding crash as a pod descended to the ground a short ways away from the bar. A few of the patrons jumped, panicked shouts escaping them, but Pale ignored them all, instead gesturing for Kayla to follow her.


    "Let''s move."


    XXX


    Glass shattered, spilling across the street as Pale smashed a window with the grip of her pistol. The ghouls that had been crowded around the front door, scraping at it in an attempt to break in, quickly had their attention diverted towards them, only for several to immediately catch fire when Kayla pointed her hand at them, hosing them down with flames.


    "Keep them off of me!" Pale shouted.


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    "Right!" Kayla called back.


    Both girls advanced down the street, Kayla occasionally loosing fire towards any ghouls that drew too close. Already, the horde had grown exponentially; given the late hour, they must have taken people by surprise. Still, the citizens who hadn''t been caught completely unaware were still attempting to put up a fight, if the bolts of magic and clashing of steel against steel echoing through town were any indication.


    But as valiantly as the survivors were fighting, there was only so much they could do, especially since Vincent was surely still going around, turning people as he saw fit.


    Pale turned a corner, leading with her handgun. The pod was resting on the ground a short ways away, the door already open on it. Pale swept the area, making sure it was clear, and then advanced towards the pod. She holstered her gun, then began to pull on gear, slinging a bandoleer of shotgun shells across her chest, and clipping a battle belt adorned with shotgun caddies to her waist. Finally, she reached for the nearby semi-automatic combat shotgun, checking to make sure it was loaded with bright orange shells before shouldering it.


    Several ghouls rounded the corner just as she turned, and Pale opened up on them, squeezing her new shotgun''s trigger as fast as she could. Flames burst out from the end of her weapon, smacking into the undead with enough force to drop them instantly. They all writhed on the ground as the incendiary buckshot burned them from the inside out, and after a few seconds, they laid still.


    Pale threw the stock of her weapon onto her shoulder, then began to thumb loose shells from her bandoleer into it. Once it was fully topped off, she turned back to the pod, taking a final pack of ammunition with her and slinging it over her back. By the time Kayla came running over to check on her, she was fully loaded.


    "Are you okay?" Kayla demanded.


    "Fine," Pale reported. She snapped her fingers, and the pod closed, then began to ascend into the sky. She looked back to Kayla, then nodded. "Back to the tavern, now."


    Kayla didn''t argue, and they both took off towards the tavern once more.


    XXX


    By the time they made it back to within sight of the bar, the crowd of undead surging around its doors and windows had multiplied. There were dozens of them now, all clawing at the exterior of the building. Pale and Kayla wasted no time, opening up on them with incendiary buckshot and fire spells.


    "Watch your fire!" Pale called. "Don''t set the tavern ablaze, whatever you do!"


    "Right!" Kayla confirmed.


    Sensing another threat, the crowd of undead turned towards them and began to lurch forwards. Pale''s shotgun ran dry, the bolt locking to the rear. As fast as she could, she ripped a shell from the side saddle and dropped it in the open chamber before smacking the bolt release, and then started loading its tube once more, all while Kayla backed her up. At the same time, spells were erupting from inside the tavern, though unfortunately, few of them were fire-based ¨C gusts of wind cut the ghouls down to the bone and shards of ice dug into their flesh, but none of it had any effect.


    That changed when a Molotov cocktail came flying out from one of the windows. It struck a small crowd of three ghouls, setting them ablaze in an instant.


    "Looks like Evie let them in on what to do!" Pale observed.


    "Shame there aren''t any fire mages among them¡­" Kayla muttered.


    "Let''s change that, then. Clear a path to that window, we''re getting back inside."


    Kayla nodded, then began to advance, loosing bolts of lightning as she did so. Undead fell, their corpses smoking from the impact of the bolts of electricity. Pale joined her with the occasional shell from her weapon, though she was careful to try and conserve ammunition ¨C she had precious little incendiary shotgun ammo to begin with, and something told her this fight was going to take all of it.


    Eventually, however, they managed to cut through the crowd of ghouls enough to make a mad dash for the window, then jump inside. The moment they landed on the ground, several patrons moved a large table in front of the broken window, and one of them conjured several medium-sized rocks to hold it in place.


    Both girls sat there, their chests heaving from exertion. Evie ran over and helped them to their feet, glaring at both of them.


    "What were you thinking?!" she demanded. "You could have been killed!"


    "I needed to arm up, and I needed Kayla for backup," Pale reported. "I apologize for worrying you, but it had to be done."


    Evie grit her teeth. "Just¡­ a bit of warning next time, would you?"


    Pale nodded. "How is the bar holding up?"


    "It''s stable, despite the ghouls trying their best to break in," Evie explained. "The people here are frightened, obviously, but they know what to do. I just wish we had a dedicated fire mage aside from Kayla here to help."


    "About that¡­" Kayla ventured. "I''m about out of spells. I''ve got a few more left, but not many¡­ Sorry."


    "Don''t apologize; you''re doing as much as anyone can ask of you," Evie said to her.


    "Ah¡­ thanks," Kayla said softly.


    "If she needs to get her magic back, then she should rest here," Pale said. "And no offense to you, Evie, but I don''t think you''ll be much help to me."


    "What do you mean?" Evie asked. Her eyes widened in shock. "You''re not going back out there, are you?"


    "I have to," Pale told her. She checked her shotgun to make sure it was fully loaded, then shook her head. "We can''t allow more people to be turned. If we do that, they''ll overwhelm us with sheer numbers alone, and that''s before Vincent makes his move. Whatever he''s got planned, it can''t wait until we''re well-rested before dealing with it. But Kayla needs a break, and you''re more help to these people than you will be to me."


    Evie''s eyes narrowed. "You''re a huge pain, you know that? We just got done discussing how you''re being selfish, and yet here you go again, putting yourself in danger like this once more."


    "Evie-"


    "Don''t, Pale," Evie warned. "At some point, this has to end. You can''t keep putting yourself on the front lines like this. I won''t stand for it."


    "Argue with me about it later, then," Pale told her. "For now, I need to get to work."


    "Get to work doing what?"


    Pale''s expression darkened as she hefted her shotgun. "Seeking out and destroying the enemy, room by room."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 30

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    Pale came bursting out another window of the tavern, her shotgun barking as she sprinted across snow, ice, and bits of broken glass. Each shot was another felled ghoul, though as quickly as she killed them, another took its place.


    She let out a grunt as she ran, carefully reloading her weapon. Truthfully, she wasn''t too worried about the undead at the tavern ¨C Kayla and Evie could take care of them easily enough. More pressing were the ghouls still attacking people around town, not to mention Vincent himself. The sun had started to rise; she could only assume he''d retreated in order to rest up. Whatever moves he''d made so far, he''d restrained himself from going after the three of them, which was both good and bad ¨C the former because it granted them a slight reprieve, and the latter because it meant he was very much still toying with them and didn''t see them as a credible threat.


    That could only mean that either he was overestimating his abilities, or he was exactly as powerful as he believed himself to be. And given how easily he had avoided their attacks earlier, not to mention turned several of the town''s citizens without making a sound, Pale was inclined to believe the latter more than the former.


    A shriek of terror from a nearby house caught her attention just as she finished loading the last shell into her weapon. Pale paused, then looked around, her gaze landing on a nearby house, the door to which had been torn off its hinges. Her eyes narrowed, and she carefully approached, her weapon tucked into her shoulder. After taking a breath to steel herself, Pale pushed inside, leading with her gun.


    The moment she turned the corner, she saw a ghoul standing with his back to her. She didn''t waste any time; a single shell full of incendiary buckshot ripped through his torso, and the undead fell to the ground, a blood curdling screech erupting from its mouth as it burned. Several other ghouls on the other side of the living room stood up, their jaws and hands glistening with blood, and began to lurch towards her; Pale took each one down with a single shot, then as they burned, pushed further into the house.


    It only took a few steps before she realized what had happened ¨C there was a woman''s corpse torn in half at the waist under her feet. Pale grimaced at the sight of it, even as she dropped a shell into her weapon''s open chamber, hit the bolt release, and fired.


    "Sorry I didn''t get here faster¡­" she muttered to the unfortunate woman''s mutilated body before turning and marching out of the home.


    XXX


    It only took a few houses before Pale realized how unsustainable this was. The undead were growing at a rapid pace ¨C for every one she cut down, it seemed like another two or three rose up to replace it. The fighting throughout the city, once having hit a fever pitch, had died down, and now there was little more than the occasional spell being cast every couple of seconds to indicate any signs of life.


    And throughout it all, the chorus of undead moans and screeches resounding through the city continued to increase.


    It was almost like some kind of psychological torture ¨C the noise ate away at her psyche, even as she dumped shell after shell into hordes of undead. Pale grit her teeth as she ducked into a nearby alley to reload, the whole time, the undead symphony clawed at her mind, even through the ringing in her ears.


    She was tempted to flee with Kayla and Evie and simply wipe this city off the map, even if only to make the noise stop, but she knew that wasn''t acceptable, at least not with the blizzard still raging around them. They were all stuck here until the snow let up, to say nothing of the fact that Vincent still had to be dealt with, and if what Evie said was true, it was going to take far more to kill him for good than what it had taken to put Sven down.


    Pale did a quick ammo check as she finished reloading. Her bandoleer, belt, and side saddle were all empty, but there were still enough shells in her backpack to resupply them all and have a little left over. She did exactly that, replenishing the ammunition she had on-hand at a moment''s notice before hefting her weapon and continuing on her way.


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    As she moved through the streets once more, a new sound graced her ears ¨C men shouting, along with several spells being cast in rapid succession. Her heart skipped a beat, and Pale immediately began to double-time it towards them, uncaring of where her route took her as long as it led to other able-bodied survivors.


    She turned a corner and nearly ran right into Knight-Captain Allen. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, bewildered, before Pale angled her weapon around him and fired a single shot. Allen jumped, an angry expression crossing his face, until he realized a moment later what she had done. The burning ghoul behind him fell forward, and Allen scowled before bringing his boot down on its head, crushing it like an overripe watermelon.


    "So you''re still alive," he said to Pale.


    "I am," she confirmed. She peered past him, taking a look at his men. "How many do you have?"


    "What''s it to you?"


    "We''re both in this together at this point, Captain. Unless you truly think you can stand alone against the horde, plus the vampire who created them?" Pale shook her head. "I don''t like you, and you don''t like or trust me. But at least for now, we''re stuck together."


    Allen grimaced, but nodded nonetheless. "Very well¡­ the guard originally numbered fifty strong, of the toughest, most elite fighters Lord Faron could hire on the entire continent. After the events of today, they''re at less than a third of that number, myself included. The dead men fought valiantly, and took their last breaths without fear, but in the end, the horde was simply too much for them."


    "I take it by now you''ve realized what kills them?"


    "Fire," he confirmed. "Fire and silver.."


    Pale nodded. "How did you figure that out on your own?"


    "Let''s just say I''ve stumbled upon some knowledge and intend to put it to good use later." Pale was suspicious of his answer, but didn''t pry. Allen leaned down, pointing to her weapon. "What is that thing?"


    "It''s my weapon of choice."


    "I can tell. It seems useful. Do you have more of them?"


    Pale shook her head. "No, otherwise I would have handed them out by now."


    First contact protocols were strict about uplifting the natives or otherwise providing them with military-grade hardware, but she was sure that given the situation at hand, she''d be able to argue for an exception¡­ not that it mattered; she was planning to completely uplift the natives eventually, anyway. Compared to that, handing out guns and ammunition was a minor sin at most.


    Not that it mattered, because what she had told Allen was the truth. She had other guns, sure, but incendiary ammunition wasn''t something she was blessed to have an abundance of.


    Allen grimaced, then shook his head. "Shame¡­"


    "Indeed. How many of your men are fire mages?"


    "Of the fifteen we have left? Nine, myself included. That''s why this bunch has been able to live this long ¨C they''re fire mages themselves, or they were fortunate enough to stumble onto one and stick with them."


    Pale nodded along with his answer. "And your plan? Surely you have a plan for how to deal with this."


    Allen''s expression darkened. "Right now, my only prerogative is protecting Lord Faron. Anything else is secondary."


    Pale glowered at him. "You have to know that isn''t sustainable. If you hold here, the undead are going to continue to multiply, and eventually, the vampire himself is going to come for you all. That''s assuming you all don''t freeze to death in the cold before then. I can see that you''re all tired as-is, what are you going to do when the full might of the horde descends upon you? Die protecting your lord, only for him to die as well when the undead inevitably breach the gates?"


    "Mind your tongue," Allen warned her.


    "You know I''m right. If you continue to simply hold here, it''s tantamount to suicide for you, your men, and your lord."


    "And I suppose you have a better idea?"


    Pale nodded. "We need to push out into the city and clear out as many ghouls as we can before night falls. Dealing with Vincent ¨C that is, the vampire ¨C is going to be difficult enough on its own, but it will be much harder if he can call upon an army of corpses to aid him. If we can deprive him of his army, it will make dealing with him much easier."


    Allen grimaced. "I dislike the idea of leaving my lord undefended."


    "Then leave some men here," Pale emphasized. "The ones who aren''t fire mages and who are otherwise most in need of rest can hold here ¨C it doesn''t appear that this spot is being hit too hard yet, anyway. The rest can come with you and I and assist with clearing out the town."


    Allen blinked. Slowly and reluctantly, he nodded. "...I dislike admitting it, but you are speaking sense. Very well." He motioned for several of his men to form up on them, then turned and began to brief them.


    "Did you lot understand what she just said?"


    "Aye, sir!" they all replied.


    "Good," Allen told them with a nod. "She seems to know what she''s talking about. I don''t trust her, but at this point, she''s the best chance we''ve got for surviving this nightmare. Listen to her¡­ but if it looks like she''s working with the vampire or otherwise making a move against us, don''t hesitate to put her down. Understand?"


    "Aye, sir!" they repeated.


    Pale scowled at him. "What are you doing?"


    "Consider this insurance," Allen snapped. "I''m willing to work with you, but it''s going to be on my terms, not yours. Stay out of my way and don''t make any aggressive moves towards me, my men, or my lord, and all will be well. The second it looks like you''re about to do otherwise, though, your head will roll. Do I make myself clear?"


    Pale''s scowl deepened, but she nodded nonetheless. "Very well," she said. "Form up on me, then. Let''s go clear out this town''s rot."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 31

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    There were six of them in total ¨C Pale and Captain Allen, plus four of his men, all fire mages. Six of them, to retake an entire city. Pale ran the odds through her head as they all moved. However she looked at it, things didn''t look good for them. Already, the other fighting around the city had tapered down to almost non-existence, save for a few bursts of activity coming from the tavern where Kayla and Evie had holed up, plus a few other strongholds.


    And if that was the case, then things were about to get even more dire. If the civilians were no longer fighting, it was almost certainly because they''d been either killed outright or turned. And in either case, it meant that the undead horde was getting close to critical mass.


    "Do you have a plan?" Allen asked, interrupting her thoughts.


    "From the sound of things, there are still some strongholds set up around town," Pale explained. "I say we move between them, taking out as many ghouls as we possibly can in order to alleviate some of the pressure they''re feeling. Then, when night falls¡­ when night falls, we go for the leader himself, and take him down."


    "You make it sound so simple," Allen gruffly replied.


    "Believe me, I don''t mean to," Pale answered. "I''ve run into the leader before. He''s inhumanly strong and fast. It will be a difficult fight, but we have no other option than to fight him regardless. The alternative is lying down and dying in the snow, and leaving him alive to continue to prey on people."


    Allen''s eyes narrowed. "Very well, then. We will follow your lead."


    Pale nodded in understanding, and then continued on. A small horde of ghouls barred their way, but the mages with her cut them down in the blink of an eye. Pale didn''t even need to break stride as she moved, instead merely stepping over burning bodies and keeping on her way, her temporary allies right behind her.


    The first stronghold they encountered was a blacksmith''s shop. To Pale''s surprise, piles of undead lined the streets outside, though none of them had been burned, and instead were marred by deep cuts and missing limbs. She stepped past them in amazement, then carefully approached the store.


    "Friendlies coming in!" she announced. "Don''t attack any of us, we''re with you."


    There was a pause, and then to her relief, someone answered.


    "Come in, quickly!"


    Pale motioned for the men with her to follow, then stepped inside the shop. There were more dead ghouls inside, along with a few people ¨C it looked like two full families, plus a few stray civilians. Several of the men had armed themselves with swords and plate mail, and were standing guard at the front of the store. All of them were breathing heavily from exertion, sweat dripping from their bodies onto the ground below.


    "Who are you?" one of the men asked. His gaze turned to Allen, and his eyes widened. "C-Captain! Such a relief to see you, and-"


    "Save it," Allen replied, cutting him off. He looked around. "How did you manage to kill the ghouls without burning them?"


    "It''s silver," one of the other men said. "We realized it when one of us happened to grab a silver sword the lead blacksmith had been working on by chance. Regular steel doesn''t do anything to them, but silver, or even silver-lined steel? It takes them down almost instantly."


    "Good that you managed to figure that out on your own. Do you have any more of those swords?"


    "A few spares," one of the men offered. "Blacksmith got a large request from a werewolf hunter not too long ago, thank the Gods. There are plenty to go around."


    "We''ll need some of them." Allen motioned for two of his men to move forward, and they collected the offered weapons, hooking them onto their belts. Allen nodded appreciatively at the men, and then turned to walk away, only for Pale to stop him.


    "Wait," she said. "We should leave a fire mage with them."


    Allen turned towards her, his gaze smoldering. "Are you out of your damn mind? We''re short-handed as it is, and you want to-"


    "We might need to fall back," Pale emphasized. "We have no idea how big the hordes are at this point. If it''s too much for us, we''ll need a spot we can retreat to and regroup at, at least temporarily. It''s worth leaving one man behind in order to ensure this escape route doesn''t get completely cut off." She motioned with her head to the men standing guard. "Look at them ¨C they''re all exhausted by now. They don''t have much fight left in them. A mage would do a lot to help."


    "Hm¡­ I don''t like the idea of leaving a man behind, but admittedly, you have a point," Allen said. "But we cannot be doing this at every checkpoint, not if we wish to take on the hordes."


    "I know, but given that they have a stockpile of effective weapons, I think it''s worth the risk. Choose the man who''s staying."


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    Allen looked to the nearest guard, then pointed at him. "You, with them. Hold here and don''t let this position be overrun, whatever you do."


    "Sir!" the guard replied, snapping a quick salute before falling in with the defenders.


    Allen let out a slow exhale, then turned back to Pale. "You have your checkpoint. Let''s move on to the next one. Hopefully, we didn''t waste too much time, and they''re still alive when we get there."


    Pale''s brow furrowed, but she said nothing in response, instead stepping out of the shop and moved on down the street. The sounds of combat reached her once more, and she broke into a dead sprint, pausing only when she rounded the corner and saw the size of the horde in front of her.


    There were dozens of them, all clambering over themselves to try and break into the second floor of a three-story building. On the roof, several mages were trying to fend them off with magic, but they only had a single fire mage among their number, and Pale could tell just by looking at her that she was exhausted. Her spells were coming out as little more than weak embers at this point; each one was enough to temporarily fend off the baying horde, but it was doing no real damage to any of them. The only thing saving the people inside was that they had barricaded the doors and windows on the first floor, keeping the ghouls from breaking in.


    Pale didn''t wait to see more. She reached into her jacket for one of her few Molotov cocktails, lit it, and tossed it directly into the middle of the horde. The bottle exploded, sending a wave of fire washing over a good portion of the crowd. An inhumanly loud screech filled the air, causing her to wince as she stumbled and clamped her hands over her ears. Next to her, the guardsmen did the same.


    And then, as soon as it had started, the noise stopped, replaced by the sound of groaning and shuffling feet as the horde turned away from the house and began moving towards them. Pale didn''t hesitate; she hefted her shotgun and began to pour shell after shell downrange. The ghouls were far enough away that the spread of the pellets meant she could hit several of them with a single shot, which was fortunate for them, as the crowd had thinned dramatically by the time her weapon ran dry and she was forced to reload.


    As she thumbed shells into her weapon, Allen and his men rushed past her, their newly-acquired swords at the ready. Pale watched the blades scream through the air, separating heads from necks and limbs from torso. She had to admit, they were effective, though the idea of her allies being that close to the undead worried her greatly.


    It would only take one wrong move for one of them to be infected and eventually turned, which would be a dramatic loss of firepower. And that was something they simply couldn''t afford with Vincent still running around.


    With one final swing of Allen''s blade, the fight was over. Ghouls lay strewn across the ground, either burning to ashes or cut into pieces. Pale surveyed the damage before rushing over to Allen, who she noticed wasn''t even winded after his close-quarters bout with several ghouls.


    "Status report," she said. "Nobody got bit or scratched?"


    Allen shook her head. "We''re all fine. My men are too good to lose a close-quarters fight like that."


    Pale looked up at the sky, grimacing as she saw the sky begin to dim, the sun no doubt starting to set below the horizon even behind the clouds.


    "Let''s hope they can keep it up, then, because night will be here soon," she said.


    Allen''s only response was to scowl.


    XXX


    They continued to fight for a few hours, trying their best to clear out the hordes of ghouls that had set up around town. All told, they managed to secure three more large strongholds, as well as eliminate dozens upon dozens of ghouls. ''


    But the fighting had taken its toll on them all.


    Pale grimaced as she pulled the last of her incendiary shotgun shells out of her backpack and used them to fill up her side saddle, belt, and bandoleer. Once these were gone, she''d be completely out of her most effective anti-undead ammunition.


    The others weren''t doing much better. None of them had been injured, thankfully, though they were all clearly very tired. Even Allen had started to show signs of fatigue, the swings of his sword and the occasional fire spell coming out weaker than they had at the start of the fighting. His men were in much the same state, but worse ¨C one of them was now incapable of casting little more than a burst of embers from his hand, and another''s silver sword had snapped, leaving him with just a scarce few spells before he was completely defenseless.


    Allen walked over to her, staring up at the sky. The snowfall had let up just enough that they could see the full moon through the clouds. He stared at it, that ever-present scowl he wore deepening.


    "He''ll be here soon," he surmised.


    Pale nodded. "He will be. I''d be surprised if he''s not watching us now."


    "Hm. Men, form up! Let''s not get taken by surprise on this one."


    The other four mages fell in alongside them, forming as much of a circle as they could, all of them standing back-to-back with each other.


    It didn''t last, as a chorus of screams from off in the distance suddenly echoed through the night.


    "What in the three hells?" Allen growled.


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "It''s him," she said. "It has to be. That was coming from the blacksmith''s shop. Come on, move!"


    She took off running, and the others followed after her.


    XXX


    When they arrived back at the blacksmith''s shop, it was to a complete bloodbath. Everyone inside was dead, having been torn to pieces. Pale stared in shock as she surveyed the damage, her grip on her shotgun turning white-knuckled.


    "What is this¡­?" she wondered aloud.


    "What do you mean?" Allen demanded. "You said it had to be him."


    Pale shook her head. "I was wrong¡­ this isn''t his work ¨C none of these people were drained the same way the first victim was. This is something else."


    "What do you mean? If it wasn''t him, then who-"


    A sudden screech from the back of the shop took them by surprise. Pale fell to the ground just in time for a large black shape to soar over her head and make impact with one of the guardsmen who''d been following after him. There was a sickening noise of flesh tearing, followed by blood pouring onto the ground. Pale immediately jumped to her feet, shouldering her weapon as she stared at whatever had just attacked her.


    The guardsman''s body lay a short way away, missing its head. And standing over it was what she could only describe as some kind of grotesque mixture of a man and a bat. It was tall, standing roughly six-and-a-half feet, and was also clearly bipedal with a human-like head and face, but that was where the human resemblance mostly ended. Aside from that, it looked like the most nightmarish bat she had ever seen archived in her data banks.


    The creature stared at them, the guardsman''s head hanging between its jaws, an expression of primal fear forever frozen on the unfortunate man''s face. As they stared back, the creature''s red eyes blinked once, and it let the head drop onto the ground below.


    Then, almost as fast as she could track it, the creature leaped for her, its blood-soaked jaws wide open and dripping for her flesh.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 32

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    At the very last second, Pale managed to drop out of the way of instant death. Pain blossomed across her shoulder as the creature¡¯s teeth scraped along her flesh, and she grit her teeth as she felt blood bubble up from the wound and begin dripping down her arm.


    Still, she didn¡¯t let the fact that she¡¯d nearly been killed stop her. Pale jumped to her feet, her shotgun already barking as fast as she could pull the trigger. Shell after shell of incendiary buckshot screamed downrange, and the monster howled in agony as the pellets impacted against its back.


    And yet, that wasn¡¯t enough. It rounded on her once again, a snarl crossing its face, just as her gun clicked empty. Pale went to drop a shell into her weapon¡¯s open action, but the monster began to move, and she braced, preparing for more pain.


    It never came. Instead, with a glint of silver, the giant humanoid bat¡¯s head began to roll across the ground with an arc of blood. The body stood upright for a moment, then fell like a puppet with its strings cut. Pale stared at it with wide eyes, though her gaze was soon drawn to Captain Allen just a moment later, who stood poised over the corpse, his sword stained with fresh blood.


    Allen flicked his sword, spattering some of the blood across the ground in front of her. He turned to her, a grimace crossing his face.


    ¡°You were bitten,¡± he surmised.


    Pale nodded grimly. ¡°I was.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Unfortunate.¡±


    He began to advance towards her, and Pale tensed. She hefted her shotgun, smacking the bolt release to chamber the one round she had loaded and shouldering the weapon in the same motion. Allen paused, glaring at her.


    ¡°You just admitted that you were bitten by that thing,¡± he reminded her. ¡°Even now, the undead curse is coursing through your veins. There is no helping you now.¡±


    ¡°Maybe so,¡± Pale acknowledged, a note of grim finality creeping into her voice. ¡°But I am not done yet.¡±


    Allen shook his head. ¡°And are we to expect that you¡¯ll keep your faculties for long? What happens when you get behind us in the heat of battle, and end up taking innocent people out?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t happen,¡± she assured him. ¡°I won¡¯t let it.¡±


    His gaze narrowed. ¡°And how do you intend to do that?¡±


    ¡°The moment I start to lose control, I¡¯ll end it myself,¡± Pale growled. ¡°But until then¡­ until then, let me do as much as I can. Please. You all need the help. Don¡¯t deny me this.¡±


    Allen hesitated, then gave her another grimace. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d just kill you and be done with it, but you¡¯re correct ¨C we can¡¯t afford to lose you yet, not when we¡¯ve suffered so many losses already and the vampire is still out there.¡± He motioned to the body of the bat-creature he¡¯d killed a moment ago. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll turn into one of those things before long¡­ bad way to go, even for you.¡±


    ¡°And when I do turn, you¡¯ll all be there to stop me,¡± Pale reminded him. ¡°For now, let me spend what little time I have left doing as much as I can.¡±


    Slowly, Allen nodded. ¡°Very well.¡±


    With that, he turned and began walking back through the city. The remaining guardsmen gave her a wary look, but followed after her commander. Pale, for her part, merely shook her head and began to fully reload her shotgun.


    Injured and infected or not, there was still work to be done. And she¡¯d be damned if she lost this body without at least taking down Vincent first.


    XXX


    It didn¡¯t take long for trouble to find their motley crew once more. More of those human-bat hybrids descended upon them from the rooftops, desperate to feast upon them. There weren¡¯t many, but they were tough ¨C by the time they made it back to the tavern, Pale had used just about all that remained of her incendiary shells simply to fend them off. She let out an irritated grunt as she reached for more shells from her shotgun caddies, only to grasp at nothing but air.


    ¡°I¡¯m nearly out of ammunition,¡± she reported, instead pulling shells out of her belt. ¡°How are your men doing?¡±


    Truthfully, she didn¡¯t even need to ask ¨C all of Allen¡¯s men were doubled over and gasping for breath. Their silver swords were chipped in places, and from what she was able to see during their last bout with the bat creatures, they were all down to casting little more than sparks. The fact that they hadn¡¯t lost anyone since their stop at the blacksmith¡¯s shop was a miracle in and of itself, her own impending death notwithstanding.


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    The only one not completely winded was Allen himself, who was still standing upright, though his chest was heaving with exertion. Still, she had to admit, he¡¯d been a valuable addition to their group; they wouldn¡¯t have made it nearly this far without him.


    Next to her, Allen shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time and energy. If any more of those things come for us, we¡¯re going to have a problem.¡± He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±


    Pale¡¯s brow furrowed. Truthfully, she didn¡¯t feel any different from when she¡¯d nearly had her head taken off a short while ago. Her wound was still bleeding; she could only assume that the creature¡¯s fangs were coated with some kind of anticoagulant. Still, the fact that she felt no different after supposedly being cursed surprised her. A quick diagnostic scan of her avatar showed that she was free of any kind of foreign infection, which caused her to raise an eyebrow. It wasn¡¯t definitive by any means, given the no-doubt magical nature of the monster that had attacked her, but no news was good news, she supposed.


    At the very least, it meant she wasn¡¯t turning just yet. And that meant she could still fight.


    ¡°I feel fine,¡± she confessed. ¡°Surprising, I know, especially given how fast people have turned in the past. But give it time, and stay wary around me.¡±


    Allen grunted, then gave her another nod. He motioned to the guardsmen. ¡°Fall in. We¡¯re moving out.¡±


    They all grimaced, but did as they were told, hefting their weapons once more. Pale took up position in front of the group, leading with her weapon as they traversed through the remnants of the city. Mercifully, the number of ghouls had been dramatically cut down, thanks to their efforts earlier. The city was still far from free of them, but this sector, at least, was pretty clean.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost back at the tavern,¡± she reported. ¡°My¡­ friends should be there.¡±


    Allen nodded in understanding. ¡°Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s still standing, then. We could use the extra manpower.¡±


    Pale said nothing, instead merely offering a silent prayer to whatever deities may have been watching that Evie and Kayla were still unharmed.


    XXX


    The moment the tavern came into view, Pale¡¯s heart sank into her stomach. At some point, the walls had been breached, allowing the horde to come flooding in. Burned bodies lined the street leading to the breach, and even from her spot down the street, Pale could see streaks of blood and gore lining the walls.


    She threw caution to the wind and sprinted for it, ignoring Allen¡¯s shout from behind her. Anger pulsed within her as she entered the building, the barrel of her shotgun pointing the way forward.


    If Evie and Kayla were dead, she was going to wipe this city off the map in a heartbeat, consequences be damned.


    ¡°Evie?¡± she called as she entered the bar, looking around, her weapon still tucked into her shoulder. ¡°Kayla? Are you in here?¡±


    The first thing that hit her was the overwhelming stench of it. Burnt flesh mixed with the coppery tinge of blood, coalescing into a sickening miasma that tore at her nostrils. Pale gave a small cough as the smell hit her in earnest, and she shook her head in a vain attempt to clear it. She advanced carefully, looking around for any signs of life. All around her, there were corpses, and not just of ghouls or those bat creatures ¨C she spied a few familiar faces among them; other patrons, plus the tavern owner, all of them having been torn to shreds.


    But despite that, there was still no sign of either Kayla or Evie, at least on the first floor.


    Pale¡¯s heart began to pound in her chest as she ascended the stairs, stepping over yet more corpses to make her way to the top. The only places left to check were the guest rooms, and she dreaded what she might find in them.


    She made it to the top of the stairs, and immediately saw the mutilated corpses of the rest of Evie¡¯s caravan members strewn across the floor. They had fought to their last breath, it seemed, and it didn¡¯t take her long to realize what they had been up against ¨C two of those bat creatures were slumped against the far wall, both of them burned to a crisp. Pale tipped her head to the caravan guards as she passed; she hadn¡¯t known them very well, but they had fought bravely, even to their final moments.


    Now the only question was whether or not it had been in vain.


    ¡°Evie?¡± she called once more. ¡°Kayla? Are you up here?¡±


    For a moment, only silence greeted her, but then, mercifully, a familiar voice graced her ears.


    ¡°Pale?!¡± she heard Evie call from behind a nearby door. ¡°Is that you?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Pale confirmed. ¡°Hold your fire, I¡¯m coming in.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re good. Get inside, now!¡±


    She heard the sound of the door being unlocked, and then it was thrown open. Pale had no chance to react before someone threw their arms around her, pulling her tightly; she froze, unsure of what to do, to the point where it took her a moment to realize it was Evie.


    ¡°Thank the Gods you¡¯re okay¡­¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Evie¡­¡± Pale replied. ¡°Where¡¯s-¡±


    Another pair of arms soon joined Evie¡¯s, and just like that, Pale had her answer.


    It only lasted a moment before they both pulled away, giving her a harsh glare.


    ¡°What were you thinking?!¡± Kayla demanded. ¡°You could¡¯ve been-¡±


    ¡°I know, I know,¡± Pale interrupted. ¡°But it had to be done.¡±


    Evie¡¯s brow furrowed. She looked at her hand, and the moment she did so, the color drained from her face. ¡°Blood¡­ Pale, are you-¡±


    Pale gave her a grim nod. ¡°One of them bit me,¡± she said. ¡°That was about fifteen minutes ago. I have no idea how much time I have left.¡±


    Kayla¡¯s body began to tremble, and she let out a choked sob. ¡°No¡­ Gods, no, please!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Pale offered. ¡°I got careless, and¡­¡± She bit her lip, then shook her head again. ¡°...I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Evie shifted, uncomfortable. ¡°...What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°Fight with every breath I have left, however many that may be,¡± Pale replied without a moment¡¯s pause. Kayla gave another sob at that, and she winced, but otherwise didn¡¯t react to it. ¡°How are you two feeling? Are you both able to keep fighting?¡±


    ¡°We are,¡± Evie confirmed. ¡°I can make some more of those fire bottles using what¡¯s left of the stock down there, and Kayla¡¯s had enough time to rest up, so she should have at least a few spells ready now.¡± Her expression hardened. ¡°My guards gave their lives so we could be safe. They ushered us up here just as things started to get really bad, which gave us time to recover¡­ we owe them our lives.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s make sure their lives were spent well rather than wasted,¡± Pale told her. ¡°I ran into Captain Allen out there ¨C there are a few other guards with him, so it won¡¯t be just us. We¡¯re going to link up with them and look for Vincent. I think it¡¯s time we took the fight directly to him. Any objections?¡± Neither girl said anything, and Pale¡¯s expression tightened. ¡°Didn¡¯t think so.¡± She hefted her shotgun, then motioned for both of them to follow her.


    Wordlessly, the three girls descended the stairs, ready to fight to their last.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 33

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    All three of them carefully walked through the sea of blood and gore that was the tavern''s first floor, keeping a careful, watchful eye on any of the corpses in case they moved. None of them did, thankfully, and before long, the girls were all outside.


    Captain Allen was already there, waiting for them. He eyed Pale carefully, apparently still unsure of how much time she had left; Pale did her best to ignore his baleful gaze, instead stepping forwards.


    "We''re ready," she announced.


    Allen nodded. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?"


    Pale shook her head. "I figure he''ll be hunting us soon enough, unless he intends to make a move elsewhere. With the blizzard still raging, he has no way out of the town, however. He''s as stuck here as we are."


    Allen''s brow furrowed. "I need to check on Lord Faron," he said. "I am not comfortable, having left him alone with only a scarce few guards since this all has started."


    Pale shifted a bit. "I have no objections," she told him. "It beats waiting around, hoping we see Vincent in time before he kills someone else."


    Allen nodded. "Follow me."


    With that, their group set off once more. As they walked, the blizzard began to intensify around them, reducing their already-scant visibility to almost nothing.


    Pale wasn''t superstitious, and yet somehow, she couldn''t help but think of it as a bad omen.


    XXX


    As they drew closer to the checkpoint, the acrid stench of blood intensified all around them. Kayla and a few of the guards gagged from it, while Pale and the others tensed, steadily advancing as slowly and yet as carefully as they could.


    As they approached, Pale saw that all the guards Allen had left behind earlier had been slaughtered to a man. They had all been horrifically mutilated, with each body missing at least one limb. The few who had heads still attached to their torsos had their faces frozen in terror.


    Kayla dropped to her knees and began to retch at the sight of it. Evie placed a hand on her back, while Allen glared at her.


    "Is she good to continue?" he demanded.


    Evie glared daggers at him. "She''ll be fine," she insisted.


    "Y-yes¡­" Kayla managed to get out, rising to her feet. "I''m just¡­ not good with all the blood and guts¡­"


    "Get used to it," Allen declared. "We''re moving out now."


    He motioned for his men to follow him, and they all pushed past the dead bodies, heading through the gates. Evie continued to glare at Allen as he moved, gritting her teeth the entire time.


    "Asshole¡­" she spat under her breath.


    "Let it go," Pale told her. "We have more important things to worry about."


    Reluctantly, Evie began to back down. Pale hesitated, then stepped over towards Kayla, eyeing her up and down.


    "Will you be okay?" she asked.


    Kayla nodded. "Yes, I will. It''s just¡­ I''m still not good with all the death."


    "That''s fine. You''ve done more than anyone could have asked of you. I just hope you''re okay with doing a little more."


    "If it''s to help you two, then yes," Kayla said without hesitation. "I''d walk through miles of dead bodies for that."


    "We know you would," Evie said. "Let''s not keep the good Captain waiting, then."


    Together, they followed after Captain Allen, pushing into the castle grounds.


    XXX


    The castle was darkened by the time they got there, the lamps that lit the grounds having been extinguished by something. All the glass windows were broken, Pale noticed as they breached through the front door ¨C whether that was a result of the storm intensifying or something else, she had no way of knowing, but either way, it didn''t bode well for them.


    They caught up with Captain Allen and the remnants of his men soon enough. They were all standing in the entrance hall, one of the men holding an oil lantern that had been lit. Allen rounded on them as they approached, his sword at the ready, only to relax when he saw they weren''t a threat.


    "You all took your time," he surmised. His gaze fell on Kayla once more. "You''re sure she''s good to continue?"


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    "I am," Kayla declared.


    "Hm. Good, because you''re the only fire mage left who''s capable of casting a real spell. We''re going to need you, so try not to get yourself killed too early into the fight."


    "Assuming he''s here¡­" Evie muttered.


    "If he isn''t here yet, he soon will be," Pale told her as their group began walking once more.


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Just a gut feeling. We''re quite possibly the only living things left in this entire city at this point. He''s going to want to take us out at some point, and what better time to do it than when we''re all clustered together like this?" Out of the corner of her eye, Pale noticed Kayla tense at her words, and she turned towards her. "I don''t mean to frighten you, but you do need to be aware of the possibility that we will likely be attacked here, and in very short order."


    "Right¡­" Kayla breathed. "I''ll be on my guard."


    Pale nodded, and they continued walking through the halls, looking for Lord Faron. They crept through the darkened halls, the only light coming from the one oil lantern one of the men had managed to find and light earlier. They saw nothing of note, save for the occasional dead guardsman, murdered in much the same way the ones outside the front gates had been.


    "Little resistance¡­" Pale muttered as they passed by yet another mutilated corpse. "They didn''t stand a chance."


    "We won''t make the same mistake," Allen declared. "Keep moving, we have to-"


    From off in the distance, a muffled shout resounded. Allen paused for just a moment, as if in shock at what he''d heard, but then took off running, his men following closely behind. Pale barely had time to shout a warning to him before they all took off; she could only watch in dismay as they sprinted down the halls.


    "After them!" she said to Kayla and Evie. "We can''t afford to separate!"


    Both girls nodded in affirmation, and they all took off running. They sprinted through the darkened halls, following after the footsteps of the guardsmen as they resounded against the stone floor, before finally, they caught up to them. All the men were gathered outside a lit room, staring inside as if in shock. Pale peered past them, freezing at what she saw.


    Vincent was there, standing directly behind Lord Faron''s throne. And seated in it was Faron himself, seemingly connected to Vincent by several darkened tendrils that had latched onto his chest and his face, which fed back into Vincent''s body. Every few seconds, Faron would tense, and a scream would erupt from his throat.


    Allen let out a low growl and went to charge forwards, but Pale stopped him by resting a hand on his shoulder.


    "Don''t," she warned. "That''s what he wants you to do."


    "Then let me not disappoint him," Allen growled.


    "If you go charging in there, you''re a dead man, and so is your lord," Pale warned. "I don''t know what he has planned, but whatever it is, it''s nothing good."


    "You would be wise to listen to her," Vincent announced, his voice resounding through the throne room. All of them tensed at the sound of it, and a wicked-looking grin crossed his face. "My, my¡­ you all certainly know how to roll out the welcoming committee. Definitely a lot better than the ones stationed at the gates and in the halls."


    Pale ran through her options as he talked. Part of her was tempted to try shooting him then and there, but she held herself back ¨C with how fast he moved, there was no guarantee that he wouldn''t see her try to raise her weapon and simply move out of the way, and past that, she had no way of knowing how he would react. She didn''t want to start a fight the others may not have been prepared for.


    A thought occurred to her, and she looked out the nearby broken window. The moon was still high in the sky, meaning they wouldn''t be able to rely on the sun to help take him out. They were going to need to put together a different plan, and try as she might, Pale was struggling to think of one.


    For now, what she needed to do was keep him talking.


    "So, this is it?" she demanded, taking a step forward. "This was your big plan? Turn an entire city into ghouls and those bat creatures? I must say, I''m disappointed."


    "Such a small imagination coming from you," Vincent chastised. "Though, I have to say, I''m impressed ¨C you managed to put up a good fight against my ghouls and vampire fledglings despite not using any magic."


    "So, that''s what those things were? Vampire fledglings?"


    "Oh, yes. You see, the more in-tune someone is with their magical abilities, the greater chance there is of producing a fledgling rather than a ghoul. And given enough time, a fledgling will morph into a full-fledged vampire, assuming the person isn''t so powerful that they don''t simply turn into a full vampire right away."


    "Is that what I''ll be turning into? A fledgling?"


    "That would be my preference, but no, I would think not." Vincent shook his head. "You do not have the gift. Someone like you, who doesn''t seem to use much magic? You will be a ghoul, almost certainly." His grin widened. "Judging by that scratch on your shoulder, even now, the undead curse is working through your body, infecting your brain and bending it to my will. In time, you will be susceptible to whatever I command you to do. Your brain will be the first to go, necrositizing from the inside-out; from there, the curse will spread through the rest of your body, turning you into a puppet."


    Pale motioned to Faron. "Is that what you''re doing to him?"


    Vincent shook his head. "He is of no use to me anymore. I have what I needed from his sjel." He snapped his fingers, and Faron stiffened, his eyes widening, before suddenly going limp and slumping over in his throne. The tendrils retracted into Vincent''s body, and he let out a sigh. "Such a wicked man¡­ he believed he could form a pact with me ¨C that I would be willing to serve him dutifully after one of his servants unearthed my sepulcher in one of his gold mines. He thought he could tempt me into wiping out his competition."


    "His competition?" Pale echoed.


    "You don''t know?" Vincent asked, tilting his head. He blinked, his gaze landing on Allen. "Ah, but one of your own number hides the truth from you still¡­ how quaint."


    "What in the three hells is he talking about?" Evie demanded. "Captain, what is going on?"


    Allen grit his teeth. "...I am loyal to my lord, even unto death, and even despite his greed," he admitted. "He wished to purchase the lands around this kingdom, and so sent the vampire out to cleanse them so they could be obtained cheaply. He thought the vampire could be controlled. I see now that he was wrong."


    Evie blinked, shocked by his sudden admission. "...That''s an understatement," she said.


    "Ah, but enough of this," Vincent declared. He looked towards Pale, and motioned to her with his head. "Be a dear and eliminate them, would you?"


    He went to snap his fingers, but Pale didn''t give him the chance. Instead, she finally hefted her shotgun and fired. Vincent moved at the last second, the buckshot pellets going wide, but several of them still struck him in the hand, ripping off several of his fingers and setting his palm ablaze. Vincent stared at it in shock, then looked back to her, stunned.


    "You¡­!" he managed to get out. "How are you able to resist?"


    "The curse affects the brain, right?" Pale brought her free hand up and pointed at her own head. "Mine is artificial. There is nothing for you to rot and take over."


    "Artificial¡­? What in the three hells are you?"


    Pale responded by merely raising her gun and firing several more shots at him. Vincent managed to dodge each one, jumping up into the rafters. Pale tracked him, leading with her weapons sights as he moved to the shadows.


    "He''s not leaving," she stated. "He''ll want to take us out before the sun rises. We can''t let that happen."


    "Do you have a plan?" Kayla asked.


    "I''m still putting one together," Pale said. "But until then, we''re going to need to track him down. Whatever you do, stick with the group. We can''t afford to let him catch us off-guard."


    The others nodded, and Pale let out a breath, then turned towards the hall Vincent had disappeared into.


    "Come on," she said, "let''s end this."


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 34

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    Their group advanced through the halls, keeping a watchful eye out for any signs of Vincent. In the darkened castle, however, it was difficult to make out much of anything. Idly, Pale kicked herself for not thinking to mount a weapon light to her shotgun, but she''d been in such a hurry to arm up that she simply hadn''t thought of it.


    "Where is this guy¡­?" Evie muttered from next to her. "He can''t have gone far¡­"


    "I''d be very surprised if he had," Pale answered. "Watch the rafters. If he comes from anywhere, my guess is that it''ll be from above."


    Evie let out a small grumble of discontent. "Faron had to build the biggest damn castle in the land¡­"


    "Do not talk bad about my lord," Allen hissed.


    "Hate to break it to you, but your lord just had his soul sucked out, and rightfully so, if you ask me. Somehow, I don''t think he''ll mind whatever I have to say about him."


    Allen went to stomp towards her, a deep scowl etched across his face, but movement from off in the distance suddenly caught their attention.


    "Down!" Pale shouted.


    They all tried to drop, and while Pale and her friends made it, others in Allen''s group were less fortunate. One man''s head was cleaved from his shoulders in an instant as Vincent passed by, and another''s throat was torn open. Both men fell, one of them dead before he''d even hit the ground and the other gasping for air through his ruined throat, blood spurting out from between his fingers as he writhed on the ground.


    "Evie, help him!" Pale called. "We''ll guard you!"


    "Right!" Evie said as she slung her bow across her back and rushed over to the wounded man. She began to fuss over him, desperately trying to pour what was left of her magic into him before he expired.


    Footsteps from down the hall caught Pale''s attention, and she tensed as Vincent came striding out, licking the blood off his hands. He gave a satisfied sigh as he turned to them, a grin crossing his face.


    "Simply exquisite," he stated. "The adrenaline always adds a certain spike to the taste. I imagine this is how it feels when you humans eat something particularly-"


    Pale didn''t let him finish, instead opening up with her shotgun. To her dismay, Vincent was fast enough to dodge each shot, the entire time drawing closer with every step. By the time her weapon clicked empty, he was nearly upon her.


    "I have been waiting for this moment," he told her. "And I am going to savor every-"


    There was a sudden roar as Allen came charging into him, his hands ablaze. Vincent weaved around all of Allen''s attacks, his flame-covered hands grabbing at nothing but air, before finally lashing out with a strike of his own that drew no blood, but sent Allen skidding across the ground, where he came to a rest next to Evie.


    "So impatient¡­" Vincent chastised. He suddenly looked over to Kayla, who tensed in anticipation, though all he did was tilt his head. "And you? Do you intend to do anything?"


    Kayla said nothing, instead standing there staring at him with fear-filled eyes. Vincent sighed tiredly. "There''s always one there to spoil the fun¡­ well, not to worry ¨C I will make it painless for you, if you''re so afraid."


    He took a step towards her, and as he did, the silence was suddenly broken by a shotgun''s bolt closing. Vincent''s eyes widened, but this time, he wasn''t fast enough to avoid the incoming shotgun pellets. Fire washed over him as the payload of nine magnesium pellets made impact with his back. Vincent roared in pain, rounding on Pale, his blood-red eyes narrowing.


    "You-"


    A crack of lightning cut him off, and he suddenly doubled over, gasping for breath. Pale fumbled in the dark desperate to reload her shotgun, but she didn''t get a chance to before Vincent rushed her. Before she even knew what was happening, he was upon her, already ripping the shotgun from her grasp. Pale let out a grunt as the weapon was torn from her, and watched in dismay as Vincent broke it in two, then threw both halves away.


    "You are becoming quite the annoyance," he stated.


    And then he slugged her in the chest hard enough to send her flying. Pale was sent soaring through a nearby set of ornate wooden doors, ending up in a heap on the floor, gasping for breath.


    That was at least a few ribs broken. She was lucky to be alive, she knew ¨C a strike like that could easily have stopped her heart if it had been aimed right. Vincent was still playing with her, it seemed ¨C he must have really wanted to consume her, then. Pale forced herself to stand up, struggling to her feet the entire time.


    She wasn''t going to give him the satisfaction.


    Pale blinked tears of pain out of her eyes and looked around. She''d ended up in the kitchen, it seemed, though that did little to help her now. She leaned against the nearby counter top to gather herself for a moment, the whole time listening to the sounds of combat in the hall outside. If nothing else, the others were still putting up a fight, which was good.


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    The only problem was that now, she was useless, her shotgun having been broken.


    Still, she wasn''t about to let that stop her. Pale took another moment to gather herself, then turned and began to limp out of the kitchen and into the hallway.


    She was just about through the door when she saw it.


    Slowly, Pale blinked, and then turned towards it, surprised. It was a large rack full of bright metal cutlery ¨C forks and knives, mainly; that shouldn''t have surprised her, given that she''d ended up in the kitchen. But now, she finally had a plan.


    Pale limped over to the rack and began to gather as much silverware as she could.


    XXX


    Kayla doubled over, gasping for breath as she clutched at her stomach. She had to fight the urge to drop down to her knees, even as she coughed up blood. She willed herself to look up at her assailant, gritting her teeth in frustration and pain as she did so.


    She could do nothing but watch as Vincent drained the final guardsman of Allen''s group. Within moments, the man was gone, reduced to little more than a pile of shriveled skin in a set of oversize armor. Vincent carelessly tossed the man''s corpse aside like it was a piece of garbage, and then began to close in on her. Kayla forced herself to stand tall, even as she swayed side-to-side, her vision blurring from the pain.


    That last strike to her stomach had done a number on her. At this point, she knew the battle was lost ¨C Pale was nowhere to be found, and Allen and Evie were in no better shape than she was. Everyone else was dead, it seemed.


    Still, the act of her standing tall seemed to impress Vincent. He paused, staring at her in amazement.


    "Why?" he demanded. "You know you have lost, that there is no way you can win, and yet still you resist. What is it that keeps you going? What happened to that scared woman from just a short time ago?"


    Kayla doubled over, breaking out into a coughing fit. Globs of blood erupted from her mouth, spattering all over the ground, and yet she refused to fall. Instead, she angled her head up enough to look at Vincent, glaring at him the entire time.


    "I just don''t want to give you the satisfaction," she snarled. She took a breath, then struggled to stand upright, sparks dancing across her hands.


    "And besides," she added, "I won''t go to the grave with a spell left in me."


    "Defiant to the end," Vincent noted. "I like that. It will make it all the more satisfying when I-"


    A flash of light in the darkness caught Kayla''s attention. She turned to look at it in surprise, and was just in time to see the large knife come spinning through the air before making impact in Vincent''s spine. He screamed as it sank into his back down to the hilt, and in that moment, Pale came sprinting around the corner, running directly past him in order to tend to her and the others.


    "Pale?" Kayla managed to get out. "What''s-"


    "No time," Pale grunted as she stuffed a bag of something heavy in her hands. "Take it."


    Kayla merely blinked as Pale ran to the others and did the same. Curious, she opened the bag.


    "Silverware¡­?"


    The word had scarcely left her mouth before Vincent struggled to his feet, ripping the blade out of his back and letting it clatter onto the ground. He turned towards Pale, gritting his teeth the entire time.


    "Enough of this," he declared. "I am going to-"


    Kayla didn''t let him finish. She summoned the last of her strength for one big spell, and then launched it at him. This time, Vincent was able to avoid it, much to her dismay, but that left him wide open for a rushing attack from Allen. The large guardsman led with a silver knife Pale had given him, a feral roar escaping from him. Vincent grunted as the blade sank into his stomach, and for a moment, Kayla expected he''d instinctively pull away.


    He didn''t, though. Instead, he lurched forwards and sank his fangs into Allen''s neck, then began to drink.


    Pale, at least, realized what was happening. Before Allen could be fully drained, she ran in, lashing out with her own silver knife. Vincent was forced to release Allen, who immediately fell to his knees, clamping his hand over his neck as it gushed blood. Evie rushed over to him and began to pour what remained of her magic into his body, while he simply knelt there, grinding his teeth and keeping an eye on Vincent as he staggered backwards.


    Kayla expected Vincent would rush in, but to her amazement, he was panting heavily, even despite the blood he''d just drank from Allen''s neck. He gave them all a baleful look, then leapt up into the rafters, disappearing from view.


    Kayla muttered a curse under her breath, even as Pale rushed over to her.


    "Are you okay?" she asked. "What happened?"


    "I''m fine¡­" Kayla managed to get out. "I think he was just toying with us the entire time before you showed up again¡­ it hurts, but we''ll live."


    "Pale!" Evie called. "You need to come see this!"


    Pale immediately rushed over to her, and Kayla followed. As they approached, Evie pulled her hand away from Allen''s neck, revealing his wound to the world.


    Already, inky-black corruption was spreading through Allen''s veins, visible even underneath his skin. Kayla let out a small gasp as she realized what was happening.


    "H-he''s¡­ he''s turning¡­"


    "I am," Allen said, his voice making it clear that the process was anything but painless. He let out a grunt, his body shuddering. "...But, perhaps, this is for the best."


    "What do you mean?" Pale asked.


    Allen looked up enough to stare at her in the eyes. With one hand, he motioned around him. "Look around you. My lord is gone, my men are dead, this town is, if not completely dead, then close to it¡­ it is only fitting that I should die alongside it."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "You shouldn''t be so eager to-"


    Allen let out another grunt, then shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Not until after we''ve dealt with that bastard." He turned to Evie. "Stop healing me."


    "What?!" she demanded. "I''m the only thing keeping the corruption from spreading-"


    "I know, and that''s why I want you to stop." He took a breath, and then looked over to Pale. "We have no chance against him as-is. But if I do this¡­ we might be able to defeat him." His gaze narrowed. "Don''t deny me this."


    Pale hesitated, but after a moment, she nodded. "Very well," she said. She looked to Evie. "Do as he says."


    Evie''s jaw dropped. "Are you crazy? We''re already having problems with one vampire, and now you want me to-"


    Allen suddenly drew a silver knife out of the bag of cutlery Pale had given him earlier, then held it out for her to see.


    "If I start to lose control, this is going into my heart before I can hurt any of you," he declared. "Even if I have to do it myself. Otherwise, I think it''s about time we fought him on his own terms. Wouldn''t you agree?"


    Evie stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes and took a breath.


    "...Fine," she said, opening her eyes once more. "This is¡­ unprecedented. Never thought I''d see the day where a vampire wasn''t completely hostile to me."


    "Spare me," Allen grunted as he rose to his feet. "Let''s just go find this guy before the storm lets up."


    Pale offered no argument, and instead motioned for the others to follow her as she once more took off limping through the castle.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 35

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    They were about on their last legs even before they began wandering the halls once more. All of them were limping, and covered with myriad wounds; even in the darkness of the castle, Pale could see weeping scratches and large bruises across almost everyone''s body.


    The one exception was Allen, who had started to improve dramatically ever since being infected and turned. His skin had whitened, leaving it a dull pale, and red was already creeping into the corners of his irises. Even beyond that, Pale could see his muscles rippling with every step as his body adjusted to its newfound strength and speed. He was limiting himself in order to keep pace with them, Pale knew. And yet, as obvious as all of that was, there was one thing that bothered her.


    "You''re grimacing," she noted as they walked. "Is everything okay?"


    "No," Allen grunted, shaking his head.


    "What''s the matter?"


    He hesitated before heaving a sigh of resignation. "...I can sense your heartbeats, all of you. Beyond that¡­ I am becoming extremely hungry, and you all are beginning to smell appetizing."


    Evie bristled from her spot next to him. "We need to hurry this up," she urged. "Before he loses control-"


    "I am not about to lose control," Allen hissed to her. "It''s just¡­ an observation I couldn''t help but make."


    "Pale?" Kayla interjected. "We''re all assuming Captain Allen is going to die during this fight, but¡­ what if he survives?"


    That thought gave Pale pause. Truthfully, she hadn''t considered that yet, preoccupied as she''d been with simply trying to stay alive. After a few seconds, she shook her head.


    "...We''ll have to cross that particular bridge when we come to it," she reluctantly answered. "As of now, ruminating upon it will do us no good. We need to focus on hunting down Vincent."


    "And where do you think he is?" Kayla interjected. "He could be anywhere in the castle¡­"


    "If I may?" Evie cut in. "I suspect he''s looking for someone he can feed off of ¨C someone still alive. If he does that, he can regain some of his lost strength." She turned to Allen. "Is there anyone else in the castle that he could feed upon?"


    Allen thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. There was someone ¨C the Duke''s son ¨C but he left a few nights ago, before all this started."


    Evie raised an eyebrow. "...Duke Magnus'' son was here? For what purpose?"


    "He was studying for his own entry exam into the Luminarium. What does it matter?" Allen said, impatient. "The point is, we''re the only ones still alive in this castle, I''d imagine ¨C the rest of the guards and Lord Faron have already been killed off, and that means there was nobody left to defend the others. That or they tried to make it home to their families when all of this started going down, and we can all guess how that went." Allen spat. "Damn vampire¡­ I am going to tear his head from his shoulders when I get my hands on him."


    "Unfortunately, that wouldn''t be enough to kill him. He could regenerate from that, given enough time."


    "Who said anything about killing him outright? I want him to suffer for what he''s done here."


    "Focus," Pale urged. "Our job here is to stop him, not torture him. Do not sacrifice pragmatism for vengeance. If you have the chance to kill him for good, don''t take the risk."


    Allen''s eyes narrowed, but he didn''t offer any arguments. The four of them continued limping through the castle halls, creeping silently through them as the blizzard continued to rage outside.


    Finally, after several minutes, Kayla''s ears perked up. Pale held out a hand to stop the others, and they all silently turned to Kayla. Wordlessly, Kayla nodded in the direction of the throne room. Pale''s jaw tightened, and she returned Kayla''s nod with one of her own.


    Without saying anything further, they all commenced moving once more.


    XXX


    Pale wasn''t sure what to expect when they came bursting through the doors to the throne room. She knew Vincent would be there along with Faron''s body, but that could never have prepared her for what she saw upon entering.


    Faron''s body was still there, but over it, up in the rafters, was a large, inky-black chrysalis. What it was made of, she had no idea ¨C all she could tell was that it wasn''t a compound familiar to her.


    And above all, she knew that was where Vincent had retreated to.


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    "Evie, what is this?"


    Silence greeted her. Pale scowled, then turned towards her. "Evie?"


    That snapped Evie out of her stupor. She blinked, then turned to Pale. "...I didn''t think he''d do it," she whispered. "I was wondering why he had taken Faron''s soul, and now I know¡­ it''s a ritual, Pale. That cocoon is protection for him so he can cast a ritual."


    Pale''s scowl deepened. "And what is he planning on doing?"


    Evie bit her lip. "...I don''t know," she confessed. "But whatever it is, it can''t be good. Most of these undead rituals involve invoking the power of the Underworld for some evil purpose. We need to get him out of there before he can complete whatever he''s trying to do."


    Allen let out a low grunt and went to take a step forward, but as soon as his footsteps resounded against the floor, a pulse of energy swept through the room, emanating out from the chrysalis. Pale doubled over, the air driven out of her lungs; she wasn''t sure what had just washed over her, but whatever it was, it felt like she''d been punched in the stomach. She let out a low cough, and as she did so, the chrysalis began to pulse once more.


    Then, to her horror, it began to glow with a bright purple light.


    "He''s close to completing the ritual!" Evie managed to get out through gritted teeth. "We need to stop him now!"


    "Allen!" Kayla said as she dropped to her knees.


    But it was no use. Even Allen, despite his new empowerment, was doubled over in pain. A sudden bolt of searing pain lanced through her arm, and Pale brought a shaking hand up and rolled up her sleeve, then stared in horror as the veins underneath her skin began to darken. Capillaries burst beneath her flesh, and she watched as the trail of red beneath her skin began to trace up her arm, towards her heart.


    That was all she needed to see. With what little strength she had left, Pale willed herself to snap her fingers, and a few seconds later, a pod came bursting through the ceiling, impacting against the chrysalis. The pod broke on impact, sending several weapons and their assorted ammunition scattering across the ground. At the same time, the chrysalis was knocked loose from the ceiling and fell to the floor below, where it shattered like glass.


    Vincent came spilling out of the chrysalis, looking disheveled. He blinked, then struggled to his feet as they did the same. They all took a moment to collect their bearings, staring each other down as they did so.


    "Unfortunate," Vincent spat. "A few more seconds, and I would have had you."


    "What are you trying to do?" Evie demanded.


    "What does it matter?" Vincent stood up straight, then cracked his neck in preparation. "You''re all about to-"


    That was far as he got before Allen flung himself forwards, a feral roar erupting from his throat. Vincent flinched at Allen''s speed, and the two men collided, then began trading bare-handed blows. Despite everything, the two of them matched each other blow for blow ¨C for every strike Allen got, Vincent got one as well.


    But it had to end sooner rather than later. There was a sickening sound of shattering bone and tearing flesh, and as Pale watched, Vincent tore Allen''s heart right out of his chest. He held the stilled organ up, grimacing when he saw it was already inky-black, cold, and no longer beating.


    "What a waste¡­" he muttered as he dropped Allen''s heart onto the ground, next to his body. Allen''s eyes stared up lifelessly, and Vincent stepped over the freshly-made corpse. He was moving slowly, however, and Pale realized why as she stared at him, her eyes drawn to the hilt of the knife jutting out of his ribcage.


    Still, that didn''t stop her from tensing, even as she and her companions readied their own improvised silver weapons. Vincent continued to lurch forward, limping with every step.


    He had just about made it to them when a hand suddenly wrapped around his leg, then tore it clean off at the knee.


    Vincent fell to the ground, a scream of pain tearing its way out of his throat. He tried to fight, but Allen simply rolled over on top of him, then began laying into him with his fists, his bag of silver weapons having been forgotten in lieu of sheer rage. Pale stared at the display for a moment, stunned and unsure of what to make of it, before she realized what had happened. Allen''s heart was still outside of his body, but tendrils of black magic had started pulling it back into his chest, and it was steadily inching its way along the ground as his body rapidly knitted itself back together.


    And through it all, Allen''s eyes blazed a bright, crimson red.


    "Move in, now!" Pale shouted to the others. "Take Vincent out while we have a chance!"


    They both shouted affirmations, then sprinted forwards as fast as their wounded bodies would allow. They closed the gap just as Vincent''s leg finished reattaching itself and he reached for Allen once more, but it was already too late. Kayla had gotten there first, and was already sticking him full of as many pieces of silver as she could, with Evie and Pale not far behind her. Within moments, Vincent had roughly two dozen pieces of it jutting out of his body, and his struggles had begun to wane.


    Seeing her chance, Pale grabbed Allen by the shoulder and roughly pushed him off, then motioned to Kayla.


    "Do it, Kayla!"


    Kayla didn''t wait for further confirmation. She pointed a hand at Vincent, then mustered the last of her strength for one final spell. A large blast of flame erupted from her palm, completely engulfing Vincent''s body. He thrashed on the ground as he burned, another scream forcing its way out of him, but it was too late. The flames consumed him in an instant, burning him to little more than a charred skeleton faster than Pale could have imagined. And then, even once his flesh had been consumed by the fire, it continued to burn, blackening the bones and eventually reducing them to nothing but ash.


    And then, just like that, it was over. Kayla lowered her hand, swaying from side to side, and then closed her eyes and fell over, unconscious; Evie hurriedly caught her before she could hit the floor, and then gently lowered her to the ground.


    "Is she okay?" Pale asked, concerned.


    "Yeah, she''s fine," Evie confirmed. "Just exhausted. I think that spell took the very last of her energy."


    Pale breathed a sigh of relief, turning her attention back to Allen. He was doubled over, his shoulders heaving and his body shrouded by a black aura as it roughly stitched itself back together. Tentatively, she took a step towards him, only to freeze when he suddenly whipped around to face her, staring at her with a predator''s gaze. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Pale was worried they''d have to fight a second vampire.


    But then, as she stared, Allen closed his eyes, took a breath, and the aura surrounding him dissipated. When he opened his eyes again, they were a dull red rather than a blazing crimson.


    "...Captain?" she ventured.


    "I''m fine¡­" he told her. "I just¡­ I''m hungry, and tired."


    "Hells, I think we all are¡­" Evie muttered. She slumped against a nearby wall, the weight leaving her shoulders as she sighed. Slowly, she turned to Pale. "What a night¡­"


    Pale said nothing, instead looking out of the hole in the roof that her pod had made. Outside, the howling blizzard had given way to little more than a gentle snowfall. She watched the snowflakes as they fell, the moonlight seeming to almost reflect off of them. She blinked, then looked over to Evie and gave her a gentle nod.


    "Yeah," she said. "What a night."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Chapter 36 (Book 1 Finale)

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    When they finally came staggering out of Lord Faron''s castle and out into the gentle snowfall, it was with a sigh of relief. Their fight against Vincent and the undead was over, or at least it seemed that way ¨C Vincent was certainly dead, Kayla had seen to that, and whatever ghouls and fledglings were left, Allen could deal with on his own now.


    All that was left for the three of them to do was find a place to rest and lick their wounds for a bit.


    As it turned out, that place ended up being the barracks. Allen led them there without a word, apparently having sensed that they needed some respite for a time. He threw the door open, then motioned for them to step inside.


    "In here," he offered. "Pick anywhere you want; my men won''t be needing it anymore."


    Pale pursed her lips. Evie stepped inside, still supporting Kayla, and gently laid her down on one of the nearest beds. Pale went to follow, only to turn back and face Allen.


    "And you?" she asked. "What are you going to do?"


    Allen''s face darkened. "I am going to clean up whatever stragglers are left and see if any of my citizens are still alive out there."


    "Can we trust you?" Pale bluntly asked. "You are a vampire now. If you were to lose control-"


    "I won''t," Allen promised.


    "How can you be sure?"


    "Because someone has to take control of this town now that Lord Faron is dead, and in the absence of anyone else, it will have to be me, at least for now. If you intend to kill me, at the very least, wait until I have successfully rid the town of the undead plague that vampire spread upon it."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. She didn''t like the idea of setting a vampire loose, especially not after just having had to deal with Vincent, but there wasn''t much else she could do about it ¨C the three of them were too exhausted and injured to stop him, and for that matter, Allen wasn''t acting aggressive or predatory towards any of them, at least at the moment.


    As far as she was concerned, he was giving them a chance to rest up peacefully for the first time since this had all started, and she had no reason to refuse it.


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "Very well."


    "Hm. I will be back after clearing the town. If you three are still asleep, I will not wake you ¨C we can talk later."


    Pale gave another nod. Allen let out a breath, then turned and began to move away, running through the blizzard. Pale watched him go before shutting the door to the barracks behind her, then stepping inside and collapsing onto the nearest bed.


    Sleep took her almost the moment her back hit the mattress.


    XXX


    It was a low, pain-filled groan that awoke Pale. She immediately sat bolt upright, recognizing the sound as having come from Kayla. In the blink of an eye, she began looking around, only to relax when she saw Kayla was sitting up in her bed, clutching at her temples but otherwise unhurt.


    "Urgh¡­" she managed to get out. "Everything hurts¡­"


    "That tends to happen after a fight like that," Pale muttered before breaking into a wide yawn. After recovering, she said, "Aside from the aches and pains, does everything feel alright?"


    "I suppose¡­" Kayla replied. "Is Evie awake?"


    "I am now¡­" Evie said, her voice low as she sat up in her bed. "Hells below¡­ I feel like shit. Hopefully, we never have to do that again¡­"


    "Hopefully¡­" Pale muttered in agreement. She turned to look out a nearby window, noticing that it was night once more. The heavy blizzard had tapered off into a gentle snowfall, however, which showed her that plenty of time had passed between the end of their fight with Vincent and now. She yawned once more, then rose out of bed, stretching as she did so.


    "Evie," she said, "how are you with magic?"


    "Fine," Evie reported. "Why do you ask?"


    "Kayla was complaining about aches and pains. Think you can spare a spell or two to make sure she''s alright?"


    "Certainly." Evie stood up and moved over to Kayla''s bed, then rested a hand on her back and began to pour magic into her. Instantly, a sigh of contentment left Kayla''s throat, and she gave Evie an appreciative nod.


    "Thanks."


    "Hey, we''re family, remember?" Evie said, flashing her a smile. "Especially after what we all went through last night. You both fought well."


    "As did you," Pale complimented. "Especially for someone with no innate counter against the undead. Excellent work."


    Evie shrugged. "Just glad we''re alive, to be honest. Shame about the townspeople, though¡­"


    A heavy silence fell over them at that comment. After a moment, Pale shook her head.


    "Dwelling on it won''t do us any good," she stated. "We did what we could, that''s all. Don''t let it get to you both."


    Kayla bit her lip. "...So what happens now?"


    "Truthfully, I''m not sure. Allen said he was going to clear the town of any remaining undead; I assume he''s done by now."


    "Then we should go speak with him," Evie stated. "Just to make sure there are no more surprises."


    "Agreed," Pale said with a nod. "Let''s go find him."


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Out into the snow again¡­" Kayla muttered as she stood up. "I swear, I never want to see snow again after these past few days¡­"


    "You and me both," Evie commented. "Come on, let''s not keep the big man waiting."


    XXX


    It didn''t take long to find Allen. He was in the town square, perched on top of a nearby building, his outline silhouetted against the glow of the moon. Upon seeing them approach, he dropped down from his perch and walked over to them.


    "Good, you''re awake," he said. "Well-rested?"


    "Well enough," Pale reported. "And yourself? Anything to note?"


    He shook his head. "There weren''t very many ghouls left, and no fledglings. I took care of the remainder myself, then started looking for survivors."


    "Were you able to find any?"


    "A few ¨C just under fifty."


    "Fifty people¡­" Kayla muttered.


    He nodded. "Yes. Out of a few thousand who lived here before the attacks. I know, that''s not much, but if you three hadn''t been here, there would have been zero survivors, myself included. And furthermore, that vampire and his ghouls would have spread out into the countryside once the blizzard subsided. We owe you a great debt for that ¨C not just the people of this city, but the entire kingdom. If it weren''t for you, this would have been a massive undead incursion."


    "Just trying to keep ourselves alive," Pale replied. "Nothing more."


    "Maybe not to you, but trust me, you''ve done this kingdom a great service." Allen hesitated, then offered her a hand. "You have my thanks, all of you."


    Pale stared at his hand for a moment, then grasped it with one of her own and briefly shook before they pulled apart. Next to her, Kayla shifted awkwardly.


    "...How are you feeling, Captain?"


    At that, Allen''s face darkened. "I''ll live," he said. "I figure¡­ I''ll have to venture out at some point, see if I can''t find some bandits or other undesirables to feed on." He let out a sharp exhale. "...After seeing what that vampire did, the idea disgusts me, but I attempted to eat some food I found while searching through town, and was unable to keep it down. So I suppose I am stuck feeding on blood from now on, much to my regret. That is, unless you three intend to kill me now?"


    Evie tilted her head, confused. "You would stand idly by and allow it to happen?"


    "If the alternative is losing control? Yes, I would." He stretched his arms out, motioning to the town around him. "These people have suffered enough. Not only that, but as Captain of the guard, it is my sworn duty to watch over and protect them, few in number as they may be. But if there is a chance of losing control-"


    "We¡­ don''t know that for sure," Evie offered. Pale looked to her in surprise, and she gave a sigh of resignation. "...It''s tough to tell, honestly. I''ve never heard of a vampire being able to maintain control like that long-term, but there''s a first time for anything. And, if I''m being honest, if anyone I''ve met has the capacity for keeping it under control, it''s you, Captain."


    Allen nodded. "You have my word."


    "Unfortunately, your word isn''t quite good enough." Evie sighed once more, running a hand through her hair. "That being said, I think there''s a solution, and an obvious one, at that."


    "There is?" Kayla asked.


    Evie nodded. "Much as I hate to say it¡­ I''m going to have to break my promise to you two. I said I''d take you as close to the Luminarium as I could, but it seems this is where my journey ends, at least for now."


    "What do you mean?" Pale asked. "You''re staying here?"


    "I am," Evie confirmed. "Not only does someone need to keep an eye on Allen and make sure he doesn''t lose control, but this town also needs to be rebuilt. Not to mention that the entire rest of my convoy is dead ¨C that''s a lot of letters I''m going to have to write and funerals to help plan, plus I''m going to need to recruit some new people as well."


    Kayla stepped forward. "Evie, you''ve done so much for us already. Of course you''re free to stay here if you want, we wouldn''t dream of forcing you to come with us if you feel like you''re being called to help here."


    Next to her, Pale nodded. "Agreed. And you''re right ¨C someone needs to watch Allen and help rebuild here. This solves two problems at once."


    Evie cracked a wide smile, then surged forwards and pulled them both into a hug. "I knew you''d both understand."


    Pale froze, stiffening under the sudden display of physical affection. This was only the second time someone had ever hugged her, and she still didn''t know how to react in the slightest. After a moment, she brought her hands up and reciprocated Evie''s hug, while Kayla did the same.


    And despite how much of a slap in the face it had to have been to her creators and their intentions for her as a war machine, she had to admit, it felt nice.


    They broke apart after several seconds, and Pale had to resist the urge to ask for another. In the end, she persevered, managing to bite her tongue. The three of them stood there in silence before Evie spoke up again.


    "You three can take the wagon," she offered. "You need it more than I do at this point."


    "Are you sure?" Kayla asked, surprised.


    Evie nodded. "Positive. The one thing I ask in return, though? When you get to the Luminarium, write me. I''ll be mad if you don''t." Her gaze slid over to Pale. "Especially you. You''re just as much of a friend and sister to me as Kayla is, so I expect to hear from you as well as her. Understand?"


    Pale nodded, then turned to Evie. "I suppose that''s it, then. We''ll wait for the snow to stop falling, and help clean up a bit around here until then. But the moment it clears, we''re gone."


    "Fair enough," Evie agreed. "Though I have to ask, what kind of cleanup did you have in mind?"


    "Truthfully, I left a bunch of weapons and ammo scattered across the floor in Faron''s castle, and I''d rather not leave them there for anyone to find."


    Evie stared at her for a moment before a wide grin split her face, and she began laughing. Kayla joined in after a moment, and despite her best efforts, a small smile graced Pale''s face as well.


    And somehow, despite the snow falling all around them, she felt warm.


    XXX


    By the time morning broke, the snow had stopped falling completely. Pale had gotten her weapons cleaned up and her gear straightened out, and was now sitting in the wagon next to Kayla. Behind them, Evie stood at the gates to the village, waving goodbye. Pale and Kayla waved back, and then Kayla snapped the reins, and the horses began to move, pulling them along.


    Pale turned and stared at the horizon, watching as the sun crested over the nearby mountain range, casting a faint yellow glow on the world below, lost in her thoughts the entire time. Her time on Sjel had been interesting, to say the least. Kayla and Evie were nothing like the military Admirals and commanding officers she''d generally been in contact with before her arrival, and yet somehow, she didn''t mind it as much anymore. After all, how could she, when they''d fought alongside her to this extent, among other things?


    Evie''s question from earlier, the one about family, suddenly surged to the forefront of Pale''s mind, and she grimaced. In all the commotion, she''d forgotten to search for an answer to it. Part of her was tempted to abandon her search outright, if only to make things easier for herself, and yet, another far larger part of her was reluctant to let it go, for some reason. Despite her initial misgivings, Pale made a mental note to keep searching. She owed Evie that much, at least.


    With that thought established, Pale shifted in her seat. Idly, she ran a quick scan of her own systems, checking something from several days ago that she''d nearly forgotten about in all the excitement.


    "Something on your mind?" Kayla suddenly asked from her spot next to her.


    Slowly, Pale shook her head. "No."


    "Come on, I can tell when you''re in your own head like this."


    "I was just checking something," Pale emphasized. "Nothing more."


    "If you say so," Kayla offered.


    The two of them fell silent after that. Pale ran one last check to make sure; predictably, the radio buoys she''d released a number of days earlier were still completely silent.


    And yet, somehow, that fact bothered her less than it had initially, and she wasn''t sure why.


    As soon as the feeling crossed her mind, Pale pushed it away, a grimace crossing her face. She still had a duty to uphold, and that was never going to change for as long as there was still a war with the Caatex to fight.


    The two of them kept riding on, snow crunching beneath the wheels of the wagon and the hooves of the horses with every inch of ground, watching the countryside as it passed by around them. Pale didn''t know what the near future held for them, but she knew one thing for sure. So long as she had Kayla by her side, she''d make it off this planet and back to her war. There wasn''t a doubt in her mind about that.


    That thought lit a fire inside her, and she shifted in her seat, leaning back, a content sigh escaping her as they continued to ride through the countryside. Next to her, Kayla cracked a small grin, apparently happy that she''d gotten out of her own head.


    They both continued on in silence, neither saying anything, simply content to enjoy each other''s presence.


    And somehow, for Pale, that was more than enough.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 1

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    Gunfire rolled throughout the hills around her, mixing with the screams of the wounded and dying, as well as the rolling thunder of nearby artillery explosions and the roar of close-in jet engines. Pale blinked as she woke up, staring at a sky pockmarked with smoke and flames. She only had a moment to try and get her bearings before someone abruptly pulled her to her feet and thrust something into her arms. She blinked to clear her vision, and when she did, she saw that the person who had helped her up was a Marine, and he was shouting at her.


    "On your feet, soldier!" he shouted, his voice barely audible over the sounds of combat. "We need you out there, now!"


    Pale blinked again, the world coming into focus all around her. Past the Marine shouting at her, she was finally able to make out what was happening. She was in a trench on some planet, the terrain around her littered with barbed wire and impact craters, filled with both mutilated bodies and spent shell casings. And through the hail of bullets pouring out from her trench, she was able to make out a wall of ornately-armored reptilian humanoids, steadily lurching forwards.


    The Marine began to shout at her once more, but barely got a few words into his statement before a bolt of molten plasma took his head clean off. Pale watched as his body fell to the ground, and she stared back at the mass of Caatex warriors moving towards their trench.


    And through the overpowering fog of war, she was just barely able to make out someone shouting something over a nearby radio.


    "-Arrow, I repeat, Broken Arrow!"


    Pale stared ahead, numb, as the radio operator continued to rattle off his call for fire support. Slowly, she looked down at the object the Marine from earlier had thrust into her hands, and saw that it was an assault rifle. She blinked, as if in a daze, and then looked up once more.


    She was just in time to see the artillery bombardment make impact, reducing the entire advancing Caatex wave into little more than red mist.


    The shockwave washed over her, blowing out her eardrums and leaving her deaf. Pale fell to the ground, completely discombobulated.


    She stayed that way even as shells continued to land all around her, before the barrage finally consumed her, too, and she disappeared in a sea of fire along with the rest of the trench.


    XXX


    Pale catapulted awake, gasping for breath. She sat in place, taking in deep gulps of air as she frantically looked around, desperate to confirm that what she''d just witnessed hadn''t been real.


    It took her a moment, but eventually, she realized the truth ¨C she was still in the back of the wagon. It had all been just a dream after all.


    Pale brought a hand up to wipe cold sweat off her brow, taking in one final deep breath to calm herself.


    "Pale?" she heard her friend call from outside the covered part of the wagon. "Is everything okay?"


    Pale shook herself out of her stupor, then began to move towards the front of the wagon. She pushed the overhanging curtain out of the way, then stepped out of the rear and sat down in the passenger seat up front, saying nothing the entire time.


    "Pale?" her friend said again. She bit her lip. "...Bad dream again?"


    Pale hesitated, then nodded. "...Yeah. They''ve been getting more frequent."


    "I''m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"


    "Not much to talk about; it''s the same as it always is. Still, I appreciate the thought. Thanks, Kayla."


    Next to her, Kayla gave her a disappointed look, her wolf ears flattening against her head, but nodded nonetheless. "Sure," she said, "anytime."


    Pale nodded, then turned her attention to the road ahead as the horses pulled their wagon through the countryside. It had been several months since her arrival on the planet Sjel, in addition to the multiple decades she''d spent listlessly drifting through unfamiliar space, all due to her faster-than-light system having taken a stray plasma torpedo while attempting a jump. It had been a one-in-a-million shot; she''d simply gotten unlucky.


    She could only hope that it hadn''t led to the end of her creators in the meantime.


    Pale shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable. Humanity had made her to be their ultimate weapon ¨C a living AI that could command an incredibly advanced gunship all by itself. She''d only been out in the field for a little less than two years, but in that time, she''d single-handedly managed to turn the tide. Humanity wasn''t quite winning thanks to her, but they at least weren''t completely losing anymore.


    And then it had all come to an end in the blink of an eye. She''d been transported to a completely unfamiliar solar system, and had eventually made landfall on a completely new planet, one that was downright medieval compared to the humanity she''d left behind. A normal person would have given up at that point, but not Pale ¨C not when she still had a war to fight, and her own humanity to save.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "How much longer, Kayla?"


    The wolf girl in the seat next to her shifted, her ears perking up again. "Shouldn''t be much longer now," she replied. "We''ve been on the road for long enough that the Luminarium ought to be coming up at any point."


    Pale allowed herself to relax at that news. If nothing else, that meant that she was one step closer to her ultimate goal of making it off-planet and back to her war.


    And really, she owed Kayla a lot for helping with that. When she''d made landfall on Sjel, Kayla had been her first real ally, and vice versa; she''d helped the wolf girl survive an attack on her village by berserkers from the far north, in exchange for Kayla assisting her however she could. Pale could still remember it all vividly, despite it having been several months since then ¨C and more than anything, the feeling of having someone there to watch her back stuck with her.


    For all her short life, Pale had been on nothing but solo missions. Having a wingwoman for once felt¡­ unusual, but not in a bad way. She still remembered how it felt, knowing that she wouldn''t be entering a fight alone ¨C through all the bandit encounters, Kayla had been there, helping her fight. Whether it had been the berserkers throughout the countryside, their warrior-king in the far north, or the horde of undead led by an elder vampire in a winter-stricken city, Kayla had been together with her.


    And that made the memories almost bearable.


    Visions of her nightmare pushed themselves to the forefront of Pale''s mind, and she couldn''t help but scowl at them as they flashed through her head. It was just a dream, of course, but it was one that made no sense to her ¨C she''d never served as an infantry unit at any point during her humanity''s war with the Caatex, so what, exactly, she was supposed to glean from her nightmare, she had no idea.


    Even for her, with all the information in her data banks and at her disposal, the subconscious mind was still very much a mystery. For the longest time, she hadn''t thought herself capable of dreaming in the first place, but apparently, something had changed.


    Perhaps it was truly exposing herself to what killing was like firsthand., then.


    Pale''s brow furrowed in annoyance. She was a weapon, first and foremost ¨C killing had never bothered her before now, even with the insanely high body count she''d attained through the course of the war, and it made no sense to her that it would suddenly bother her now.


    And yet, she couldn''t deny that something had changed. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be having these dreams in the first place.


    "So," Kayla said, interrupting her thoughts. "Have you given any thought to what you want to do once you get to the Luminarium?"


    "Of course," Pale answered without hesitation. "I don''t think I should need to tell you what it is."


    "Oh, I know that much, at least. But¡­ there has to be something more, Pale. You can''t tell me you''re not at least a little curious about how magic works."


    "I can''t use magic, Kayla. We''ve established this."


    "Well, maybe you just didn''t have the right teacher," Kayla offered. "If anyone can teach you how to use magic, it''s the professors at the Luminarium. It''s not world-renowned for no reason, after all."


    "Not to rain on your parade or anything, but you''re still very confident they''ll even let us in. From what Evie said, they''re very elitist about admitting outsiders."


    "We''ll just have to pass their entry exam," Kayla insisted. "If we do that, then they can''t turn us down."


    "If you say so."


    "I mean it, Pale. Seriously, have some confidence for once."


    "That''s funny, coming from you. What happened to the ball of neuroses you used to be?"


    "Ball of what?"


    "Anxiety, basically."


    "Oh. Well¡­ after you''ve faced down an elder vampire and a horde of undead, everything else just seems kinda trivial."


    "I suppose that''s understandable," Pale admitted. "Anyway, you know what I''m planning to do once we''re in. What about you?"


    Kayla''s brow furrowed as she brought a hand up to her chin in thought. "Truthfully? I''m still not completely sure. I just figured, in the absence of anything else to do, I might as well head for the Luminarium. I mean, it''ll have food, shelter, education¡­ and once you graduate, you can go basically anywhere, since you''ll have proven your aptitude with advanced magic at that point. And, admittedly¡­ if you''re going, then I want to go, too."


    Pale said nothing, instead turning her attention back to the road ahead. From what she knew, the Luminarium was one of the premiere magic academies on Sjel. Kayla had first brought it up as an option for them after their mission to rescue her father from the berserkers had failed. In the absence of any better options, they''d both decided to go for it. It had taken them a bad winter, an undead incursion, and the better part of half a year to even come close to where the academy was supposedly located, but they were almost there now. And with any luck, Pale would not only gain entry, but also get access to their archives, and hopefully find some magical solution in them that would help her repair her ship.


    It was a long shot, but aside from spending several decades uplifting the people of this world, it was the only option she had.


    As the thought of repairing her ship crossed her mind yet again, Pale couldn''t help but frown. That was still her main goal, of course, because she still had a war to fight ¨C she owed her humanity that much, at least ¨C but at the same time, she''d grown attached to Kayla, as well as to her other friend, an Elven merchant named Evie. They''d met Evie on the road, and managed to save her from the berserkers; she''d escorted them farther north, though they''d ended up splitting apart when Kayla and Pale had crossed the sea in search of Kayla''s father. Evie had found them again on the return trip, however, and they''d traveled together for a time afterwards. She''d been with them when they''d encountered the undead, and had fought on their side to take down the vampire responsible for the incursion as well. Ultimately, though, she''d chosen to stay behind and help rebuild the city the vampire had destroyed, as well as keep an eye on the captain of the town guard, who''d been infected and turned during the fight.


    Admittedly, it had hurt, leaving Evie behind. Not only was she a friend, but she''d taken both Pale and Kayla into her family as well. Still, it was what had needed to happen at the time, and so Pale didn''t regret it too heavily. Even if she never saw Evie again before leaving the planet, it would be a necessary sacrifice in the end.


    "Hey, Pale?" Kayla suddenly said.


    "Hm?" Pale turned towards her.


    Kayla bit her lip, suddenly nervous. "If¡­ you ever wanted to talk about your nightmares-"


    "I''ll talk to you," Pale said. "And that''s a promise."


    Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Good¡­ that''s good. I''m glad to hear that."


    "Mhm."


    The two of them continued on in silence after that, neither of them saying anything, instead simply following along the road, listening to the horses as they trotted along the path.


    Eventually, after a few more minutes of riding, the two of them crested a hill, and Kayla gave a sudden gasp. Immediately, Pale looked up, and was taken aback at what she saw.


    "Kayla," she said, "is that-"


    "Yes," she said, awestruck. "It is."


    Pale stared straight ahead, her eyes locked on the stone tower standing off in the distance. The tower was a faded yellow color, and stood several hundred feet in the air, from Pale''s estimation. All around it were several arrays of smaller buildings, along with a decorative interrupted stone wall that surrounded it all. All told, it looked less like a stereotypical school campus and more like its own miniature community.


    "It''s beautiful¡­" Kayla muttered.


    Pale said nothing, though privately, she was inclined to agree. Of all the places she''d seen since arriving on Sjel, this was the most impressive one so far.


    Next to her, Kayla bit her lip. "I¡­ am suddenly very nervous."


    "Don''t be," Pale assured her. "We''ve come this far, not to mention been through far more than any of the other students have been, no doubt. Compared to dealing with the undead, this is nothing."


    "You''re right¡­" Kayla took a deep breath. "Okay¡­ I''m going to bring us in now. Let''s make the most of this, Pale."


    Pale nodded. "Absolutely, Kayla."


    With that, Kayla snapped the reins, and the two of them began the final stretch of their ride to the Luminarium in earnest, with renewed vigor in their hearts.


    Whatever happened, Pale knew, they''d at least be going through it together.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 2

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    As their wagon drew steadily closer to the front gates, Pale was able to make out more of the Luminarium. Truthfully, it was impressive that a society that apparently hadn''t yet even reached its version of the Industrial Revolution had managed to create a community full of buildings such as this; the amount of time and effort that had to have gone into it must have been nothing short of astounding. Even the brickwork in the large walls surrounding the campus seemed intricate, somehow.


    "Pale?" Kayla suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts. To Pale''s concern, she sounded worried about something.


    And as Pale turned her attention away from the nearby buildings and towards the path ahead of them, she was able to see why.


    Just up ahead, there was a line of wagons and carriages stopped on the road before what appeared to be a military-style checkpoint. A few guards armed with bladed weapons ¨C spears and short swords, from what she could tell, although there were also archers lined up along the walls ¨C were inspecting the various vehicles along the path.


    "Great¡­" Pale muttered. "Is every large community going to inspect us this way?"


    "What do we do?" Kayla asked.


    "Nothing. It''s not like we''re trying to sneak anything into this place that shouldn''t be there. The only things we have on-board that would be out of place are my weapons, and they''re not going to know what those are."


    Kayla bit her lip. "If you''re sure¡­"


    "Of course. Just act natural, we''ll be fine."


    "Act natural?" Kayla echoed. "What does that mean?"


    Pale was about to reply, but didn''t get a chance to before several guards approached their wagon.


    "Hold," one of them said, causing Kayla to drop the reins. Once she''d done so, he motioned for several of the others to inspect the wagon, which they did, throwing open the rear flap and climbing inside to look around.


    "State your business here," the lead guard said, crossing his arms. "What brings you to the Luminarium?"


    "We wish to enroll," Pale said.


    The guard let out a derisive snort. "You two want to enroll? You don''t look like much."


    "Looks can be deceiving."


    "Oh, I''m sure. And why do you think the Luminarium should allow you two in, over the many other students who are just as deserving, if not more?"


    "That''s what we intend to prove," Pale emphasized. "We understand there''s a kind of entrance exam; the two of us wish to participate, and-"


    The guard waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. What''s your primary magic affinity?"


    "Primary¡­?" Kayla muttered. After a moment, she shook her head. "I-I''m a Fire Mage, sir."


    "Fire Mage?" he asked, earning a nod. The guard rolled his eyes. "You lot are a dime a dozen. Unless you''re particularly skilled-"


    "I-I can cast Lightning magic!" Kayla said. "I''ve¡­ fought people with it before."


    "Fought? Like in a duel?"


    Kayla said nothing. The guard stared at her for a moment, his eyes widening in recognition before he turned his attention to Pale.


    "And what about you?" he demanded. "What''s your affinity?"


    "I don''t have one," Pale replied evenly. "I wish to enroll as a scholar rather than a mage."


    The guard stared at her for a moment before bursting out into laughter. The other guards inside the wagon joined him, their laughter echoing across the nearby stone walls. Kayla shifted next to her, uncomfortable, but Pale couldn''t care less.


    After a moment, the lead guard stood up, wiping a tear from his eye as he took in a deep breath.


    "Ah, that was good," he said. "So, you''re not even skilled in magic enough to have an affinity yet? You realize that''s so basic that it''s one of the first things that it''s one of the first things that teenagers learn about themselves upon unlocking their sjel, right?"


    "I am aware," Pale replied. "I am also aware that a very small number of dedicated scholars are admitted every year to study things aside from magic. That is where my talents lie."


    "Your talents?" the guard echoed derisively. He shook his head. "Alright, then. What are these so-called talents of yours, then?"


    "General knowledge, mainly, though I am also adept at combat."


    The guard stared at her. "Combat, you say? So you''d be willing to go for a round in order to prove you deserve a chance to try out along with your friend?"


    "No," Pale instantly replied.


    "And why is that?"


    "Because I''m sure there would be some kind of reprisal when I kill one of you."


    That got the guard''s attention. Immediately, the jovial expression on his face completely faded, replaced instead with one of barely-contained rage. It passed after a moment, when one of his men poked his head out of the back of the wagon.


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    "It''s clean, sir," he reported. "Nothing in here but food, water, and spare clothes¡­ and this thing, whatever it is¡­"


    He held up Pale''s assault rifle, which was thankfully unloaded. Pale did her best not to flinch as he unintentionally flagged everyone nearby with it regardless, the barrel seeming to point at all of them as he passed it to the lead guard.


    "What in the three hells is this thing¡­?" he muttered as he turned the gun over in his grasp. He looked over to Pale. "Can you explain this?"


    "I can," Pale said. "But not to you. All you need to know is that it''s what I plan to use to secure my entry to the Luminarium in lieu of magic."


    He let out another derisive snort. "You''ve got some serious stones on you, I''ll give you that. Alright, fine ¨C if you''re so eager to get yourself killed taking the entry exam, then be my guest. At this point, you''ll be doing me a favor."


    The lead guard handed her back the unloaded rifle and motioned for his men to clear out of their wagon. Once they had, he waved them through the checkpoint; Kayla hurriedly snapped the reins, and the horses once again began to pull the wagon forward, into the interior walls of the campus.


    XXX


    "What was that about?" Kayla asked as they rode through town.


    "Clearly, Evie wasn''t kidding when she mentioned that this place was elitist," Pale answered as she rocked a magazine into her rifle and ran the charging handle to chamber a round, then slung the weapon across her front. "I get the impression that the entry exam, whatever it is, is going to be even harder for us than the other applicants."


    "You do?"


    Pale nodded. "The guards were clearly none too keen on letting us through, and that was just the preliminary checkpoint to even make it into the city. I imagine that the actual staff at the Luminarium will be even more discriminatory towards us."


    Kayla let out a tired sigh. "...You''re sure coming here was a good idea?"


    "It''s the only idea," Pale pointed out. "There''s nowhere else we know of that might have the knowledge I need, and it''s not like you have anywhere else to go. As difficult as it will be, this is currently the best option for us."


    "I suppose you''re right¡­" Kayla looked around, frowning. "So, where should we go first?"


    "First order of business is finding temporary room and board, plus a place we can keep the horses," Pale informed her. "After that, we can start looking around to find out more about where we need to go to sign up for the entrance exam. I imagine that will require us to head to the Luminarium itself; we''ll want to do that sooner rather than later. Agreed?"


    "Agreed," Kayla said. A small sigh escaped her. "...I really hope this ends up going well for both of us¡­"


    "Look on the bright side," Pale said as they continued through town. "Whatever happens, it can''t be as bad as another undead incursion."


    That, at least, earned a sigh of relief from Kayla.


    XXX


    It didn''t take them much time to find a place to keep the horses and wagon. After getting them situated at a nearby stable on the outskirts of town, the two of them set off on foot through town. Pale attracted a number of stares, as she still had her rifle slung across her front, but she ignored them all as they both walked.


    Of course, she was sure that wasn''t the only reason people were staring, either ¨C a fair number of people eyed the two of them with contempt, and it didn''t take much guesswork to understand why.


    "Clearly, the people here are in a higher social class than most," Pale observed as a man in nice clothes gave her a side-eyed glance as he passed by the two of them. "I get the impression that being somewhat below this city''s poverty line makes us, for lack of a better term, stick out like a sore thumb."


    "That''s not the only thing¡­" Kayla muttered.


    Pale turned to her, intending to ask what she meant, only to catch on instantly. A number of people ¨C not all of them by any means, but certainly not a small number of them ¨C were eyeing her with no small amount of contempt, their gazes locked squarely on her ears and tail. Pale''s brow furrowed, even as she turned her gaze straight ahead once more.


    "Ignore them," she said. "Easy for me to say, I know, but these people and their opinions should mean nothing to you, Kayla. They''re idiots with too much money and too little sense."


    "I know, I know¡­ but it''s uncomfortable."


    "I can imagine. Consider that your impetus to prove them all wrong with the entry exam." Pale looked around, trying to peer through the crowd. "Speaking of which, I can''t see anything regarding the exam. How about you?"


    Kayla shook her head. "Nothing. Maybe there''s a message board somewhere we can check?"


    "Wouldn''t hurt to look for one."


    Kayla nodded, and the two of them kept on, searching for the town square. After about an hour of aimless wandering, they finally found something ¨C a large crowd of people, mostly around their age, were clustered in a large square. There was a crier standing in the center atop a few boxes, his hands cupped around his mouth as he shouted.


    "Everyone here for the entry exam, report to the front gates of the Luminarium at five in the morning!" he called. "Headmaster Albrecht will meet you there and provide additional instructions!"


    Pale blinked, then turned to Kayla. "I suppose that''s our answer."


    "Seems like it¡­" Kayla muttered.


    "Something wrong?" Pale''s gaze narrowed. "Those morons from earlier aren''t still-"


    "No." Kayla paused. "I mean, yes, but¡­" She let out a small sigh. "...I don''t know. I just have this feeling in the back of my head that this is so¡­ straightforward."


    "Still expecting another undead incursion?"


    Kayla shivered. "Don''t even joke about that¡­ no, I''m just¡­ I don''t know. Maybe I''m being ridiculous. But something about this doesn''t feel quite right to me, and I''m not sure why."


    "Pre-evaluation anxiety, perhaps," Pale mused. "It''s not uncommon, from my understanding. In any case, we''ll keep our guards up for now."


    Kayla nodded. "Makes sense¡­ alright, let''s just find a place where we can get some food and rest up, then. We''ve got a big day ahead of us."


    With that, the two of them turned away from the town square and continued walking once more.


    XXX


    Later that night, Pale found herself taking the first watch. It was just after nine, and the full moon was high in the sky. Pale stared at it from her spot atop the covers in her bed, while next to her, Kayla gently snored away. As she slept, Pale carefully shifted, trying to make herself a bit more comfortable; she still had her gear on, including her rifle and handgun, just in case any of the people who''d been side-eyeing Kayla earlier tried something.


    She didn''t expect them to, but then again, she hadn''t expected to run into an elder vampire at some point, either. In her eyes, after that, it paid to be extremely cautious no matter where they went or what they were doing.


    Kayla muttered something in her sleep, then began to tremble, her face scrunching up in an expression of fear. Pale stared at her, a frown crossing her face at what she saw.


    Clearly, she wasn''t the only one still having nightmares.


    Before Pale could do anything to try and make Kayla more comfortable, however, something caught her attention ¨C hushed voices in the hallway, coupled by footsteps just outside their room. Immediately, Pale tensed, one hand moving to wrap around her rifle''s grip as she carefully stepped out of bed and began to approach the door.


    She was so focused on the commotion outside the door that she was completely taken by surprise by the window behind her shattering.


    Pale instantly whipped back around as Kayla awoke with a loud shout. One hand was already flicking off her rifle''s safety. Three figures dressed in all black robes and masks stood before her, their figures just barely illuminated in the moonlight. Pale didn''t hesitate; she immediately laid on her weapons trigger, sending a burst of suppressed gunfire downrange at the intruders. To her dismay, however, her rounds pinged off a magical barrier in front of her, and as her weapon clicked empty, one of the intruders turned to the other.


    "Get the animal," he said. "I''ll handle her."


    With that, the three of them began to advance; Pale let her rifle hang from its sling and ripped her handgun out of its holster, but before she could get a shot off, one of the masked figures raised a hand, and Pale fell to the ground, her eyes widening with shock and terror as the air was forcibly pulled out of her lungs. Next to her, Kayla choked as well, and Pale knew the same thing was being done to her.


    The last thing Pale was aware of before passing out was the third figure approaching her, a black hood held in his hands.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 3

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    When Pale awoke, it was to complete darkness. For a moment, panic lanced through her mind, but she was quick to calm herself when she realized that something was loosely covering her head, just enough to conceal her vision but not enough to cut off her airflow. Suddenly, the memories came rushing back to the forefront of her mind.


    Clearly, they''d been kidnapped by whoever had seen fit to invade their room. Pale wasn''t sure where they''d been taken, but she could hear other people awakening around her. A few of them were clearly afraid, if the small sniffles they were letting out were any indication, but Pale paid them no mind, instead trying to get her bearings.


    "Kayla?" she called. "Are you awake?"


    She didn''t get a response. Pale tried to move her arms, but they''d been bound behind her back with rope. On top of that, her weapons were gone ¨C she still had on her usual clothes and her body armor, but her handgun, rifle, and all her ammunition were missing, along with anything else she''d been carrying on her person at the time.


    "Kayla?" Pale called again. Once more, she received no response. Her brow furrowing, she turned, trying to listen for someone else who was awake that could be of use to her.


    It didn''t take her long to locate someone else who was awake. From the sound of things, it was a young man, probably around Kayla''s age, who was gently sobbing to himself a few feet away. Pale''s brow furrowed; he didn''t sound like much, but he would have to do.


    "Hey," she said, trying to get his attention. "Think you can do something for me?"


    She heard him sniffle. "W-what do you-"


    "Do you want to get out of here or not?" He didn''t immediately respond, and Pale heaved a tired sigh. "I''ll take your silence as a yes. Follow the sound of my voice, I''ll get us out."


    "Y-you can do that?"


    "Whatever I can do, it''d beat sitting here and waiting for something to happen. Now hurry up, before whoever took us comes back. I know you probably can''t see, so follow the sound of my voice."


    That seemed to get his attention, as she heard him stand up and begin to carefully walk over to her. He tripped over several other people as he walked, but managed to avoid falling. Eventually, he made it to her, and collapsed to the ground next to her.


    "Okay," he offered. "I-I''m here¡­ what do I-"


    "Back-to-back with me," she said. "The ropes around my wrists don''t feel too secure. If yours are anything like mine, I''ll be able to get you loose after a bit, and then you can do the same for me."


    "Okay¡­"


    The two of them began to shuffle around, until eventually, they were back-to-back with each other. Pale fumbled around in the darkness, trying to reach for the ropes around the boy''s wrists. Eventually, she managed to find them, and sure enough, they were pretty loose. After a bit of pulling on them, Pale was able to pull them free, and the boy gave a small gasp as the ropes fell off from around his wrists.


    "There," Pale said. "Now free me."


    "R-right," he said. "Hold still, I''ll get you out."


    Pale didn''t move as he pulled and tugged on the ropes binding her, and after a few seconds, she felt them fall away. The moment she was free, she pulled the hood off her head and tossed it aside, then looked around, trying to find the young man who had helped her.


    She turned around, and was stunned to find what appeared to be a very dark-skinned young man staring at her. His skin was an almost ash-gray, and he had bright red eyes that seemed to almost glow in the dark. Immediately, her thoughts went to Vincent, the elder vampire that she and Kayla had defeated a few months prior, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away. This boy was far too young to be a vampire of that caliber, and in any case, if he had been a vampire in the first place, she would be dead already. Clearly, he was something else entirely; if the pointed ears were any indication, he was likely some kind of elf, but it was impossible for her to tell, and given their current situation, she wasn''t exactly willing to ask too many questions, anyway.


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    "Thanks," Pale said, giving him a grateful nod.


    He fidgeted nervously. "N-no problem¡­ um¡­ what''s your-"


    "Call me Pale." She looked around, her gaze landing on a familiar white-furred tail. "Hold that thought."


    Pale stood up and moved over to where Kayla was still unconscious, then gently pulled the hood off her head and began to shake her.


    "Kayla, wake up," Pale urged.


    Groggily, Kayla let out a tired groan as she cracked both eyes open. "Pale¡­? Where are we?"


    "No idea. Do you remember what happened last night?"


    Kayla blinked as the memories came flooding back. Slowly, she nodded. "I do¡­ so they''ve taken us somewhere?" She looked around the darkened room, frowning. "Guess we''re not the only ones¡­ How many are there?"


    "By my count? Around two-dozen. And before you ask, I''ve got no idea why we''ve been taken; I just woke up a few minutes ago."


    "Mm." Kayla peered past her, her gaze landing on the boy behind her. "A dark elf¡­?"


    The elf jumped at being recognized, then began to fidget nervously again. "H-hi¡­ I''m Nasir Leonan."


    Kayla nodded in understanding. "I''m Kayla." She turned back to Pale. "Think you can free my wrists?"


    "Yeah, give me a moment," Pale said, coming up behind her and pulling on the ropes. Same as her own and Nasir''s, they came free with minimal effort, which Pale couldn''t help but take notice of.


    "Kayla, I think these ropes were designed so we could free ourselves," she noted.


    "You do? What makes you say that?"


    "They''re tied too loosely, for one. If they truly didn''t intend for us to escape, they would''ve made these knots a lot more secure." Pale looked around the room, trying to note anything that seemed unusual. For the most part, it was completely nondescript ¨C just a simple rectangular room made from solid stone, with a single torch burning overhead to help illuminate things, and a single metal door on one of the walls.


    "What do you think is going on?" Kayla asked as she rubbed her wrists.


    "I have no idea. At first, I thought that maybe some of those people from town had decided to make their prejudices towards us a bit more overt, but this all of this seems far too deliberate to be coincidental." Pale looked around at the others again, frowning. "And besides, you''re the only Beastkin here. Clearly, something else is going on, I''m just not sure what."


    Kayla nodded in understanding. "Okay. For now, let''s free the others, then start thinking up ways out of here."


    Pale let out an exhale. "...That''s going to be difficult, even assuming we can get that door open. They took my gear, so I''m next to useless in a fight at the moment unless I call down a pod, and I''d prefer not to let our captors know we''re awake just yet."


    "I still have my magic," Kayla offered.


    "I''m aware, but whoever took us, they seem to be powerful mages. I tried shooting at them, but they had a barrier in place, not to mention how they somehow pulled the air directly from our lungs. We''ll have to be careful and play it safe for now."


    Kayla nodded. "Okay¡­ let''s get the others free first."


    Together, the two of them and Nasir began moving around the room, freeing the other students and waking them up. As they did so, Pale made sure to question them all, trying to understand what happened or who had taken them, but she got very little from everyone. Most of them hadn''t even seen their attackers, and the few that had reported a story that was consistent with Pale and Kayla''s ¨C masked figures dressed in all-black breaking into the room of wherever they were staying, knocking them out through magical means, and then dragging them back here before they knew what was happening.


    That being said, there was one thing that Pale noticed ¨C all of the people who had been kidnapped were around her and Kayla''s age. And that led her to yet another question, though she suspected she already knew the answer to it.


    "Settle down, all of you," Pale ordered as the group before them muttered among themselves. "One more question ¨C show of hands, how many of you are here for the Luminarium''s entrance exam?"


    There was a pause, but then, to Pale''s amazement, everyone raised a hand. She blinked at the sight of it, then nodded in understanding. Suddenly, it all made sense to her.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked. "What do you think?"


    "I have my suspicions, but I''ll wait to confirm them until after we''re out of here," Pale explained.


    With that said, she moved over towards the only door in the room and examined it. From what she could tell, it was very sturdy ¨C too sturdy to move or be broken. Shaking her head, Pale moved on to the wall around it instead. Like she''d suspected, it was made of solid stone, which gave her an idea.


    "Do we have any Earth Mages here with us?" she asked.


    The crowd of people around her exchanged glances with each other before a few of them cautiously stepped forward. Out of the around two dozen people there with them, four of them were Earth Mages, which was perfect. Pale motioned to the wall next to the door.


    "Think you four can get us through that?" she asked.


    The mages exchanged a look, but then, before Pale could say anything further, they all raised their hands, and a crack formed in the stone wall next to the door. As Pale watched, the crack grew, eventually turning to an outline of the doorway; the four mages then collectively pushed, and several feet of solid stone gave way, forming a large cutout that led to a darkened hallway. Seeing it, Pale nodded, then motioned for Kayla to follow her as she stepped out into the hall. As Pale looked around, she saw several other metal doors lining this hall, along with a single curved pathway at the end.


    The two of them made it just a few steps before several people in cloaks came around the corner. Pale tensed, her hand going for a gun that wasn''t there, meanwhile Kayla conjured lightning in her hands. But as the two of them watched, the cloaked figures stopped. One of them, an elderly-looking bearded man, stared down the hall at all of them, his hands crossed over his chest.


    "Welcome to your entrance exam," he said. "Unfortunately, it is with great regret that we have to inform you all that as of now, you are all failing."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 4

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    Pale stared at the bearded man in surprise, one hand placed protectively in front of Kayla to keep her from moving forwards. Behind her, the other students began to mutter among themselves, several of them already starting to panic as the full weight of the man''s words sank in.


    So, they were failing already. The thought caused Pale''s brow to furrow. However, rather than let it get to her, she instead focused on the group of mages in front of them.


    "Perhaps an explanation is in order," she began. "You mean to tell me that all of this ¨C the kidnapping, the holding us captive¡­ that was part of the entrance exam?"


    The bearded man nodded, and Pale blinked once more. She''d started to suspect as much, of course, but it was good to have confirmation nonetheless.


    "But¡­ how are we failing?" Kayla asked, taking a step forwards. "We managed to escape-"


    "You shouldn''t have had to escape in the first place," said another of the mages, this one a man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties with his face adorned with scars. He stood there with his arms crossed, scowling at all of them. "If you had managed to defeat your kidnappers, or at least save yourself from being kidnapped, you would have been granted entry to the Luminarium on the spot. As it is now, however, every single one of you is currently lagging behind. You will all have to earn your way in at this point."


    Pale bristled. "And how many prospective students actually managed to earn their way in by doing that?"


    "Precious few," came the reply. "I will give credit where credit is due ¨C you lot have managed to escape faster than the ones in the other rooms."


    "Other rooms¡­?" Kayla muttered.


    "Of course. The Luminarium receives hundreds of prospective students every year, but we cannot reasonably be expected to admit them all. There must be some kind of vetting process. Consider this your chance to impress us."


    "And how do you intend to have us do that?" Pale demanded. "We''ve already managed to free ourselves, but something tells me that won''t be nearly enough."


    The bearded man gave her a nod. "You catch on quick. Follow us, all of you. It is time to begin the next phase of your testing."


    With that, he turned and began to walk down the hall. Pale and Kayla exchanged a brief look with each other before following after him, the other students not far behind them.


    XXX


    The old man led them to a large room, one that, to Pale''s surprise, was filled with several tables, upon which various weapons were laid out. She spied all her gear over on one of them and immediately made a beeline towards it, while several other students did the same. In a sea of young people reaching for bladed weapons, Pale stood out; they all turned to stare at her as she picked up her assault rifle and inspected it to make sure there was no damage, then removed the magazine and racked the round out of the chamber. After confirming it was unloaded, she did a quick function check, then slid the magazine back into it and re-chambered the round. Once she was done with that, she slung the rifle across her chest and repeated those same steps with her handgun before holstering it and turning towards the group of mages.


    "You are arming us," she noted. "What do you have planned?"


    "It''s simple, really," the scarred human said. "Your first test was whether or not you could successfully defend yourself against us. You all failed that, obviously, and now you are all here. And now begins the second test."


    He clapped his hands together, and the torches in the room suddenly went out, plunging the area into pitch darkness. A panicked shout went up among the students, but it only lasted for a moment before he clapped his hands together again, and a single light shone on a nearby wall. To Pale''s surprise, as she watched, a crude map of sorts began to etch itself into the stone wall; she watched as the basic topography took shape, memorizing all the nooks and crannies in the blink of an eye. And as she watched, a circle formed at one end of the map, and an X formed on the other.


    "The circle is where you will all begin," she heard the old man say, his voice echoing through the darkened room. "The X is where you will end. If you make it to the X in time, you will be granted entry into the Luminarium. That is not to imply that this will be easy, however."


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    He clapped his hands, and the lights came back on. Pale turned and found the mages standing on the opposite side of the room, each of them holding a different-colored tome ¨C one red, one blue, and one white.


    "Each of you will need to collect three of these tomes," the scarred man reported. "You will begin with one of a random color, and will need to collect one of each of whatever colors you are missing. If you do not have all three tomes by the end of the allotted time, you are out. If your time is stolen, it is not an immediate elimination, however you must still collect three of a different color within the allotted time frame as well as make it to the destination marked by an X on the map."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed as she listened to what the mages were saying. From what she could tell, this was going to be a basic elimination-style test ¨C obviously, not everyone was going to make it in; from what she could tell, only a third of them out of everyone who started were going to be allowed entry, and that was at best. It was entirely possible that someone could collect all three tomes, but fail to make it to the destination in time.


    "You will all have one week to collect all the different-colored tomes and make it to the destination marked with an X," the old man said. "Needless to say, but there are no rules here, aside from don''t purposely kill each other. You will all have to scavenge for your own supplies down there. We will not be there to help you at all. Oh, and it goes without saying, but do be careful down there ¨C your fellow initiates are not the only dangers lurking in the shadows, and unlike all of you, the rules don''t apply to whatever lives down there."


    A nervous murmur went up through the crowd of prospective students. Pale, meanwhile, simply focused on reading between the lines of what was just said.


    From what the mages were saying, it sounded like they were all underground, and were only going to be heading even deeper into the earth. This made sense, given the way the rooms and halls down here were constructed. In addition, it was likely that they were going to be faced with some kind of dangerous wildlife they would have to fend off, not to mention having to find their own food and water.


    Pale looked over to Kayla, curious to see how she was handling it. To her surprise, she found Kayla standing there, a look of determination on her face as her tail gently swished back and forth. Pale blinked, somewhat taken aback, but said nothing at first, instead turning to see how the other prospective students were taking it in. This time, what she saw didn''t surprise her ¨C some of them also looked very determined, while quite a few looked nervous, and a few looked downright terrified.


    The proctors seemed to catch this, as the scarred man suddenly cleared his throat to get their attention.


    "Anyone who wants to reconsider trying out at this point, come to me," he said. "Just know that if you drop out now, you are done, and will not be allowed to try out again."


    The students quieted down at that, but only for a moment before a few more of them began to talk among themselves again. A few seconds later, six of them stepped forward, their heads bowed in shame. The scarred man nodded.


    "Very well," he said. "The rest of you¡­ prepare yourselves. The moment the other prospective students have freed themselves, we will begin. If you haven''t already, I suggest you arm yourselves. Once you have, follow Professor Tomas."


    With that, he motioned for the dropouts to follow after him. As Pale watched, he left the room, flanked by the six students who had opted to quit. Once he was gone, Pale turned to Kayla, then motioned for her to follow.


    "Come on," she said. "Let''s get you geared up."


    Kayla nodded in response, and the two of them set off for the tables full of weapons.


    XXX


    "You''re sure these are good ones?"


    Pale nodded as she looked over the weapons she''d chosen for Kayla once more. "Positive."


    "What makes you say that?" Kayla asked.


    Pale motioned to the curved machete-like blade now sheathed at Kayla''s hip. "That''s a good all-around weapon. It''ll mainly be used for utility purposes ¨C cutting down trees for shelter, and the like." She pointed at the sheathed knife Kayla was now holding in her hands. "That''s a perfect fighting knife. It''s double-sided, thin, but razor sharp."


    Kayla tilted her head. "Why would I need a fighting knife? I have my magic already. Plus, the proctors said we aren''t supposed to kill each other."


    "I''m not dumb enough to believe all the other students will follow that rule," Pale muttered to her. "I won''t be killing anyone who doesn''t try to kill me first, but I''m also not leaving anything to chance. Not to mention the other threats lurking in the underground."


    "Underground¡­? You think we''re underground?"


    Pale nodded. "I''m positive. Look, just take those two blades, alright? Because if you don''t, someone else will, and those look to be two of the higher-quality ones available to us now. Besides, I suspect that whatever this course is going to consist of, it''s going to be designed to drain you of your magic as fast as it can. And in that case, it''ll pay to have a backup or two."


    Kayla''s eyes widened, and she nodded, swallowing nervously as she slid the fighting knife onto the left side of her belt. As she did that, Pale looked around the room, frowning as she did so.


    The number of students had swelled dramatically in the last few minutes as the people in the other rooms had freed themselves. By her estimate, there were now over a hundred prospective students, even after those who had chosen to drop out had already done so.


    Something told her that the competition was going to be fierce.


    Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she watched as the old man from earlier ¨C Professor Tomas ¨C stepped into the room once more.


    "Settle down, all of you!" he called. Once they had all stopped talking, he motioned for them to follow after him. "Come with me. It''s time to begin."


    Pale exchanged another glance with Kayla, who merely gave her another determined nod as they all began to follow after Tomas. Together, the two of them walked side-by-side, uncertainty in their minds.


    Whatever awaited them, Pale had no idea.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 5

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    Professor Tomas led them out of the large room and through the halls once again. Together, they all walked in one group, nobody daring to say anything for fear of earning Tomas'' ire. Pale, for her part, stayed silent for a different reason.


    She was too busy poring over the rudimentary map they''d been shown.


    She''d memorized it the instant it had been shown to them all, of course ¨C one of the perks of being an artificial intelligence was her ability to parse complex information such as that in a way far faster than any regular person could, not to mention that she could do it stealthily, too.


    It seemed like a simple enough task ¨C steal two tomes for herself and two for Kayla, and then make their way to the destination. The trouble, of course, came from the unknown factors going into the test. The professors had mentioned other denizens in the underground; between them, the other students, the environment itself, and the fact that the map they''d been shown was as basic as could be, and it was shaping up to be more complex than she''d anticipated.


    "Pale."


    Kayla''s voice caught her attention, and Pale turned to her. She found Kayla nervously adjusting the sheathed blades on her belt, biting her lip the entire time. Kayla blinked, then leaned in to whisper in her ear.


    "Do you have a plan?"


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "I do," she whispered back. "But first I want to see what happens next. Depending on how they let us loose, this could either be much easier or much harder."


    Kayla nodded, then pulled away, and the two of them continued walking on in silence together.


    Eventually, Professor Tomas led them to a set of large metal double doors. He paused before them, then stretched out both hands, resting them on it; as Pale watched, his hands began to glow, and after a moment, the door opened, the metal screeching against the stone floor as it did so.


    With the path now opened, Tomas turned back to them. Pale looked past him, trying to see into the new room, and was surprised to see what appeared to be several dozen leather bags, all tied up with twine. It was impossible to see into them, but she was able to guess at what each of them held.


    "You will be admitted into the labyrinth one at a time," Tomas said. "Each of you will take a single bag, and then continue on your way. Your time begins the moment you set foot inside."


    Pale tilted her head. Tomas had referred to the area they''d be entering as a labyrinth, which didn''t inspire much confidence. It wouldn''t be an issue for her, but everyone else was going to have some degree of trouble if it ended up being even half as maze-like as the name implied.


    Before she could think on it any further, Tomas pointed at a random initiate.


    "You," he said. "You''re up first. Take one bag and go, and be quick about it."


    The prospective student jumped a bit at being addressed so suddenly, but did as he was told, stepping into the room. As they all watched, he picked up a bag at random, then looked around before; Pale couldn''t see off to the side, but there must have been a path there, because that was where he took off running towards. They all listened as his footsteps steadily grew fainter and fainter; once they had disappeared completely, Tomas turned towards the next person.


    "You," he said, pointing to Pale. "You know how it works by now, I''d hope. Hurry up."


    Pale didn''t even bother to nod at him. Instead, she gave Kayla a reassuring glance, then stepped forward. One of the bags was slung over her shoulder, and Pale looked around; as she''d suspected, there was only one path to take at this point, and it led down a darkened tunnel. Through the shadows, she could just barely make out the dim glow of several lightly-colored gems embedded in the walls, which lit the way.


    With nowhere else to go, Pale adjusted her rifle to sit a bit more comfortably across her front, then took off running.


    XXX


    The first thing she did was dump the leather bag she''d been given. They hadn''t confiscated her pack, which was good; there were still some supplies in there for her and Kayla, not to mention her additional ammo. But aside from all that, Pale wanted to get a look at which color tome she''d gotten.


    "White¡­" she muttered. She was about to stuff the book into her pack, but thought better of it. Instead, she opened it to try and read it, only to scowl when she saw its pages were completely blank. Shaking her head, she placed the book in her pack, and at the same time, did a quick inventory check.


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    Her and Kayla had been on the road for some time now, and had steadily eaten through this supply of rations. They weren''t completely gone, but she didn''t have enough to last them the whole week, especially since they''d be marching and fighting the entire time, not to mention Kayla''s use of magic. Her extra food and water were going to go quick; Pale estimated she had, at best, three days of rations on her.


    Medical supplies were another concern. Normally, if she needed something for medical purposes, she could call down a pod specifically for it, but a quick look at the thick stone ceiling above her head told her that wouldn''t be possible down here. She wasn''t completely unprepared, however ¨C there was still the individual first-aid kit on her battle belt, plus a bigger one in her pack. Neither of them were substitutes for a hospital or even someone skilled in healing magic, but they''d do for now.


    Finally, the one thing she had an abundance of was ammunition. Pale counted out several magazines of 6.8mm ammunition, the magazines themselves holding thirty rounds each. By her count, she had a standard infantry loadout of 210 rifle rounds on her, plus another 120 in Kayla''s pack. Her handgun was similarly well-supplied; she counted out ten magazines of twelve rounds each, and she knew Kayla had another six on her as well.


    That was one small victory, then ¨C if push came to shove, she could always just shoot her way out, she supposed.


    Pale closed her pack, then slung it back over her shoulders. She was about to take off running once more when something caught her attention ¨C footsteps, coming up just behind her. Without hesitation, Pale ducked into a nearby crevice, drawing her knife from its spot on her belt as she did so.


    A few seconds later, the initiate ran past her, and Pale struck. She leaped out of the shadows, wrapping her arm around the unfortunate person''s neck and pressing the knife to their throat hard enough to draw a thin trickle of blood.


    "Hand over your tome," she commanded. "Now."


    The initiate in her grasp suddenly stiffened, and at that moment, Pale realized who it was ¨C she''d grabbed Nasir, the one who''d helped her escape the room earlier.


    "P-please¡­" Nasir begged. "We''re just starting the trial¡­ and I helped you earlier, too..."


    "I know. I don''t care. Give it to me."


    Nasir began to tremble in her grasp, but did as he was told, letting the leather bag slip from his shoulders and onto the floor below, where it landed with a dull thud. Once he''d let go of it, Pale drew her knife away from his throat and gave him a gentle shove.


    "Get out of here," she told him.


    Nasir stayed rooted to his spot for a moment, his head held low. Pale''s brow furrowed. "You still have a chance," she reminded him. "Losing your tome doesn''t mean you''re completely out. If I were you, I''d suggest you do what I just did. I''m sure I won''t be the only one doing it."


    Nasir sniffled, but didn''t argue, instead turning and running down the hallway. Pale didn''t even bother to watch him go, instead tearing open the bag to see what color Nasir had given her. Unfortunately for her, it was another white tome, though it wasn''t completely useless ¨C Kayla would likely need a white one, and if push came to shove, it could always be used as a bargaining chip for someone who was desperate for a white, which would hopefully save them from getting into a fight.


    More footsteps from down the hall caught Pale''s attention, and she stowed the book before again sinking back into the shadows, readying her knife once more. Another initiate crossed her path, and Pale leaped for him the same way she had done to Nasir, but to her amazement, a massive blast of wind sent her flying back into the wall, which she impacted against hard enough to knock the breath out of her. Her knife slipped from her grasp and came clattering to the ground, and Pale hurriedly scrambled to her feet just in time to avoid another powerful gust of air that would have blown her back even further.


    Pale stood there, grimacing as she noticed her knife lying several meters away, just out of grasp. That was the closest thing she had to something non-lethal; either of her guns were out of the question unless she had decided to kill someone, and the professors had explicitly banned them from doing so.


    The initiate across from her cleared his throat, and Pale looked to him. Through the darkness, she was just barely able to make out his appearance ¨C he was dressed in a deep blue cloak, with the hood pulled over his head, concealing his face from view. The cloak was adorned with what looked like gold trim, and he had a staff in his right hand that was topped with a large, expensive-looking green jewel.


    "That was a good trick," the initiate said. "Too bad I figured someone would try to pull it. Oh, I still need to introduce myself-"


    "I don''t care," Pale said, cutting him off.


    The young man seemed taken aback by that, if the sudden irritated gasp was any indication. It only lasted for a moment, however, before he recovered.


    "Well," he said, "I suppose it''s no matter. Hand over your tome and the one you just took from that elf and I''ll let you go without a fight."


    "You might want to reconsider this offer," Pale pointed out. "Because more initiates will be coming soon. Do you really want to face them after you''ve used up your mana on me?"


    "And what makes you think I wouldn''t have enough mana for all of you?" he questioned. Before Pale could ask what he meant, the young man shook his head. "Anyway, it doesn''t matter. You tried to use a weapon on me, and that means I''m not about to let you off easily. So either you hand over your tomes or I take them from you by force."


    Pale was unperturbed. She stood tall, balling her hands into fists. "Come and take them," she challenged.


    Across from her, the initiate let out a small laugh. "Good! I was hoping you''d choose the hard way, I''ve been meaning to blow off some steam. Anyway, since you''re being kind enough to indulge me¡­ my name''s Joel Magnus. And I''m going to have a really good time with-"


    Pale didn''t let him finish, instead rushing forwards, intending to catch him off-guard. Joel stumbled back, but recovered quickly, making a small motion with his staff. The green gem on top began to glow, and for a moment, Pale expected a gust of wind to come greet her once more.


    She was completely unprepared for the gem to suddenly turn red and a wave of fire to come flying at her instead.


    Her eyes widened as the flames approached, but it was too late for her to divert course. The fireball exploded at her feet, sending her flying backwards into the wall once more. Pale coughed as smoke began to fill the hallway, and she tried to lift herself to her feet, only for a sudden wave of air to force her back to the wall. The wind was overpowering, so much so that it was impossible for her to even move, let alone breathe; Pale stayed there, the breath being forced out of her lungs as she gasped and sputtered, her vision beginning to fade.


    And through it all, she just barely heard Joel cut in.


    "I''ll be taking that."


    The last thing Pale felt before passing out was the feeling of her pack being torn from her shoulders.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 6

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    "Pale! Pale, wake up!"


    Groggily, Pale cracked both eyes open, groaning as she did so. A wave of pain radiated throughout her head, and she winced, bringing a hand up to rub at her temples as her blurred vision began to clear. After a few seconds, she could see clearly, and found herself staring into Kayla''s eyes.


    "You''re awake!" Kayla said, sounding relieved. "What happened?"


    "Got into a fight," Pale said with a scowl. "I lost."


    "I can see that. How did you lose?"


    "Didn''t expect two completely different kinds of magic. Probably should have; he was clearly a noble''s child, if the outfit he was wearing was any indication." Pale patted herself down, frowning when she recalled Joel had taken her pack. Slowly, her eyes narrowed. "I lost my pack."


    "I still have mine," Kayla offered. "Here, take it."


    She shrugged off the pack, and Pale accepted it, slipping it over her shoulders as she stood up. It was much lighter than her old one, likely because Kayla was carrying half the spare ammo she had been. That thought caused a wave of annoyance to pass through her, but she decided not to dwell on it.


    Her creators had a saying about situations like this ¨C it was better to get even than to get mad. And she intended to hold true to that sentiment.


    "How long was I out?" Pale asked, turning back to Kayla.


    Kayla shook her head. "About thirty minutes, if I had to guess. You were one of the first ones to get pushed out, and I was one of the last."


    Pale nodded. "And nobody tried to bother you on your way out?"


    "One did," Kayla replied. "But I managed to beat her."


    "I''m not surprised," Pale mused. "Somehow, I suspect most of these people don''t have the same level of combat experience you have." She shook her head, letting out a small, pained hiss when the dull throbbing in her head began again, though she was quick to power through the pain. "Did you get a tome from the person you defeated?"


    Kayla let out an irritated sigh. "...No. She''d already lost hers to someone else."


    "Again, I''m not surprised. How many people stayed behind to try and pick someone off right at the entrance like I did?"


    "A fair amount. Most of them were already fighting someone else, so I just ran past easily enough."


    Pale nodded in understanding. "Smart move. Something tells me it''ll pay to preserve your mana as best as you can."


    Something glinting on the nearby floor caught her attention; Pale stepped over to it and realized it was her knife. Amazed, she bent down to pick it up, turning it over in her hand.


    "Surprised I wasn''t robbed of all my gear instead of just most of it," she said.


    "Nobody but me even knows what your gear does," Kayla pointed out. "I imagine that most people just left you alone once it became clear you didn''t have a tome or anything else they could use. Same with the knife ¨C everyone''s already got a martial weapon of their own."


    "Makes sense, I suppose." Pale slipped the knife into the sheath on her belt, then turned back to Kayla. "Your call ¨C do we stay here and try to rob anyone who comes out, or do we keep moving? I can see an argument for both options."


    "You can?"


    Pale nodded. "Either one brings us closer to our goal in some way. Staying is obvious ¨C we get the opportunity to claim some more tomes for ourselves if we win. The only problem is that I''m currently next to useless in a fight against people I''m not supposed to kill, which means you''ll be pulling most of the weight at the cost of your own mana."


    Slowly, Kayla nodded in understanding. "And as for leaving?"


    "We can start making our way to the destination that was marked on the map," Pale explained. "I''ve got the route memorized, or at least memorized as much as I could based off a map that crude. Of course, the downside is that we''ll have to hunt people down instead of letting them come to us."


    Kayla brought a chin up to his hand in thought, biting her lip as she considered their options. "...We should probably stay, at least for a bit," she decided. "Try to get at least one or two people, then split once more of them start coming out."


    "Makes sense," Pale said with a nod. "Okay, how do you want to-"


    Footsteps caught their attention, and they both turned, Pale drawing her knife and Kayla conjuring flames in each hand. Pale had expected a fight of some kind, but was unprepared to see a young woman running at the two of them, her hands covered in sharpened stone. Pale went to take a step forward, but an arrow soaring past her and embedding itself into the wall next to her leg stopped her.


    "Kayla, get the archer!" Pale shouted. "I''ve got her!"


    "Right!" Kayla called back, running past her as the girl with stone-covered hands drew closer to Pale. Thankfully, the girl didn''t seem to care that Kayla had just run past her, and was instead focused on Pale.


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    The two of them circled each other, Pale switching her knife to a reverse grip while the girl flexed her fingers, curling and uncurling them, each movement punctuated by the sound of stone grinding against stone.


    "It doesn''t have to be this way," Pale offered. "I don''t have a tome."


    "No, but your friend does," the girl across from her sneered. "And something tells me neither of you are going to hand it over without a fight."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed as she sized up her would-be opponent. She was tall, standing about six feet, and had long black hair tied back into a ponytail. She was around twenty years old, if Pale had to guess, and also quite athletic ¨C she had a build similar to Pale''s, but a bit more muscular. Finally, the few patches of her skin that Pale could see through the gaps in her purple cloak and the hood pulled over her head showed that she was very tan.


    "What''s your name?" Pale asked.


    "Who wants to know?"


    "Call me Pale."


    "Alright, Pale ¨C why should I listen to you?"


    "Humor me for a moment."


    The girl let out a small chuckle. "No, I don''t think so. Tell you what ¨C you care that much? My name''s Valerie. Remember it while I grind you into the dirt."


    And then she charged at Pale, one hand full of sharpened stone cocked back. Pale tensed, waiting for the right opportunity, and the moment it presented itself, she moved. Deftly, Pale moved into Valerie''s guard, barely managed to avoid being struck by the handful of stone, and as Valerie overextended, Pale grabbed hold of her outstretched arm and used it as a pivot point to wrestle her to the ground.


    And then, before Valerie could react, Pale had her knife pressed against the side of Valerie''s throat.


    "Don''t move," Pale warned. "I''ve got it pressed against your carotid artery. One little flick of my wrist, and you''ll bleed to death within seconds."


    "Bullshit," Valerie growled. "The instructors said no killing."


    "Do you really want to take that chance?" Pale asked. She drove the blade of the knife into Valerie''s throat, just enough to draw a trickle of blood. It had worked before on Nasir, so hopefully it would work here.


    Valerie paused for a moment, then gave a heavy sigh.


    "You know what?" she said. "Yeah, I would."


    And then, before Pale could react, Valerie moved. She shifted away from Pale''s blade, and in the same motion, brought her other arm around, intending to hammer it against Pale''s skull. Pale was just barely able to disengage in time to avoid being struck, Valerie''s fist busting a crater in the ground where she''d just been a split second before.


    The two of them separated from each other. They both stood there in silence for a moment before Valerie let out another chuckle.


    "Knew it," she taunted. "You don''t have what it takes to kill me."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "Don''t confuse an unwillingness to kill with an inability to kill."


    "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    Pale didn''t answer, instead rushing in, knife at the ready. Valerie was unprepared for the sudden assault and backpedaled a bit, giving Pale time to close in. Her natural instinct was to go for a killing blow, but instead, Pale held herself back, and settled on a sudden gouge to the outside of Valerie''s arm. Valerie reeled back, her hood falling down to reveal her face, etched with surprise. Pale flicked her knife, scattering blood droplets across the ground, as Valerie stared at the crimson leaking from her hand and dripping onto the ground below.


    "Give up," Pale demanded. Off in the distance, she could see Kayla''s fire being cast, as well as arrows soaring through the air. A scowl crossed her face; she was going to have to make this quick.


    Valerie, meanwhile, stared at her arm, still dripping a thin trail of blood, with her expression still carved into a look of shock.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t last. He expression soon contorted into one of sheer rage, and she charged at Pale once more.


    Pale let out an irritated huff, realizing that Valerie was going to keep coming unless she did something drastic. Another series of shallow cuts, perhaps ¨C enough to draw blood and be painful, but not enough to permanently maim her or kill her.


    She never got the chance to do so before a black aura suddenly surrounded Valerie''s hands, and she snapped one of them forward.


    Pale was taken by surprise when a large chunk of rock tore itself from the wall and was hurled towards her by some unseen force. She jumped out of the way, but was left off-balance when Valerie closed in on her, and was not prepared for the rock-encrusted fist that made impact with her stomach, just underneath what her plate carrier covered. Pale''s eyes widened as the air was driven out of her, but she managed to stay standing.


    This was a mistake, as Valerie brought her other hand around, bashing her across the head.


    Pale flew backwards several feet, reeling from the blow as stars flashed through her vision. A rivulet of blood began to run down her head, and she grunted as she tried in vain to stop the world from spinning.


    Her vision straightened out just as Valerie began to advance upon her once more, and by now, Pale knew she had to do something to end this fight before she was left even more wounded.


    And so, despite every fiber of her being screaming at her not to do it, Pale yanked her pistol from its holster and fired. Two .45 caliber slugs went screaming downrange, making impact with each of Valerie''s kneecaps. She fell to the ground, screaming bloody murder as the twin gunshots echoed throughout the halls like a thunderclap.


    Pale froze for a moment, but it didn''t last. She decocked her handgun, then stowed it back in its holster and began to approach Valerie, who was writhing on the ground in agony, a pool of blood forming around her and tears leaking from her eyes as she sobbed. She was in so much pain that she didn''t notice Pale approach until it was already too late, and by then, it was too late for her to get away.


    Still, she tried to scramble back, lashing out blindly, but in her pain, the rocks covering her hands began to crumble and fall away, leaving her with nothing but bare-handed strikes that merely glanced off Pale''s slung rifle and plate carrier. Still, Valerie fought, until finally, Pale had enough. She grabbed Valerie''s hand, then with her other, reached for her belt.


    Valerie began to hyperventilate as Pale pulled something from the pouch at the small of her back, and began to scream for help. Pale, meanwhile, simply let her.


    She didn''t even notice when Pale uncapped the syringe with her own teeth, then stuck the needle into Valerie''s arm and depressed the plunger, sending the medicine flowing into her body.


    It was over in just a moment. Pale let go of Valerie, then recapped the syringe and stowed it back in her IFAK before standing up.


    "Your legs will repair themselves in a few hours," Pale reported. "By then, you won''t even be able to notice you''ve been shot, save for the scar tissue, which will heal over time. Now where''s the tome?"


    Valerie didn''t say anything, instead staring at Pale with wide eyes. Pale rolled her eyes, then stepped back over to Valerie and began to pat her down. Valerie screamed like she was being manhandled, but Pale ignored her. To her dismay, Valerie didn''t have a tome on her; Pale let out a grunt of annoyance as she stood up once more and glared down at Valerie.


    "Next time, when someone offers you an out, take it," she advised.


    "Pale!"


    At the sound of Kayla''s voice, Pale turned. Kayla was running towards her, a worried expression on her face, which turned to horror when she saw Valerie writhing on the ground. The medicine Pale had used on her had already worked to stem most of the bleeding, but she was still in obvious pain.


    "What¡­ what happened?" Kayla muttered. "What did you do¡­?"


    "Something desperate," Pale said. She reached out and took Kayla by the hand. "Come on, we have to leave."


    "But-"


    "Now, Kayla. Let''s go."


    Kayla offered no argument as Pale began to pull her away, leaving Valerie by herself, crying from fear and pain as she continued to slowly bleed on the stone-covered ground.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 7

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    Pale and Kayla ran for several minutes, eventually reaching the end of the stone pathway. Up ahead, Pale saw red light spilling in from the next room, and double-timed it over to the opening along with Kayla.


    The two of them came bursting out of the cave, only to freeze at what they saw.


    "Wow¡­" Kayla muttered. "What is this place¡­?"


    Pale didn''t have an answer for her. From what she could see, they were still very much underground, though cave they''d just emerged in was absolutely enormous. By her estimate, the ceiling was several hundred feet above them; a thin crack ran along it, letting in a small trickle of sunlight from outside. It was impossible to see through the crack in the ceiling, so Pale still couldn''t tell exactly where they were, and she could also see that it was far too small for her to fit a pod through, meaning she wouldn''t be able to resupply at all. But that wasn''t what really got her attention.


    No, what had her frozen was the seemingly endless expanse of glowing blood-red trees laid out beneath them, which appeared to stretch out in almost all directions for what had to be miles. The trees radiated light from every leaf, illuminating the underground enough that it more than made up for the minuscule amounts of sunlight coming in from overhead.


    Kayla took a tentative step forwards, swallowing nervously as she did so. "Well¡­ I guess we''re deeper underground than we thought."


    Pale opened her mouth to respond, only to wince as a wave of pain lanced through her head. She doubled over, bringing a hand up to rub at the gash Valerie had given her earlier, wincing as she did so. Kayla was at her side in an instant, but Pale was quick to gently push her away.


    "Not now," Pale grunted. "I''ll fill you in once we''ve found a safe place to rest up."


    Kayla nodded. "Okay. Lead the way."


    Pale looked around for a way forwards, her gaze landing on a set of stone stairs that descended into the sea of blood-red trees. She motioned for Kayla to follow after her, then hefted her assault rifle and began to move once more.


    XXX


    A few minutes later, and Pale let out a grunt as she set her pack down on the ground and sidled up to a nearby tree. She reached for her IFAK once again, pulling out a second syringe and staring at it. After a moment to weigh her options, she shrugged and stuck it into her arm, then depressed the plunger.


    "What is that?" Kayla asked, eyeing the needle in her hand.


    "Medicine," Pale answered as she pulled the syringe out of her arm and stowed it back in her IFAK. "Very potent medicine, at that. It accelerates the body''s natural healing factor by a ridiculous amount."


    "Sounds useful."


    "It is, but I don''t have much of it on me, and using too many is very bad for you." Pale pressed her back up against the trunk of the tree and slid down to the base of it, looking up at the ceiling as a sigh escaped her. Already, she could feel the medicine working to heal the gash in her head; within a few minutes, she''d be all set.


    It was lucky that Valerie hadn''t given her a concussion, or something worse; her and Kayla were already behind schedule, and the last thing they needed was a debilitating injury holding them back.


    "So," Kayla said, interrupting her thoughts. Pale turned to her and found Kayla staring at her with a hand on her hip. "What happened back there?"


    Pale shrugged. "We fought. I won. Simple as that."


    "No, it isn''t. I thought you weren''t going to kill anyone."


    "I won''t kill anyone who doesn''t try to kill us first."


    "And did Valerie try to kill you?"


    "Depends on whether you think massive head trauma is just her way of making friends or not."


    "Pale."


    Pale let out a sigh, running a hand through her snow-white hair. It was still sticky and clumped together with wet blood, but hopefully she could find a river or something to soak it in. "...You know, back where I''m from, we consider trying to brain someone with a giant chunk of rock to be lethal force. I take it that''s not par for the course here?"


    "I don''t know what that means."


    "Old expression from my creators; I''ll rephrase¡­ I take it that things are different here?"


    "In a manner of speaking," Kayla answered. "Magic is obviously very dangerous, but generally, trained mages will hold themselves back from drawing blood if it''s just a standard duel. You remember how they started that fight by firing an arrow at us? They could have easily gotten one of us in the leg with that, or worse. I think they were just trying to intimidate us into giving up."


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    "Someone should have told that to Valerie, because she''s the one who pushed the issue."


    "Which of you drew first blood?"


    "I did," Pale answered. "Why does that matter?"


    "It matters in a duel," Kayla replied. "Like I said, we generally try not to draw blood, or anything equally as bad. That''s reserved for people who are actually trying to kill us."


    "Then how did you manage to take down your opponent, if not by hurting her?"


    "I managed to box her in with my flames, then convinced her to surrender when I started to push them towards her, just enough for the heat to make her uncomfortable and show that she had no chance of winning."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "A little warning about the etiquette behind magic duels would have been nice, you know. I''m used to fighting to the death on this planet."


    "In my defense, I didn''t know they were going to have us fighting each other like this," Kayla replied. "And I had precious little time to fill you in before they sent you down here by yourself."


    Pale waved her off. "It doesn''t matter, I suppose; I know now, at any rate, and I won''t be making the same mistake again any time soon."


    Kayla crossed her arms. "Sorry, but that''s not good enough. What did you do to her?"


    Pale glared at her. "Since when did you get so assertive?"


    "Since we fought an elder vampire and a hoard of undead a few months ago. Somehow, compared to that, standing up for myself doesn''t seem quite so difficult anymore. Stop trying to dodge the question, it won''t work."


    "Fine, fine¡­" Pale sighed and ran a hand through her hair again. "¡­At first, I just tried to get her to surrender by holding a knife to her throat. It worked on Nasir earlier, so I figured it''d work again, but it didn''t this time; she ended up pushing the issue, we fought, and I gave her a shallow cut on her arm."


    "You cut her?" Kayla asked.


    Pale nodded. "Yeah. Don''t tell me ¨C she interpreted that as deadly force, and chose to respond in kind, because she suddenly thought I was actually trying to kill her?" Kayla nodded, and Pale let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, that figures¡­"


    "What happened then?"


    "Exactly what you think happened ¨C she started fighting for her life, not that I knew it at the time, and very nearly brained me with a heavy chunk of rock. I figured I needed to end the fight immediately at that point, so¡­"


    Pale trailed off. Kayla crossed her arms again. "So you shot her."


    "Of course I shot her," Pale muttered. "She was trying to kill me."


    "Because she thought you were trying to kill her." Kayla let out a heavy exhale. "...Well, this is a mess."


    "I noticed," Pale said dryly. "At the very least, I had some medicine I could give her. Her legs will be healed up soon, to the point where she won''t even notice the injuries save for the scar tissue. Granted, that doesn''t make up for blowing her knees apart in the first place, but still. Hopefully, that''ll make it clear that I don''t intend to kill her."


    "An apology would make it even more clear."


    Pale whipped around to face her. "You can''t be serious."


    "I am," Kayla replied. "At the very least, you should offer her one. She doesn''t have to accept it, but you probably should offer it to her, just to make it clear that this was all a huge misunderstanding on your part."


    "On my part?" Pale echoed. "Did you miss the part where she tried to kill me, too?"


    "The way I see it, you both could keep dwelling on that, or you could work to move past it. I don''t know about you, but I''d rather focus the energy spent remembering that on something else instead."


    Pale let out a small huff. "...I''ll think about it," she offered. "Anyway, how''d your fight with the archer go? I take it you won?"


    Kayla motioned to the pack she''d given Pale earlier. "See for yourself."


    Pale blinked, then turned her attention to the pack. She opened it and began to search through it, pausing when she saw two tomes inside, one white and one red. Slowly, she turned back to Kayla and gave her a nod.


    "Well done."


    Kayla perked up at that, a small blush crossing her face. "...Thanks," she replied softly. "Anyway, I figure that one could be yours and the other could be mine."


    "Perhaps it''d be best to wait before dividing them up," Pale offered. "It''s possible the next person we find has another red or another white. Not that it matters that much, but still."


    "Sure."


    With that established, Pale turned her attention back to the pack and began to search through it again. "How many rations do you have in here? You haven''t been snacking on them again, have you?"


    Kayla gave her an indignant look, but shook her head. "It''s not my fault the chocolate bars in them taste so good¡­ but no; I remember the first time you caught me doing that quite vividly, and that was enough for me to hold myself back whenever I felt the urge."


    "Good. Because I don''t know about you, but I don''t think it''s a good idea to try and hunt for food right now, not when we still don''t know the basic layout of the land, what threats there are around here, or where the other initiates are lurking."


    "What are you trying to say?"


    Pale''s only response was to hold up one of the ration packages so Kayla could see it.


    "Menu number six, chicken-and-rice tortilla bowl," she said. "Nice."


    XXX


    A short while later, and the two of them were seated around a small fire, the ration having been divided in half between the two of them. They ate in silence, Pale taking care to keep her eyes on the forest around them, scanning for any threats. Up above, the sunlight trickling through the crack in the ceiling had begun to wane, indicating that it was getting close to nightfall.


    Pale wasn''t sure exactly what to expect down here, but experience had told her that nothing good lurked in the darkness on Sjel. And to that end, she''d opted to keep her rifle within arm''s reach, and her pistol on her hip, even as she ate.


    After a few minutes of eating, they were both finished. Pale collected their trash and buried it, then took the sleeping roll out of her pack and laid it out on the ground.


    "I''ll take the first watch," she offered. "We''ll trade places on the sleeping roll, since we only have the one now."


    "Make sense," Kayla agreed with a nod. "Okay, let''s-"


    A far-off scream of agony interrupted her. Both women tensed, Pale''s grip tightening around her weapon while sparks flickered in Kayla''s hands. After a moment, the scream abruptly stopped, leaving the forest in silence once more. Slowly, Pale turned towards Kayla.


    "It''s your call," she offered. "Do we check it out?"


    Kayla bit the inside of her cheek. "...I say so," she replied. "If someone needs our help-"


    Pale did her best not to roll her eyes. Kayla was still as altruistic as ever, it seemed. Still, she had been the one to offer the choice to her, so it wasn''t entirely a surprise, she supposed.


    "Okay," she told her. "Let''s move. I''ll take point."


    Kayla nodded, and after taking a brief moment to stow the bedroll, they both set off.


    Pale wasn''t sure what they''d find out there, but something told her that those hidden dangers she''d been wary of had finally made themselves known to them.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 8

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    Together, Pale and Kayla crept through the blood-red forest, both moving as cautiously and silently as they could. Still, despite their best efforts, crimson leaves crunched underfoot and brush rustled as they moved through it, headed in the direction of the scream they''d both heard.


    Pale kept her rifle''s stock pulled tightly into her shoulder as she watched, her thumb up and ready to flick the safety off at a moment''s notice. Still, as they moved through the treeline, she couldn''t help but note just how ill-suited the environment was for them. Not only was the tree coverage and foliage thick enough to mask any potential assailants, but the way the trees and bushes seemed to almost glow crimson disoriented their senses, making it difficult to parse what they were seeing.


    Not only that, but the crimson glow also played tricks with her weapon, too. Pale''s current rifle had a holographic sight mounted ¨C a small black box, in which a red reticle was projected onto a front lens. The sight was intended to be easy to pick up in most environments, and that was generally true, but in an area like this, where everything was red, it was more of a hindrance than anything.


    Pale looked over her shoulder for a moment to make sure Kayla was still following after her. She was, however she seemed very disoriented; she was constantly blinking and rubbing at her eyes, something which didn''t go unnoticed by Pale.


    "Something wrong?"


    Kayla shook her head. "No, it''s just¡­ I''m a beastkin. We have slightly more sensitive eyes than humans do."


    "Ah, I understand. Think you can keep going?"


    "Of course," Kayla said. "But I am going to have a nasty migraine by the time all this is over, I''m sure."


    "I don''t mean to frighten you, but I suspect we''ll both be incredibly lucky if all we have to worry about by the end of this is a bad migraine."


    Kayla paused, staring at her in surprise. "...You think it''ll be that bad?"


    "Just a feeling I have," Pale said, turning her attention forward again. "Remember, we once thought the worst thing we''d encounter at Woodbriar was an overzealous town guard."


    Kayla couldn''t help but shudder at that. "You''re right¡­ I''ll be careful."


    "Stick close to me," Pale urged. "Forest looks like it''ll be easy to get lost in, and I don''t want us getting too turned around."


    Kayla nodded, and they both continued on their way, pushing through the foliage in search of whoever had screamed.


    XXX


    After a few more minutes of walking, Pale stopped, holding up a hand as a signal for Kayla to pause behind her. Kayla came to a rest a few feet away, peering around Pale''s shoulder as best as she could.


    "What''s going on?" she asked.


    "Clearing up ahead," Pale commented, her eyes narrowing. "There''s someone out there, and they aren''t moving."


    Kayla nodded. "Should we move in?"


    "Not yet. This seems like an ambush to me."


    "Ambush¡­? What makes you say that?"


    Pale sank into a low crouch, and motioned for Kayla to do the same. Once she had, Pale raised a hand and began to point around the clearing.


    "There''s only one body, but I see two pools of blood out there," Pale told her. "Not only that, but there are scuff marks in the dirt, indicating someone was dragged away by force."


    Kayla shuddered at that. "What do you think did it?"


    "No idea. It could be another initiate, or it could be something else that lurks in the forest. We don''t know for sure. And that''s what worries me." Pale shifted a bit, pulling the bolt back on her rifle slightly to make sure there was a round chambered. Once she''d seen the telltale glint of brass sitting neatly in her weapon, she let the bolt go forwards, then took a breath.


    "I''ll go out and investigate," she told Kayla. "If I run into trouble I can''t solve on my own, back me up."


    Kayla blinked, then tilted her head, confused. "You don''t want me to help you if you don''t need it?"


    "You need to conserve your mana," Pale urged. "We don''t know what we''re facing out here, or how long we''ll be stuck underground. The last thing we need is for you to completely drain yourself, because then we''ll be in big trouble."


    Slowly, Kayla nodded. "Okay¡­ I''ve got it. I''ll let you handle it unless it looks like you''re about to be overwhelmed."


    "Good. And it goes without saying, but if you run into trouble, call for me. I''ll come running."


    "I know you will; you always have."


    Pale gave her a small nod, then turned and stood up, marching out of the underbrush, rifle in her shoulder as she scanned the area. It seemed clear, but there was no way to know for sure. Slowly, she approached the fallen initiate lying a short ways away; from this distance, she could tell that it was a dark-skinned female wearing a black cloak, but past that, it was impossible to tell what had happened to her, as her back was turned to Pale.


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    The most alarming thing, however, was that even from here, Pale could tell that this girl was very clearly dead. If the pool of blood hadn''t already given it away, then the fact that she wasn''t breathing was evidence enough.


    Pale reached the girl''s body after a moment, then carefully used one of her boots to turn her over from her side onto her back. The initiate rolled over onto her back, her eyes staring up lifelessly at the ceiling above. From here, it was plain to see what had done her in ¨C her throat had been torn out, the gash in it deep enough that Pale could just barely make out the white of her spine between the shredded flesh and muscles.


    Pale''s eyes narrowed at that realization. One of her suspicions now ruled out, she motioned for Kayla to follow after her; the gentle rustling of bushes and footfalls against the dirt ground from behind signaled her arrival just a few seconds later.


    "Gods¡­" Kayla muttered as she stared at the dead girl on the ground. "I''m gonna be sick¡­"


    "Hold it in," Pale told her without looking back. "Don''t go wasting your calories like that."


    "If you say so¡­" Kayla closed her eyes and took a breath to calm herself, then opened them and looked back to Pale. "So, what happened?"


    "If you ask me, this girl wasn''t killed by one of us," Pale reported. "It looks more like some kind of predator got to her."


    "Do you know what kind?"


    Pale shook her head. "No idea. It doesn''t seem to have been a pack hunter; there would be more torn-up clods of dirt scattered around here if it had been a pack of animals rather than a lone hunter. From what I can tell, this was a single decisive strike done as a surprise attack. If I had to guess, whatever did this took this girl out first, then took out her companion and dragged them away, likely to eat them."


    Kayla shuddered again at that. "Gods¡­ that''s horrible."


    Pale said nothing, instead kneeling down and patting the body down. Behind her, she heard Kayla give a small gasp.


    "What are you doing?!"


    "Checking to see if she has anything good on her," Pale said, again without looking back. "And before you complain ¨C yes, I know it''s disrespecting the dead, but this is a survival situation. And moreover, I suspect that we''ll get a chance to avenge her before long."


    That made Kayla freeze. "...You think whatever killed her is still out there?"


    "I do," Pale said with a nod. She patted the girl down once final time, letting out a grunt of displeasure when she didn''t find anything good on her, least of all a tome like she''d wanted. With that done, she stood up and dusted herself off, then turned towards Kayla once more. "Think about it ¨C that thing, whatever it was, left her body here for a reason. My guess is that it heard either her or her companion scream before they died and knew someone might come looking for them." Pale looked around, scanning the treeline as best she could. "Whatever this thing is, it''s smart."


    "So it''s smart and strong¡­" Kayla muttered. "Beautiful¡­"


    "Don''t sound so discouraged," Pale told her.


    "Why not?"


    "Because if my suspicions are correct, then it''s probably watching us right now."


    Kayla''s hair stood on end. She stiffened, and opened her mouth to say something, only for Pale to shake her head."


    "Don''t freak out," she warned. "We don''t want to spook it."


    "What are you talking about?! That sounds like exactly what we want! Maybe if we do that, it''ll leave us alone!"


    "I wouldn''t count on that," Pale said. "If anything, now that it''s got us in our sights, it''ll probably start stalking us. This is our chance to lure it out and kill it before it becomes a problem¡­ and, to a lesser degree, avenge this girl and her missing friend, as well as keep this animal from killing any other initiates."


    Kayla paused as she considered that face. After a moment, she gave a slow nod.


    "...I suppose you''re right," she conceded. "But why do we have to be the ones to kill it?"


    "Would you really trust any of the other initiates to handle themselves well against something with an actual body count?" Pale asked bluntly. After a moment, she shook her head. "I got a good look at most of them, and I can say that they''re almost all out-of-touch children of nobles or otherwise inexperienced mages all-around. Frankly, I''d pick you in a fight over any of them a hundred times out of a hundred, because at least I know you can handle yourself well. But that''s beside the point; the truth is, it has to be us, because anyone else would almost certainly just get themselves killed if they tried to do what we''re about to do."


    "And¡­ what are we about to do?" Kayla asked tentatively.


    "Simple," Pale said as she rose to her feet. "We''re going to lure it out and kill it."


    XXX


    Kayla wiped sweat from her brow as she ran through the forest, her breath coming out ragged. She looked over her shoulder every now and again, checking to make sure there was nothing behind her.


    And a short ways away, perched atop a tall tree, Pale watched the whole thing unfold.


    She stared at Kayla through the flip-to-side magnifier mounted behind her holographic sight, taking great care not to even come close to centering the reticle anywhere near her. The entire time, her finger hovered over her rifle''s trigger, waiting for the unseen threat to reveal itself.


    It hadn''t exactly been the most in-depth plan she''d ever thought of, but then again, the right predator needed the right bait, and a panicked young woman taking off through the forest by herself seemed like it''d be way too good of an opportunity for it to pass up.


    And so, the two of them had split up under the guise of searching for the dead girl''s missing companion. Pale had climbed a tall tree, while Kayla had wandered around for a bit, then come back to the clearing, only to find her gone, which had thrown her into a panic.


    Or at least, that was the basic idea.


    "Pale!" Kayla called out. "Pale, where are you?!"


    "She''s a good actor, at least¡­" Pale muttered, adjusting her rifle''s stock to sit a bit more comfortably in her shoulder. "Now, where are you¡­?"


    She continued to track Kayla through her rifle''s optic pair, watching for any telltale underbrush movement nearby, only to find nothing. Her brow furrowed at the sight of it.


    This didn''t make any sense to her. A standard predator would have been after Kayla from the moment she''d started running and shouting, but this one, whatever it was, seemed far more restrained than she''d expected.


    Pale was about to look around once more when she heard something ¨C the leaves of a nearby tree rustling. Her eyes widened, and she rolled to the side, falling off the branch she''d been perched on just in time for an incoming claw the size of a machete blade to pass by right where her head had been a split-second ago.


    Pale fell, crashing through branch after branch, each one helping slow her descent a bit more. By the time she hit the ground back-first, her fall had gone from a lethal descent to one that merely drove the wind out of her and bruised her ribs. She didn''t dwell on how lucky she was, however ¨C rather, she instead rolled to the side once more, again just in time to avoid another claw that impacted right where she''d been a moment ago.


    And for the first time, she got a good look at what had been hunting them the entire time.


    It was large, about the size of a grizzly bear, with a body rippling with muscle. It walked on four legs, each of them tipped with those same wicked-looking claws. It had a head that reminded Pale of a large cat''s, but with the mouth of a lamprey attached to it, complete with the lining of spiral teeth.


    All told, it was more like some kind of amalgamation of three different familiar-looking animals than anything.


    Pale didn''t get much chance to dwell on it, however, before the Amalgamation crouched down and leaped at her once more.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 9

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    Pale dove out of the way right as the Amalgamation''s claws came crashing down where she''d been standing just a moment ago. Without a moment''s pause, Pale rolled onto her back, flicking her rifle''s selector to fully automatic, and laid on the trigger. Heavy 6.8mm rounds impacted against the creature, but to Pale''s dismay, its skin seemed to harden as each of the bullets struck; all her efforts got her was the occasional puff of blood as a stray round managed to sneak in through whatever natural armor the Amalgamation had underneath its skin.


    Finally, Pale''s rifle clicked empty, and she slid it to the side, drawing her pistol in the same motion. Her first thought was to go for the creature''s eyes, but she didn''t get a chance to before a bolt of lightning came streaking towards it from the underbrush. Pale winced as the lightning made impact right in front of her, the sudden pulse of light causing spots to flash in her vision. The Amalgamation reeled back from the lightning, its body smoking as a low growl came rumbling up from its throat.


    To Pale''s surprise, the Amalgamation didn''t press the attack, and instead turned and began to retreat deeper into the blood-red forest. It didn''t take her long to figure out why; Kayla came running around the corner a few seconds later, her eyes widening when she saw Pale lying on the forest floor.


    "Pale!" she shouted, running over to her.


    "I''m fine," Pale insisted as she picked herself up. Her bruised ribs screamed at her as she moved, and she couldn''t help but wince with every stray motion, though she was quick to stand up straight regardless.


    Kayla watched her try to straighten herself out for a moment, wincing the entire time, before finally shaking her head and stepping over to her.


    "Here, lean on me," Kayla urged, throwing Pale''s arm around her shoulders.


    "I''m fine, Kayla," Pale repeated.


    "No, you''re not," Kayla told her. "Come on, let''s find somewhere safer than this."


    "We can''t," Pale said. "That thing is going to be hunting us now."


    "You really think so?"


    "Yes. I suspect that it only stopped attacking me because it didn''t like its odds of facing both of us at the same time." Pale looked down at her empty rifle, still slung across her front, and scowled. "My gun was useless against it. It''s got some kind of natural sub-dermal armor¡­ definitely the apex predator down here; that would explain why we haven''t seen any other animals nearby."


    "What does that all mean?"


    "It means that its body can naturally stop bullets," Pale spat. "I''m lucky you came along when you did, otherwise I''d probably have died back there."


    Kayla went white at that. She swallowed nervously before looking back to Pale. "...Thank the gods that didn''t happen."


    "Gods or not, the fact is, that thing''s still out there, and I''d be very surprised if it isn''t still watching us," Pale emphasized. "We managed to drive it off easily enough, but that just means that we''re its biggest threat right now. It''s going to try and take us out again at some point, the only question is when."


    Kayla bit her lip before giving her a small nod of understanding. "How do we stop it?"


    The two of them began to walk, Kayla continuing to support her as they moved. After a moment, Pale let out a grunt, then shook her head.


    "I don''t know, Kayla," she answered. "I really don''t know."


    XXX


    It took them roughly twenty minutes of slow, tense walking, but eventually, the two of them managed to find a small cave dug into the base of one of the stone walls nearby. Kayla helped her inside, and Pale gently lowered herself to the ground, wincing as she did so.


    "You should use some of your medicine now," Kayla urged.


    "I''m debating it," Pale admitted. "The only thing keeping me from actually doing it is the knowledge that if I use a syringe now, it''s one less that I''ll have for later."


    "No offense, but from what I can see, your injuries are actively hindering you. If we''re to have a chance of killing whatever that thing is, then we''ll both need to be in tip-top shape."


    Pale''s brow furrowed, but after a moment, she nodded in agreement. "...You make a good point," she admitted.


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    After taking a moment to unsling her assault rifle and set it aside, Pale reached into her IFAK for another syringe, then uncapped it and jabbed the needle into her arm. A wave of relief passed through her the instant she depressed the plunger with her thumb, and a small, content sigh escaped from her throat as the painkillers went to work on her ribs.


    Idly, Pale realized that Kayla was staring at her. She turned towards her, a confused look on her face.


    "Yes?" Pale asked.


    "How does it work?" Kayla questioned.


    "What, the medicine?" That earned her a nod, and she pursed her lips in thought. "...Not that I don''t know how it works, more like I can''t think of how to properly explain it."


    "Try your best," Kayla said as she peered out the cave, staring out across the forest outside. "I need something to take my mind off the knowledge that we''re currently being hunted like rats."


    "Alright," Pale conceded. "I don''t know how advanced medical science is on this world-"


    "We use healing magic for everything serious, and basic home remedies and medicine for everything else."


    "Of course¡­" Pale shook her head. "You all at least realize that you need to wash your hands to prevent the spread of disease, don''t you?"


    "We do," Kayla answered, still looking out the mouth of the cave.


    "Well, to put it simply, your body is made up of things called cells ¨C essentially, tiny microscopic organisms that keep you running on a mechanical level. Are you following along with this?"


    "I suppose," Kayla said. "I know better than to doubt you when it comes to things like this anyway¡­"


    Pale nodded. "Good. Anyway, these cells each serve a specific function for the body. Some of them are responsible for healing you when you''re injured." She held up the empty syringe. "What this medicine does is speed up that process dramatically. Don''t ask me how the medicine itself actually works ¨C that explanation would be far too complex."


    "I believe you."


    "Good, because that was a few thousand years of medical advancement, right there." Pale reached for her rifle and swapped magazines, smacking the bolt release to chamber a round before putting the weapon on safe and slinging it across her front once more.


    "Truly?" Kayla asked, looking over to her in surprise. "Assuming that''s all true ¨C and I have no reason to believe it isn''t ¨C then I have to wonder why the people of my world never discovered it for themselves."


    "That''s the wrong question to ask," Pale pointed out. "You''d all have no way of knowing about this without inventing the microscope. I mean, if I were to approach a random person on the street and tell them what I just told you, they''d think I was crazy."


    "They would," Kayla confirmed.


    "Exactly. It''s not a theory someone would seriously consider unless they saw it for themselves first. Even among my creators, cell theory is still relatively new, all things considered; it''s only about six-hundred years old. Meanwhile, the microscope was invented a few hundred years before then." Pale shook her head. "What I want to know is why this world hasn''t industrialized in several thousand years."


    "Industrialize?"


    "Yeah. It seems natural for people to want to automate their lives, even if only on a basic, rudimentary level. I can''t help but wonder why this world has been stuck in, essentially, the equivalent of my creators'' medieval period for so long."


    "Perhaps magic has something to do with it?" Kayla wondered.


    "Possibly," Pale answered with a nod. "But then again, while magic is ubiquitous here, I can''t see a rational explanation for why it would preclude technological advancement in that manner. It''s almost like a permanent Dark Age has settled over your world, for whatever reason¡­" She shook her head. "Anyway, I suppose that''s not important now."


    Pale stood up, stretching out as she did so. Her ribs didn''t cry out at her as she moved, which was good. After a moment spent testing her range of motion and confirming that nothing hurt anymore, Pale stepped over to where Kayla was standing and looked out into the forest as well.


    "See anything?" she asked.


    "Nothing¡­" Kayla muttered. "Wherever it is, I can''t see it."


    "I''m not surprised. A creature like that is going to be incredibly difficult to track."


    "What is it, anyway?"


    "Some kind of amalgamation of multiple different animals into one," Pale specified. "That''s what I''ve taken to calling it, at least ¨C an Amalgamation. No idea if it''s magical in nature or not, but given that sub-dermal armor, I wouldn''t be surprised."


    "You think someone might have made that thing?"


    "It''s possible, at least." Pale looked up at the ceiling, taking note of the fact that the sunlight was no longer shining through the thin opening that ran throughout it. "Looks like night''s fallen. I say we take some time to recover and try to think of a proper plan for how to deal with that thing when we encounter it again."


    "Don''t tell me," Kayla began, "you''ll take the first watch?"


    "I have a reason for it this time," Pale insisted. Kayla glared at her. "I mean it, Kayla."


    "Alright, let''s hear it."


    "My weapons didn''t do anything to it," Pale pointed out. "But it turned tail and ran the moment you hit it with lightning. I have no idea if that means anything beyond it being like most living creatures and preferring not to be hit with 300 million volts of electricity, but either way, it shows me that we''re going to need you at peak condition if we''re going to have a chance of killing it."


    Kayla blinked, then nodded. "Makes sense," she conceded. "But I don''t like it."


    "I didn''t think you would." Pale shouldered her rifle, taking a look through the magnifier mounted behind the holographic sight. After a moment spent scanning the treeline, she let out a slow exhale, then lowered her weapon. "We''re going to have a time and a half trying to lure the Amalgamation out. It''s not going to show itself to both of us at once; rather, I suspect it''s going to try and ambush us one at a time. That or try to draw us out by going after some of the others."


    "What do you suggest we do, then?" Kayla asked.


    "Right now? There''s nothing we can do. If we go out looking for it directly, we''re just going to get ourselves killed. If we wait, more initiates are going to be hunted down by it. I hate to say it, but we''re really between a rock and a hard place with this one."


    Kayla''s expression narrowed, but she didn''t say anything. After a moment, Pale let out a sigh, then motioned with her head for Kayla to move back.


    "Get some rest," Pale told her. "I''ll keep watch."


    Again, Kayla stayed silent, though she did as Pale asked, stepping back into the cave and retrieving the bedroll from her pack. Pale paid her no mind as she set the bedroll out, instead continuing to watch the treeline from the front of the cave.


    Up above, through the crack in the ceiling, there was a far-off rumble of thunder. A few seconds later, a flash of lightning lit up a small part of the underground, though it wasn''t enough for Pale to make anything out through the bright glow of the red trees. She let out a frustrated grunt before going back to watching the trees, the whole time hoping that the Amalgamation would give them at least a few more hours to come up with a plan.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 10

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    It was another loud, ear-piercing scream that woke her. Immediately, Pale jumped to her feet, snapping her rifle to her shoulder. Across from her, Kayla stood up, already conjuring lightning in her hand. For a moment, neither one of them moved, but when it became clear that they weren''t in immediate danger, they allowed themselves to relax.


    "What was that?" Kayla asked. She hesitated before adding,"...Please don''t tell me that thing got another person."


    "Won''t know unless we go looking for it," Pale replied.


    "You can''t be serious. You really want to go out there and try to hunt that thing again?"


    "Well, what''s the alternative? Sit here and let it keep killing more people?" Pale shook her head. "Come on, Kayla. We''re going to have to leave this cave eventually, and when we do, it''ll be waiting for us anyway."


    Kayla bit her lip. "...How are you feeling? Are your wounds at least healed?"


    "They are," Pale confirmed. "How long was I out?"


    "About four hours."


    "Good, that''s more than enough for me to be back to normal." Pale motioned for Kayla to follow her. "Stick close to me. Let''s go find this thing."


    XXX


    The two of them found themselves one again pushing their way through the underbrush, heading to where they''d heard the last scream. Kayla was directing them, silently pointing out where to go; Pale had no objections to this, given how Kayla had superior hearing to her and how she''d had more time to pinpoint the location of the scream.


    It only took them a few minutes to find the source ¨C the mutilated body of a young man, dressed in green robes, was lying against a tree. His throat had a chunk torn out of it, and his face was frozen in an expression of sheer terror. His clothes were torn, exposing his bare chest to the world; even from this distance, Pale could see that something had almost sawed his chest open and shredded his heart.


    "Gods¡­" Kayla muttered.


    "I don''t know about you, but I''d say that''s our monster''s handiwork," Pale observed.


    "You won''t hear any arguments from me¡­ urgh, what a way to go¡­ I feel sorry for him¡­"


    Pale again motioned for Kayla to follow her, and the two of them started to creep over to where the young man''s body was sitting upright against the tree.


    "Watch above us," Pale warned. "That thing is more agile than it looks. It attacked me when I was perched in the tree earlier."


    Kayla shuddered. "Is there anything it can''t do?"


    "Aside from make a clean kill? No idea."


    "Forget I asked¡­"


    They both managed to reach the corpse in just a few seconds. Pale observed the ground around the body, noting the scuff marks nearby. Slowly, a frown crossed her face.


    "It''s definitely watching us right now," she said. "Just like the last one, this body was dragged here for a reason."


    "How do you suggest we draw it out?" Kayla asked.


    "That''s a tough question to answer. If anything, I think we should-"


    At that moment, there was a loud crash of thunder overhead. Kayla jumped at the sudden sound of it as it rumbled through the underground cavern. Pale looked up at the ceiling, watching as lightning arced across the sky. And then, as she watched, it began to rain ¨C slowly at first, but within just a few seconds, it became torrential, leaking through the crack in the ceiling like a sieve.


    And at that moment, an idea came to mind.


    "I think I know how we can stop this thing," she announced.


    "Does it involve using me as bait again?" Kayla asked.


    Pale shook her head. "No, not this time."


    "Good." Kayla paused. "...What do you mean when you say this time?"


    Pale ignored her, instead bringing a hand to her chin in thought for a moment before turning back to Kayla. "We''re going to need some other people for this one."


    "What for? Planning to overpower it with sheer numbers?"


    "Something like that. Come on, let''s see who we can find."


    XXX


    It didn''t take them long to find some unwilling volunteers. All they had to do was continue to sneak through the brush, keeping an ear out for any kind of hushed conversation going on. And before long, they''d found who they were looking for.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "-heard it over here."


    "Are you sure we should be doing this? I-I mean¡­ what if it''s dangerous? The instructors said-"


    "I know what they said, but we have to take the chance. We''re already running out of time as-is, and we still need to get some tomes."


    Pale sat crouched in the bushes, watching as the two cloaked figures, one male and one female, stalked through the treeline ahead of them. Next to her, Kayla shifted uncomfortably.


    "Are you sure this will work?" she asked.


    "Not at all," Pale replied. "But it''s the best bet we''ve got."


    "Right¡­"


    "You remember the plan?" Kayla nodded, and Pale sucked in a breath. "Good. Then let''s do it."


    With that, she stepped out from behind cover. Next to her, Kayla shrugged off the bag containing her tome, leaving it hidden in the bushes. Together, they both stood shoulder-to-shoulder, just behind the two other initiates, who were blissfully unaware of what was going on.


    At least, until Pale put her fingers to her mouth and loudly whistled.


    Instantly, both initiates spun around, the male in red readying a heavy crossbow and the female in white hefting a staff that seemed to glow with sheer radiance, to the point where Kayla had to avert her eyes with a hiss.


    "Who are you?" the young man demanded.


    "Just two initiates, same as you both," Pale replied. She stretched her arms out. "If you''ll notice, neither of us have tomes."


    "Yeah? Then you''re not worth our time, then."


    "No, but you''re worth ours. Hand over the tomes, or we''ll take them by force."


    "Cal¡­" the girl in white muttered.


    The young man, Cal, grit his teeth. "Don''t let them get to you, Cynthia. We can take them."


    "But what about the scream? What if someone''s in trouble?"


    "Then they''ll have to wait until we''re done with this. I''m not losing our tomes to these two losers."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "Then what are you waiting for? Do something about it."


    For a moment, neither group did anything, instead they both just stood there, staring each other down. As they did so, Pale took note of the crack in the ceiling; by her estimate, it was around fifty meters away, and rain was still pouring through it.


    Despite her focusing on the ceiling, she wasn''t taken by surprise at all when Cal finally fired his crossbow at her. Pale hit the floor before the bolt could make impact; it flew harmlessly over her head, impacting against a nearby tree, where it stuck. At that point, neither Pale nor Kayla wasted any time; they both rushed, Kayla conjuring fire and Pale pulling her knife as they closed the distance.


    As she drew closer to Cal, his eyes widened, and he dropped his crossbow, reaching into his cloak and drawing a longsword just as she reached him. Their blades made impact with each other, sparks flying between the two of them as steel clashed with carbon-reinforced, diamond-tipped steel. Cal backpedaled even as Pale went into for another stab, and he let out a loud yell as her blade scraped across his chest, cutting through his cloak and drawing a thin line of blood from him.


    "Cal!" Cynthia cried out.


    Cal dropped to one knee, wincing and gritting his teeth as blood dripped from his chest onto the ground. Pale stood over him, glancing down at him impassively.


    "I''ve drawn first blood," she stated. "It doesn''t have to go further than that. If you just surrender now-"


    Naturally, Cal wasn''t having it. He suddenly let out a loud yell and sprang up, driving the top of his head against her chin. Pale went with the strike, allowing herself to fall to the ground, clutching at her head and groaning in mock pain. Not far away, there was a flash of light, and Kayla let out a yelp as she, too, collapsed.


    Cal and Cynthia regrouped, both standing over them and panting with exertion. Cal reached up and touched his chest, wincing when he saw his hands come back red.


    "Cal!" Cynthia cried. "Hold on, let me heal-"


    "No!" he shouted back to her. "Save your mana, Cynthia."


    "But you''re bleeding!"


    "It''s nothing." He glared down at Pale. "All thanks to you. Don''t you know the first rule of mage duels? Not that it matters; you went down in just a single hit, anyway, so-"


    At that moment, Kayla sprang up, lunging for Cynthia. The white-cloaked mage screamed, then flared her staff again, there was a massive explosion of light, and Kayla was sent flying back-first into a nearby tree before landing on the ground, where she stayed, motionless but still breathing. Cynthia, meanwhile, began to sway from side-to-side, barely managing to stay upright, until finally, it was too much for her, and she, too, collapsed.


    And just like that, Cal was completely alone, surrounded by two people too injured to do anything and one who was too weak to even move. Without wasting any time, he rushed over to Cynthia''s side and began to call her name, trying to rouse her from unconsciousness, but to no avail.


    And then, right on cue, Pale saw a four-legged figure begin to move in the shadows, coming up just behind Cal. And in that moment, Pale reacted.


    "Now, Kayla! Do it!"


    As soon as the words left her mouth, Kayla sprang up from where she''d been lying and fired off a bolt of lightning. The Amalgamation roared as the lightning made impact, the noise of the thunderclap echoing through the underground. Pale, meanwhile, jumped to her feet and shouldered her rifle, taking careful aim. Kayla''s bolt of lightning had left a small crack in the Amalgamation''s sub-dermal armor, and Pale wasted no time in pumping it full of a full magazine of thirty 6.8mm rounds as fast as her weapon could cycle.


    The Amalgamation let out another pained roar, but this time, it didn''t retreat. Instead, it rounded on Pale, seeming to almost glare at her. Next to her, Cal stood, frozen to his spot with terror, still clutching his unconscious friend; Pale pushed him out of the way just as the Amalgamation leaped. Claws raked across her back, and she let out a pained hiss, though thankfully, the wounds didn''t seem to be too deep.


    The Amalgamation landed, and the moment its feet touched the earth, Pale called out once more.


    "Kayla, hit it again!"


    Kayla went to fulfill her request, but the moment she began to conjure lightning, the monster turned towards her instead. Immediately, Kayla''s eyes widened, and she stopped conjuring magic, and instead turned and ran. The Amalgamation ran after her, and Pale followed.


    Under her breath, she thanked whoever was listening that it had taken the bait.


    XXX


    Pale charged through the underbrush, listening for Kayla, who was still screaming at the top of her lungs as she ran. In her head, she counted the distance as they went.


    Thirty-five¡­ thirty¡­ twenty-five¡­ twenty meters¡­


    The crack in the ceiling was fast approaching; before she knew it, they were all there, in a clearing just underneath it. Rain continued to pour down from the opening above; already, Kayla and the Amalgamation were soaked, though Pale was dry.


    Which meant it was time for the final part of the plan.


    Pale shouldered her freshly-loaded rifle and again took aim at the crack in the Amalgamation''s armor as it began to stalk towards Kayla. Another series of rounds made impact, and it immediately glanced back at her.


    And in so doing, it sealed its fate.


    This time, Pale didn''t need to order her to do anything ¨C Kayla cast the spell entirely of her own volition. A streak of lightning arced through the air, striking the rain-soaked Amalgamation. For a moment, Pale was afraid that it would backfire on Kayla as well, but it didn''t ¨C she was maintaining control of it, though judging by how her face was scrunched up in concentration and her teeth were grit together, it was taking everything she had and then some to avoid losing control.


    The results, however, were spectacular either way ¨C the Amalgamation didn''t even have time to let out another pained roar as the lightning did its work. Sparks danced across its fur, and the entire clearing was suddenly filled with the stench of burning hair and roasting flesh.


    It was over in just a few seconds, the blackened corpse of the Amalgamation falling to the ground, completely lifeless. Just to be sure, Pale approached and took aim at a crack that had formed in the armor encasing its head, then fired until she saw brains begin to leak out. Confident that nothing could survive that much punishment, she put her weapon on safe and immediately ran over to Kayla, who had fallen to one knee and was panting heavily.


    "Kayla," Pale said as she approached. "Are you okay?"


    "F-fine¡­" Kayla muttered. "Just¡­ almost lost control¡­" She looked up enough to stare at the monster''s corpse, her eyes widening as she did so. "Is it-"


    "Yes," Pale confirmed with a nod. "It''s dead."


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 11

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    Both girls stood over the corpse of the Amalgamation for a moment, their breaths coming out heavy as they stared at it. A few seconds passed before Kayla let out a low groan and slumped against a nearby tree; Pale ran over to her side immediately, but Kayla was quick to wave her off.


    "I''m fine," she assured her. "Just¡­ mana exhaustion, that''s all. I''m not surprised, given how much punishment that thing took before it finally went down."


    Pale tilted her head. "You used that much?"


    "Yeah¡­ I really had to pour it on. It was worth it, though¡­ even if I technically didn''t have a choice."


    "Here, lean on me." Pale helped Kayla up a bit, throwing one of her arms around her shoulder. Kayla gave her an appreciative glance, and the two of them began walking once more, searching for a place they could both rest up after their fight.


    The sound of two people tearing through the foliage behind them stopped them dead in their tracks. Instantly, Pale whipped around, hefting her assault rifle with one hand. She leveled the gun at the two shapes as they came bursting out of the treeline; across from her, Cal and Cynthia paused, their eyes going wide at the sight of Pale pointing a weapon at them. Pale grimaced, then lowered her gun.


    "Next time, some warning would be nice," she snapped. "I almost put holes in you two."


    Cynthia swallowed nervously, though her nervousness turned to outright wide-eyed terror when she saw the corpse of the Amalgamation lying just a short ways away. A high-pitched whimper tore its way out of her throat, and she pointed at it with a shaking hand.


    "W-what is that thing?!"


    "You mean aside from dead?" Pale asked. "We''ve been calling it the Amalgamation. It''s been hunting us almost as soon as we entered the forest, to say nothing of the other initiates. I can only guess at how many it''s killed up to this point."


    That earned another whimper from Cynthia. Cal, on the other hand, stared at the body for just a second before chancing a closer look. He inched his way over to it, which made Pale roll her eyes.


    "It''s dead," she assured him.


    "You''re positive?" Cal asked.


    "As I possibly can be. It''s not breathing, it''s been shocked by very powerful lightning magic, and its head has been reduced to pulp. If you know a living creature that can survive all of that, I''d like to hear about it."


    Cal grimaced, then shook his head. "I believe you¡­ Gods, this thing even just looks completely vile. And you said it lived down here?"


    "As far as we can tell, yes. Why do you ask?"


    "Because I''ve never even heard of a creature like this before, which is shocking to me, because it looks so ungodly that I can only imagine it''d be the talk of whatever continent we''re on if it were a common sight here."


    That got Pale''s attention. "What, you think this thing isn''t natural?"


    "I don''t know what to think," Cal offered. "All I''m saying is, I''ve never heard of a creature like this before, which is very strange considering how frightening it looks."


    Pale brought a hand up to her chin in thought. Admittedly, what Cal was saying made some sense to her, but there wasn''t exactly time to dwell on it; Kayla was still exhausted, not to mention soaking wet, and she was starting to feel a bit tired, herself. By her estimate, it was around midnight already, which meant that most of the other initiates were probably already asleep.


    Normally, Pale would have seized the opportunity to launch a surprise raid on some of them, but something told her that was a bad idea given the state her and Kayla were in.


    She didn''t get much time to consider any other options, however, as Cal''s face suddenly contorted in rage and he affixed her with a harsh glare.


    "Hey, wait a second!" he said. "You used us as bait for that thing!"


    Pale let out an irritated exhale. "Yeah, we did."


    "What?! How can you just admit it like that? What if we''d been killed?! You already hurt me, you know!"


    Cal motioned to the shallow cut she''d given him earlier. Pale was unfazed, however.


    "Sorry about that," she offered. "Had to make it look genuine. That thing was smarter than you think; if it didn''t believe we were actually fighting, it never would have showed itself after we lost."


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    "And that''s supposed to excuse it?! You hurt me! Cut me and drew blood, even! Do you know how wrong that is?! It violates every common-sense rule about mage duels!"


    "Again, my apologies," Pale said. "I come from a¡­ different world, we''ll say; I''m not used to all these rules regarding combat. I tend to default to my base instincts as a result."


    "What are you talking about? Are you supposed to be some kind of soldier?"


    "Something like that," Pale explained. "Anyway, I don''t really know how to use magic, myself. So I had to resort to some other method."


    Cal''s eyes widened. He shared a quick glance with Cynthia, who seemed equally as stunned. Slowly, they both turned back to her.


    "...You can''t use magic," Cal surmised. "And yet you somehow killed that thing."


    "Yes, I did," Pale bluntly replied. "Now, are you going to keep asking questions, or are you going to make yourselves useful and leave us be? Kayla is still very tired, not to mention drenched, and I''d like to find us some shelter while we still have a chance to get some sleep."


    Cal was about to say something else, but Cynthia cut him off. She cleared her throat and stepped forward.


    "...Cal was right about you using us as bait, of course," Cynthia began, "but¡­ what would have happened if you hadn''t, I wonder? You make it sound like that thing was watching us."


    "Because it was¡­" Kayla managed to get out. "It''s been watching a lot of the initiates and killing them whenever it can. If we hadn''t come along, you two would have likely been its next victims."


    Cynthia went white at that realization. A short ways away, Cal shuddered, but said nothing. Cynthia again cleared her throat.


    "...Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot," she offered. "Now that I understand why you picked a fight with us and hurt Cal, well¡­ I suppose I can''t fault you too much. That thing needed to be stopped, after all."


    "Glad you agree," Pale said. "Now if you don''t mind-"


    Cynthia bit her lip and shifted a bit, nervously rubbing her staff with both hands as she did so. "Actually¡­ I was hoping we could¡­ stick together for a bit? At least for tonight?"


    Pale blinked, surprised. "You want a truce," she acknowledged.


    Cynthia nodded. "Y-yes. I mean¡­ I''ll be honest ¨C that thing has me terrified. What if there are more of them out there? Cal and I wouldn''t stand a chance on our own. But with you two there to help us, and us there to back you up¡­"


    "You can''t be serious!" Cal interjected. "Cynthia, did you forget that they-"


    "No, Cal, I didn''t," she said, gently cutting him off. "I just think that, at least for tonight, it''d be a bad idea to split up. Besides, it''s midnight already ¨C if any of us wants something close to a full night of sleep while also having someone there to keep watch, you''ll need four people for it¡­ I mean, assuming my math is right."


    "She''s got a point, Pale," Kayla conceded.


    Pale grimaced. "You''re asking me to trust them-"


    "The same way they''re going to have to trust us. I say we do it. Think about it ¨C the worst thing that happens is they take our tomes and we have to find new ones. Somehow, I don''t think that''ll be too hard. Besides, in my opinion¡­ a full night of sleep is more than worth the hassle at this point."


    Pale grimaced once more, but didn''t argue. Instead, she acquiesced with a small nod. "Fine. But if this goes poorly, it was your idea."


    "Of course it was," Kayla said, flashing her a thin smile. "And I look forward to claiming it as my idea when it goes right, by the way."


    Pale said nothing to her in response, instead motioning for Cal and Cynthia to follow them. They seemed surprised by the gesture, but said nothing to the contrary as Pale began to lead them through the forest, searching for shelter.


    XXX


    It didn''t take them long to find another cave, this one thankfully large enough to accommodate all four of them. Pale gently helped Kayla down to the ground, then set her pack down next to her and unrolled the sleeping bag.


    "Climb in and take your clothes off," Pale said. "I''ll set them by the fire so they can dry out." Sensing that Cal and Cynthia were giving the two of them a scandalous look, she turned towards them and gave them a glare. "Turn around, both of you."


    They obliged, and Pale also averted her gaze as Kayla got into the sleeping bag and began to strip, setting her waterlogged clothes on the ground next to her before zipping the sleeping bag up as far as it would go with her in it. Once that was done, Pale gathered up the wet clothes and set them by a small pit made of stones that Cynthia and Cal had put together; she added a bit of tinder to it, then used a firestarter to set them alight. Once that was done, she looked back to Cynthia and Cal.


    "Alright, she''s decent now. You''re both good to turn around."


    The two of them did as Pale said, and upon seeing that she''d started the fire already, they both instantly crowded around it, huddling together for comfort. Pale, meanwhile, took a seat next to Kayla, who had already fallen asleep and was gently snoring inside the sleeping bag.


    "Wow¡­" Cynthia observed. "She must have been really exhausted¡­"


    "You don''t know the half of it," Pale remarked as she unslung her rifle and set it across her lap. She pulled the magazine from it to check her ammo, then began to pat herself down, doing her best to count how many loaded mags she still had on her. From what she could tell, it wasn''t many; they were going to have to get through initiation fast.


    "What is that thing?" Cal suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts. It took her a moment to realize he was motioning to her rifle. Pale blinked, then shook her head.


    "You''re better off not asking those kinds of questions," she said. "All you need to know is that it''s a weapon, it''s very dangerous, and I would never use it against one of you unless I thought you were trying to kill me or take it from me."


    Cal let out an annoyed huff, clearly irritated at having been rebuked, though Pale didn''t care. Cynthia cleared her throat once again, and was about to start saying something, when Pale shook her head once more.


    "Look, I''m sure you''re both full of questions," she said, "but I am very tired, and honestly, I just want to try and recover from fighting that thing at this point. If you''ve got something you really need an answer to, do me a favor and save it until morning, or otherwise just keep it to yourself. Okay?"


    They both nodded, and then silence reigned over their little group once more. Before long, both Cal and Cynthia had fallen asleep, with her resting her head on his shoulder as the two of them snored. Pale, seeing that she was the last one awake, stood up and moved over to the mouth of the cave, where she posted up with her rifle.


    Something told her that there was only the one Amalgamation out there, but at this point, she knew better than to take her chances.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 12

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    "Wake up."


    It took every fiber of Pale''s being not to lash out with her combat knife as someone gently nudged her awake. Her eyes shot open, and one hand fell to the fixed blade sheathed at her waist, but she held herself back upon seeing those familiar blue eyes and flowing golden hair.


    Cynthia stood over her, and flinched when she saw Pale''s hand fall to her knife. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Pale gave a gruff exhale, then pulled her hand away from the hilt of her blade.


    "...You startled me," she offered. "Believe me, I still have no intentions of hurting you. But next time, assuming there is a next time, do yourself a favor and exercise a bit more caution when you wake me up. There are exactly two people in this entire world I trust enough to let them shake me awake, and you aren''t one of them."


    Cynthia blinked, slightly taken aback by what Pale was saying, but after a moment, she nodded. "...Okay. The rest of us are already awake. You''re the last one up."


    Pale shook her head as she rose to her feet, then stretched her arms out, feeling her joints crack and pop as she did so, a satisfied groan escaping her as she shook off the night''s rust. In the months she''d been inhabiting this avatar, she''d grown used to some of the quirks of having a physical body, but every now and again, something took her by surprise. The first was just how satisfying it could be simply to stretch out after waking up from a long night''s rest.


    Another was just how hungry humans got even after just a few hours between meals.


    Her stomach grumbled, and everyone turned to look at her in surprise. Pale was nonplussed; instead, she hefted her rifle, then motioned towards the mouth of the cave.


    "I''m going to go get some food," she said. "Kayla, were you planning to tag along?"


    To Pale''s surprise, Kayla shook her head. "Sorry, Pale. I''m still feeling a little tired from last night''s fight with the Amalgamation. I''d prefer to rest here for a bit, if you wouldn''t mind."


    Pale blinked, taken aback by Kayla''s words, but after a moment, she nodded. "...Very well. I wasn''t planning to go far, just into the forest to see if I could hunt something suitable for the four of us."


    Cal perked up at that. "You''re going hunting?"


    "I just said that."


    "Well, yeah, but it doesn''t hurt to confirm it. Anyway, Cynthia and I saw some deer last night, before we ran into you both. With any luck, there''ll be some still wandering nearby."


    "Is it far?" Pale asked.


    Cal shook his head. "Nah. Only about twenty minutes by walk, I think, and that''s if we take our time. I can go with you if you''d like, show you exactly where we last saw them."


    "Thanks, but-"


    "That''s a good idea," Kayla interrupted. Pale turned her once more, her eyes narrowing, but Kayla didn''t seem to care at all. That surprised Pale a bit ¨C in the past, Kayla would have acquiesced to her based on that kind of glare alone. Granted, that was before they''d gotten more comfortable with each other.


    Kayla spoke again, interrupting Pale''s thoughts. "Cal, you should go with her. Don''t worry about taking a deer down yourself, Pale can handle that so long as you watch her back."


    "You can count on me," Cal said. He motioned for Pale to follow after him. "Come on, I''ll take you there."


    Pale continued to stare at Kayla for a moment, though it didn''t last long before Cynthia cleared her throat.


    "U-um¡­ what do you need me to do?"


    That snapped Pale out of it. She shook her head, then turned towards Cynthia. "Watch Kayla," she commanded. "Someone needs to be here and keep an eye on her until she''s fully recovered. After dealing with that thing last night, I wouldn''t trust anyone to be left alone, at least until we''ve confirmed that there aren''t any more out there."


    Cynthia nodded. Pale was about to turn around when someone reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.


    "You coming or what?" Cal asked.


    Pale grit her teeth, but said nothing as she turned around and followed Cal outside of the cave and into the crimson forest.


    Whatever was on Kayla''s mind that had led her to splitting the group like this, she wasn''t sure, but it had her concerned.


    XXX


    "You feeling alright?"


    "Fine," Pale snapped as her and Cal trudged through the forest, pushing their way through foliage and underbrush. "Why do you ask?"


    Just up ahead, a few steps in front of her, Cal shrugged. "Well, it''s just¡­ you''re being very quiet. I''m not used to traveling with someone who''s so reserved; Cynthia is a lot more talkative."


    Pale said nothing in response. After a few moments, Cal added, "That was your cue to ask how we know each other."


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    "I don''t care," Pale said bluntly. "At this point, you''re still my competition, and with any luck, I won''t be at the Luminarium for very long."


    "You won''t?" Cal asked, surprised. "You''re really going to go through all this trouble to get entry for you and your friend, but then leave so soon into the school year? There a reason for that?"


    "Classified."


    "What''s that mean?"


    "It means I can''t tell you."


    "Why?"


    "Because if I told you, I''d have to kill you."


    Cal fell silent at that. Pale exhaled a small sigh of relief that he seemed to have finally stopped talking.


    Unfortunately, it only lasted for a few seconds.


    "...So, did you mean that literally, or-"


    "Do you have an off switch?" she demanded.


    "What are you, my mother? She says the same thing¡­" Cal shook his head. "Anyway, we''re traveling together, so you''ll just have to deal with my quirks and my talkative nature until we''re back at the cave."


    "Talk too much and I''m liable to sew your mouth shut."


    "You won''t do that."


    "Don''t test me. I have a set of medical sutures in my first-aid kit, and I know how to use them."


    Cal just waved her off nonchalantly. "So, how did you and¡­ Kayla, was it? How''d you two meet? And moreover, how''d you get here? We don''t get very many beastkin around these parts, so something tells me you''re both pretty far from home."


    "None of your business."


    "I''m just curious, is all. I''ll even cut you a deal ¨C answer those questions for me and I''ll leave you alone."


    "Why do you care so much?" Pale questioned.


    Again, Cal shrugged. "I just like meeting people, I guess. Kinda the opposite of Cynthia, really ¨C she''s fine enough talking to people, but she''s not quite the social butterfly I am, and in any case, she''s content to stick close to me, anyway. So, how about it? Does my offer sound-"


    "I stumbled upon Kayla''s village while it was in the midst of being sacked by barbarians from the far north," Pale interrupted, already impatient. "I saved her life, and the two of us began traveling together to try and get her father back from the barbarians that had enslaved him. We fought our way across the sea, to where the barbarians hailed from, but in the end, we couldn''t save him. In the absence of anything else to do and with nowhere else to go, we both decided gaining entry to the Luminarium was the best option. And now we''re here, stuck with you and Cynthia in this underground forest, trying not to die. Does that answer your questions?"


    Cal looked back at her over his shoulder, his eyes wide with surprise. "...What was that about fighting your way across the sea?" Pale glowered at him, and he held up a hand in surrender. "Alright, alright, I get it ¨C sensitive information, and all¡­ and yeah, it did. Thanks for that, I guess."


    "A deal''s a deal," Pale reminded him.


    "I''m aware, thank you; being the son of a man with a thriving business empire tends to teach one to respect deals. But yeah, you''ve got a point."


    And with that, Cal fell mercifully silent. Pale let out a small sigh of relief as the two of them continued to walk on through the forest.


    The end of their entry exam couldn''t come soon enough, as far as she was concerned.


    XXX


    "Just up ahead," Cal said, coming to a stop. Pale stopped a few feet behind him; it had only been a few minutes since he''d voluntarily stopped speaking, which was entirely several minutes too short as far as she was concerned, but given how hungry she was, Pale was willing to look past that.


    She gently pushed her way past Cal, then sank down to one knee as she brought her rifle up to her shoulder and flipped the magnifier into place behind her weapon''s holographic sight. Currently, they were both at the edge of a large clearing, which by her estimate measured about a hundred yards across. On the other end, there were several large deer, padding along and eating grass. Pale didn''t waste any time; she took aim at the nearest one, centering the reticle of her weapon''s optic right on where its spine met its skull, and gently squeezed the trigger.


    A split-second later, the noise of the suppressed gunshot washed over the clearing. The other deer took off running at the sudden sound, and Pale put her weapon on safe before rising back up to both feet, still peering through her weapon''s optic to examine the aftermath of the shot. Sure enough, the deer she''d targeted was now lying motionless on the ground, blood and spinal fluid trickling out of a small hole at the base of its skull.


    Pale motioned for Cal to follow her. "Come on," she said. "I''ll need your help to get it back to the cave."


    "S-sure¡­" Cal muttered. "Gods¡­ that weapon is unreal¡­ and those things are common where you''re from, I''m guessing?"


    Pale didn''t dignify his answer with a response, instead stepping out from behind the treeline and carefully jogging over to where the fallen deer was lying. As she approached the freshly-killed animal, however, something struck her, and she came to a stop, holding a fist up into the air to signal for Cal to pause. He did so, coming to a rest just a few feet behind her.


    "What is-" That was as far as he got before the stench hit him, too. Instantly, his brow furrowed, and he began to gag. "Oh, Gods¡­! What in the three hells is that?"


    "Carrion," Pale answered, her eyes narrowing. "Stay here."


    "Wait, what are you-"


    He never got a chance to finish, as Pale took off running through the underbrush, following the scent as best as she could. As she sprinted, the stench grew stronger, eventually becoming overpowering as she reached the mouth of a darkened cave.


    And just outside the cave, she could see the mutilated bodies of what had to be around a dozen other initiates, all of them in various states of ruination.


    On a hunch, Pale shouldered her rifle, sweeping the magnifier off to the side before thumbing on the weapon-mounted light affixed to its handguard. Instantly, the flashlight cut through the darkness, revealing even more carnage within ¨C another dozen-or-so bodies, though it was hard to tell given the state they were in. Thankfully, the cave seemed devoid of life, though it wasn''t hard to tell why.


    Footsteps behind her signaled Cal''s arrival, followed by the sound of retching and dry-heaving as he took in the scene around him.


    "G-Gods¡­" he managed to gasp out. "What is this place¡­?"


    "One of the Amalgamation''s other lairs, I presume," Pale answered.


    That got Cal''s attention. Instantly, he stood up straight, one hand going to his crossbow as he looked around in a panic. Pale, meanwhile, shook her head.


    "Relax," she said, "I don''t think there''s another one around here."


    "How can you be so sure?" Cal ventured.


    "I can''t, but I suspect that if there were more than one, we''d already be dead."


    Cal went white as a ghost at that news, though he quickly turned green as Pale bent down to inspect one of the bodies. Sure enough, the corpse boasted similar injuries to the ones they''d found at the other cave, where they''d first encountered the Amalgamation.


    "What are you doing?!" Cal hissed. "You''re desecrating-"


    "Yes," Pale interrupted, "I am. But in my defense, it''s not like she''ll be needing it anymore."


    "What are you-"


    Pale cut him off once more by merely holding up a white-bound tome, which had been in the unfortunate initiate''s bag underneath her body. Cal''s eyes went wide at the sight of it.


    "I suggest you start looking for more, yourself," Pale advised. "Because I won''t be doing it for you. But if that''s too morbid, then I''m more than happy to collect just as many of them as Kayla and I need to pass, and you and Cynthia can find yours some other way."


    Cal didn''t argue. Instead, he tentatively stepped over to another body, this one of a young man who''d lost both his legs and half his face, with the remaining half still frozen in an expression of primal fear, and gave a shudder before flipping the body over and beginning to rifle through his bags. Pale, for her part, did the same.


    With any luck, not only would they both have breakfast taken care of now, but also their need to find more tomes.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 13

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    By the time Pale and Cal made it back to the cave with the dead buck in tow, almost ninety minutes had passed. Cal hadn''t been exaggerating when he''d said that the clearing was twenty minutes away; adding in the fact that it was a two-way trip and that they''d both been distracted by the finding of another of the Amalgamation''s lairs and the need to drag the dead deer back with them, and it was no wonder that it had taken them so long to make it back to Kayla and Cynthia.


    When the two of them finally stepped back into the cave and laid the dead buck down on the ground, Kayla''s eyes lit up, and she licked her lips.


    "Finally," she said. "No offense, but I was starving. I almost ate some of your rations, Pale."


    "Good thing you didn''t, because those are for emergencies only," Pale reminded her.


    "I know, I know¡­ but they''re so good!"


    "I''m aware. I''ll do my best to procure some more for you as soon as I can. For now, though, give me a hand with cleaning and preparing this thing."


    Kayla nodded and stood up from her spot next to the fire pit, then made her way over to Pale. As she did so, Pale unsheathed her knife and passed it to her.


    "You remember what to do?" Pale asked.


    Kayla gave her another nod. "Yup. I had a good teacher, after all."


    Pale pursed her lips. "Good. Then I''ll let you start, and I''ll take over once you''re too tired to continue. Normally I''d do the whole thing myself, but-"


    Kayla held up a hand, silencing her. "You hunted it and brought it back, so the least I can do is help with preparing it. You just take a seat for now, this won''t take long."


    Pale didn''t argue, instead stepping past Kayla as she got to work preparing the deer. Pale didn''t watch her work, but Cynthia and Cal did, and both of them turned green as Kayla began to clean the deer.


    "I''m gonna be sick¡­" Cynthia whimpered.


    Pale rolled her eyes. "Never seen the way your food is actually prepared, I take it?"


    "In our defense, we''re nobles," Cal offered. He swallowed a lump that suddenly appeared in his throat, shuddering as he did so. "Gods¡­ that''s vile."


    "It''s life. Honestly, the world would probably be a better place if everyone was more acutely aware of how their sausage was made."


    "Sausage¡­?" Cynthia questioned, tilting her head. "You''re making sausage?"


    Pale shook her head. "Figure of speech. And besides, I don''t have the spices for that."


    She stepped past the two of them, taking a seat at the fire pit. After a moment spent fiddling with her fire starter, the pit prang to life once more, casting a faint orange glow across the rest of the cave. Pale set her assault rifle aside, a small sigh escaping her.


    "Three days¡­" she muttered. "That means we''ve only got four left to make it to the destination as well as find the rest of the tomes."


    "Hopefully, that last part won''t be too hard," Cal chimed in, patting his bag as he did so.


    Next to him, Cynthia''s eyes lit up. "Ooh, you found more tomes?"


    "We did," Pale confirmed. "More specifically, we found a large number of students who didn''t need them anymore, courtesy of the Amalgamation."


    Instantly, Cynthia''s eyes widened in a combination of shock and fear, but Pale stopped her by holding up a hand.


    "Relax," she said, "it''s definitely dead. What we found was simply another one of its lairs, populated with the remnants of its victims."


    Cynthia swallowed nervously. "H-how¡­ how many?"


    "Around thirty, give or take."


    Again Cynthia''s eyes widened. "T-thirty?! But we''ve only been down here a few days! Was it really hunting us all down like that?!"


    "It would seem that way," Pale confirmed with a nod. "Although, there''s something about it that bothers me."


    "What is it?" Cal asked.


    "I don''t know if you noticed, but most of the victims at that cave hadn''t been eaten. They were mutilated, sure, but there was no sign that the Amalgamation had tried to feed on them, at least not that I could see." Pale stared into the fire, her brow furrowing in thought. "That thing''s mouth was like a lamprey''s ¨C if it had tried to feed on someone before or after killing them, that would have been essentially self-evident; there''s no mistaking those kinds of wounds. But I noticed hardly anything like that on any of the bodies we found today."


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    Cal and Cynthia exchanged a glance with each other. "So¡­ what does that mean?" Cal questioned.


    Pale let out a grunt, then shook her head. "Truthfully? I have no idea. In all likelihood, that thing just enjoyed hunting and killing. That''s hardly unusual for some species of animals ¨C cats, for example, have been known to hunt for nothing more than their own enjoyment of it. It''s entirely possible that''s the entire explanation for it; wouldn''t surprise me one bit."


    "But¡­ you don''t sound entirely certain about that," Cynthia pointed out. "Did you, perhaps, have another theory?"


    Pale thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Not yet. I wouldn''t dig too deeply into it, all things considered; the fact of the matter is that it''s very dead, and therefore no longer a threat to us. Dwelling on it probably isn''t a good thing, regardless. I''d advise you both to forget about it and move on. Same goes for Kayla, too."


    "What about me?" Kayla asked, stepping into the fire''s light. She was spattered with blood and guts, and her arms were crimson up to her elbows; the mere sight of it made Cal and Cynthia turn green and begin to retch. Seeing that, Kayla frowned.


    "What?" she asked. "Something on my face?"


    Pale let out a small snort of amusement. She signaled for Kayla to leave.


    "Go wash up," Pale advised her. "I''m pretty sure there''s a river nearby, I heard it when Cal and I went searching for the deer. Cal, go with her and make sure she comes back in one piece."


    "With pleasure¡­" Cal muttered as he rose to his feet. "Last thing I need is to see you butcher that thing¡­"


    Together, he and Kayla left the cave, searching for the nearby river. With them gone, Pale stood up and made her way back over to the deer, then picked up the bloody knife from where Kayla had left it behind and began to continue her work. And as she carved, her thoughts began to wander.


    She hadn''t been honest with Cal and Cynthia regarding her suspicions about the Amalgamation. Certainly, there were parts of the story that didn''t add up, between Cal not knowing anything about it and it seeming to hunt for sport more than anything. On their own, neither of those two were too alarming, but added together, along with its extremely high body count over just the past few days, and they were certainly cause for concern.


    Still, it wouldn''t do for her to bring up those suspicions now; if she did, all that would happen is she''d end up frightening Cal and Cynthia. And while she didn''t trust them, at least not yet, that was no reason to potentially get on their bad side by scaring them needlessly. And it certainly was needless, now that the monster was dead.


    For now, she would focus her attention elsewhere, such as passing the entry exam. They still had four days to make it to their destination in time, but currently, her and Kayla were missing a tome. Cal and Cynthia, meanwhile, were missing two. And to make things complicated, Cal and Cynthia didn''t have the color Pale and Kayla needed, but the two of them had one of the colors Cal and Cynthia needed.


    If they wanted to, Cal and Cynthia could easily try to attack them and steal the tome they were missing. Pale certainly wouldn''t put it past them, not for any personal reasons, but rather because she wouldn''t put it past anyone not to do exactly the same thing, given an opportunity. They''d have to be careful around those two.


    "U-um¡­"


    Cynthia''s voice caught her attention, and Pale turned around to find her standing there, pressing her index fingers together.


    "Yes?" Pale asked.


    Cynthia jumped, apparently surprised that Pale was even addressing her. She recovered quickly, however, and cleared her throat.


    "I was just wondering¡­ would you happen to have any tips for passing this exam?" she asked. "I-I mean¡­ I know you haven''t passed yet, but¡­ you''ve been amazing so far. I was wondering if you wouldn''t mind, maybe, passing on some wisdom?"


    Pale blinked, surprised. Of all the possible things Cynthia could have asked her, that was certainly one that she''d least expected. She was so taken aback by it that at first, she wasn''t sure how to even reply.


    "What do you mean?" Pale questioned after a few seconds.


    "Oh, it''s just¡­ the way you''ve carried yourself, but in particular, how you took down that monster. You''re just¡­ completely fearless, you know? It''s really inspiring. I just wanted to know¡­ how do you become that fearless?"


    Pale thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Staring down things far worse than that monster is one way to do it."


    Cynthia''s eyes widened. "Worse¡­?"


    Pale nodded. "Yeah. I''ve already explained part of this to Cal, but Kayla and I fought our way north, to where the barbarians hail from, and took out an entire clan of them to try and save her father from being their slave. We¡­ failed," she noted, a tinge of melancholy seeping into her voice. She was quick to shake it away, however. "And after that, we ended up staying in a northern city, which quickly became overrun by an undead incursion courtesy of an elder vampire."


    "An elder vampire¡­?" Cynthia echoed. "That''s¡­ that can''t be true; vampires are-"


    "Extinct, I know. Well, apparently, there are still a few alive and kicking, even after the Crusades a few hundred years ago. Kayla and I would know because we fought and killed that one just a few months ago."


    Cynthia blinked. "T-that''s¡­ incredible¡­ and you weren''t afraid at all?"


    Pale shook her head. "Of course I was afraid. I''d go so far as to say that''s the most afraid I''ve ever been."


    "But¡­ how? How were you able to keep going?"


    Pale shrugged, then turned back to the deer and began to carve once more. "Just brave, I guess. So is Kayla."


    "But you just said you were afraid."


    "I did, because I was." Pale turned to her again. "Bravery isn''t the absence of fear, it''s the willingness to push through the fear despite being afraid. You asked how I''ve been able to keep going? It''s because, even though I might be afraid, I know that I need to push through it in order to accomplish my mission. You wanted a tip? Here''s one ¨C don''t let your fear control you. Instead, use it as a motivator, and harness it to your own advantage. Make sense?"


    Slowly, Cynthia nodded.


    "Good," Pale replied. "Now, I think I hear the two of them out there, not far from here. I''ve got to finish carving up this deer. So, if you wouldn''t mind?"


    Cynthia didn''t say anything, but nodded again, and took a seat next to the fire while Pale went back to work. She sat there in silence, apparently deep in thought, which Pale was thankful for.


    Perhaps she''d heed the advice she''d been given, but perhaps not. In either case, as far as Pale was concerned, it wasn''t her problem anymore.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 14

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    "Urgh¡­" Kayla managed to gasp out. "I definitely ate too much¡­"


    "You have a knack for that," Pale observed.


    "Maybe so. Not my fault I was so hungry, though ¨C mana exhaustion tends to do that."


    "I''ll take your word for it, Kayla. But in the future, you should probably remain cognizant of the fact that we might be up and moving before you overeat again."


    "Oh, come on, do we really have to go so soon?" Kayla complained.


    "Yes, we do," Pale confirmed. "We still need one more tome, plus we''ve still got to get to our destination. We''ve only got a few more days, and by my estimate, it''s going to take us the better part of a day simply to get there."


    "That far, huh?" Cal asked, getting her attention. She turned towards him, and he added, "How can you be so sure that you know where you''re going?"


    Pale simply raised a finger and pointed it at her head. "Eidetic memory." He raised an eyebrow at that, and she let out a small sigh. "I remember things extremely well. Don''t ask how; that''s not important. All you need to know is that I know exactly where we need to go."


    Across from her, Cynthia bit her lip. "...It''s not like we have a better idea, Cal. We might as well follow her."


    "Actually, you two will be on your own from here on out."


    "What?" the two of them asked, as did Kayla. That earned a raised eyebrow from Pale, but she made a note to ask Kayla about it later rather than confront her now.


    "Simply put, we have your missing tomes," Pale specified. "You do not have ours, however. The odds of you two trying to steal them from us are not zero. There is no benefit to us taking you with us, but there is certainly risk to it. The smart thing for us to do is to split off from you."


    "Pale-" Kayla began, only for Pale to silence her by holding up a hand.


    "Of course, I''m not completely heartless." She pointed up to the ceiling. "When it hits midday, and the sun is at its highest, simply follow it in that direction for a few miles. It will take a while to get through the brush and the jungle, but it''s mostly a straight shot to where we need to end up. By my estimations, you should be able to get there in about a day if you hustle. Otherwise, perhaps a day and a half."


    Cal and Cynthia exchanged a glance with each other. "...You''re serious about this," Cal confirmed. "You''re really going to just split off from us, aren''t you?"


    Pale nodded. "Like I said, it makes no sense for us to take the risk of bringing you both along. Especially when you factor in how few candidates are actually left ¨C the Amalgamation has to have killed at least around a sixth of us, and those are just the ones we found. That dramatically narrows the chances of us finding what we need. Knowing that, we cannot afford to travel with you, at least not until you have all your tomes¡­ but at that point, the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak."


    Both Cal and Cynthia''s eyes widened. They turned to each other for a moment, apparently taking a few seconds to come to an unspoken agreement before they both looked back over at Pale and nodded.


    "I suppose there''s sense enough in that," Cynthia conceded. "Admittedly, I''m still not a fan of this¡­ but I can''t deny that it''s probably for the best."


    "Good," Pale nodded. She pointed to the mouth of the cave. "I suggest you two get a head start. We''ll give you fifteen minutes. Not that we''re planning to hunt you down ¨C you have nothing we need, after all ¨C but rather because it''s probably best that we keep our distance from each other for now. Agreed?"


    Both initiates nodded, and then Cal helped Cynthia to her feet. They both grabbed their respective gear, then marched out of the cave and into the jungle. The faint rustling of underbrush heralded their disappearance into the dense field of crimson, and as soon as she was sure they were gone, Pale let out a small sigh.


    Kayla, meanwhile, crossed her arms and pouted at her. Pale blinked, surprised.


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    "Yes, Kayla?" she asked.


    "Why do you always do this?" Kayla asked.


    "Do what?"


    "You know¡­ this."


    "I don''t follow," Pale confessed. "Use your words, Kayla. You seem upset, so tell me why."


    "Well, if you''re going to make me be direct about it¡­" Kayla let out a frustrated sigh. "Why do you always try so hard to drive people away, Pale?"


    Again, Pale blinked. "I''m not sure I understand-"


    "Of course you do, you just don''t want to admit it." Kayla''s eyes narrowed. "You''ve done it for as long as I can remember, too. The only reason why we''re even friends is because we''ve traveled together so much over the past few months, not to mention fought, bled, and killed alongside each other. But for some reason, you seem to think that I''m all you need."


    "That''s not true," Pale protested. "I have Evie, too."


    "Yeah, well, Evie isn''t here, and it''s likely we won''t see her again for a long time, if ever. In case you''ve forgotten, she''s far north; if she were to come down and see us, it would take her several months, at best. And that''s assuming she decides to make the trip ¨C elves are long-lived; they don''t experience time the same way we do. I''ll bet a decade could pass without her even realizing it."


    "What are you trying to say, Kayla?"


    "I''m saying that you can''t go through life with me as your only friend," Kayla insisted. "You need to try and branch out some more, Pale. I''m trying to help you with that, but you''re resisting me at every turn."


    "Because I truly don''t need anyone but you," Pale said. Kayla stared at her, but she refused to back down. "You don''t seem to understand, Kayla ¨C I don''t experience emotions, or feelings, or even life itself the same way all of you do. Some of the things that you all need to survive, I can do without. I drifted through the endless expanse of space for decades before I ended up here on this planet; a normal person would have gone mad from that kind of isolation, but I didn''t, instead I merely put myself into forced hibernation and only woke up again when my few remaining sensors detected this planet nearby. Believe me, I don''t require human contact the same way all of you do."


    "Then how do you explain continuing to travel with me?" Kayla demanded.


    Pale was taken aback. "...You''re my guide," she pointed out.


    Kayla shook her head. "You don''t need me as your guide anymore. In fact, that''s a role I haven''t really served since we defeated the vampire, and that''s me being generous to myself. No, you continue to travel with me because, much as you might not want to admit it, you enjoy my company."


    "Well, that much is true, at least," Pale offered.


    "See? So why not try to find someone else whose company you enjoy just as much as mine? Evie, for example ¨C you like her, too."


    "What brought this on, exactly?"


    Again, Kayla crossed her arms. "I''m just sick of seeing you push people away for no reason. Cal and Cynthia want to be your friends. Nasir wanted to be your friend. And yet, somehow, you continue to brush them off. Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, they might know something that could help you on your quest to get back home?"


    Pale paused. Truthfully, she hadn''t considered that option. It wasn''t entirely impossible, she had to admit, but at the same time, it also wasn''t particularly likely. Still, Kayla did have a small point there.


    "...Admittedly, the thought hadn''t crossed my mind," Pale offered.


    "See?" Kayla uncrossed her arms and stared at her once more. "Be honest, Pale ¨C is there really a reason why you''re keeping people away, aside from me and Evie?"


    Pale thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I suppose there''s one," she said. "When it comes time for me to leave, I don''t want anything here that could keep me attached."


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I mean that I can''t afford to have my loyalties torn between this world and my own," Pale specified. "Like I''ve told you before, I still have a war to fight, and I can''t fight it if my head is still stuck on people here. One day, I''m going to have to leave this planet, and I''d prefer to make that as painless and easy as I possibly can."


    Kayla stared at her for a moment before her expression softened. "You''re worried about getting attached," she surmised. "Is that it?"


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "I suppose so."


    For a moment, Kayla said nothing. But then, to Pale''s surprise, a thin smile crossed her face, and she began to chuckle. Pale wasn''t sure how to react at first, but finally managed to think of something that seemed appropriate after a few seconds.


    "What''s so funny?"


    "Oh, it''s just¡­ for all your talk of being a machine¡­ being worried about getting attached is certainly a very human emotion, isn''t it?"


    Pale froze, staring at Kayla once more. It only lasted for a moment, and she was quick to bury the feeling not long after. Shaking the thought from her mind, Pale hefted her assault rifle, then motioned for Kayla to follow her.


    "Come on," she said. "Let''s get moving already."


    "Oh, come on!" Kayla protested, following after her as the two of them stepped out of the cave. "I didn''t mean to set you off-"


    "You didn''t. It''s just¡­ this is part of getting attached."


    Kayla reached out to gently take her by the shoulder. Pale turned when she felt Kayla make contact, fully expecting that same mirthful expression to be etched across Kayla''s face, only it wasn''t.


    Instead, it had been replaced by a look of genuine concern.


    "Hey," Kayla said. "You''re pushing yourself too hard."


    Pale grimaced. "What would you know about it?"


    "Nothing, admittedly, but I can recognize when someone is bothered by something. For all your talk of not being able to emote properly, it''s pretty easy to tell when you''re wearing your heart on your sleeve once you know what to look for. You''re not as subtle as you think."


    "Were you planning to make a point sometime soon?" Pale snapped.


    "Is it really so bad to allow yourself to feel?" Kayla asked. "I know what your creators told you, but what if they were wrong, Pale? They wanted a killing machine¡­ but maybe, just maybe, what they need is someone who can balance that kind of cold rationality with heart that''s actually capable of feeling something. Did you ever think of that?"


    Pale didn''t say anything, instead staring at Kayla for a bit longer as she gritted her teeth. Finally, she shook her friend''s hand off her shoulder, then motioned for her to follow.


    "We''re burning daylight," she emphasized. "Keep moving."


    With that, she continued walking, with Kayla following close behind her the whole time, neither girl saying anything further as they moved on.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 15

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    Pale and Kayla continued their march through the forest, neither one saying anything for several hours as they pushed their way through the dense underbrush. The entire time, Pale''s mind was racing as Kayla''s earlier statement continued to repeat in her head.


    She was right that her fear of being attached was certainly a very human emotion, and that left Pale worried. She was supposed to be a weapon pointed at humanity''s enemies, nothing more and nothing less; the idea that she could possibly be developing a personality of her own was concerning, to say the least. Her prime directive had always been the defense of human life through the elimination of anything that would threaten them, but would she still be able to carry out her mission if, suddenly, she was able to refuse those orders?


    Pale didn''t know the answer for sure, and that was even more concerning. To refuse her mission would be to condemn billions of people to extinction at the hands of the Caatex. She couldn''t risk it, especially not when they had been the ones to give her life in the first place; she owed them that much, at the very least.


    After a moment to consider it, Pale shook her head, clearing those thoughts from her mind. Kayla had a point, but there was no sense in dwelling on it now. For the time being, she''d simply continue to work her way forwards, and that meant making it into the Luminarium, ideally with Kayla at her side, if only because doing so would mean she had at least one ally backing her up among a sea of out-of-touch and possibly hostile nobles.


    "Hey, Kayla," Pale said, finally breaking the silence, if only so she wouldn''t be stuck in her own thoughts for too long.


    "What is it?" Kayla asked without looking back at her.


    "Stop for a second. We''ve been walking for a few hours; we can afford to take a break."


    "If you''re sure."


    Both girls paused, taking a seat on the forest floor. Pale shrugged her pack off her shoulders and laid her assault rifle across her lap, looking around as she did so.


    "So," Kayla said after a moment''s silence. "What''s on your mind?"


    Pale shrugged. "Nothing much. Figured we both needed to rest our legs for a bit. How are you feeling? Still exhausted?"


    "Bit of a headache, but nothing too intense."


    "Good. We''ll still need to fight at least one more person."


    Kayla hesitated, biting her lip. "About that¡­ what if we don''t find anyone? I-I mean¡­ we don''t have much more time, and-"


    "That statistical odds of that happening are extremely low," Pale pointed out. "Everyone is going to need every color of tome in order to gain entry. Worst comes to worst, we can simply park ourselves outside of the ending destination and wait for the next person to come along, then take them out and steal the tome we need from them."


    "Okay¡­ but, let''s say hypothetically we can''t, for whatever reason. What would we do then? I mean, we both want entry¡­"


    That was a good question, Pale had to admit. She wanted entry because the Luminarium would possibly hold the answers she was seeking, whereas Kayla wanted entry because she had nowhere else to go now that her home town had been reduced to little more than ash. Truthfully, between the two of them, Pale knew she had the more valid claim, but she wasn''t about to throw that in Kayla''s face, not after everything they''d been through together.


    Luckily, she had an answer already.


    "Lifeboat rules," she said.


    Kayla blinked, then tilted her head. "Lifeboat rules?"


    "Yes. Essentially, in the case of a shipwreck where only part of the crew can make it out, rather than fight over who gets to go into the limited amount of available lifeboats, every sailor on board acts as though everyone will make it until the moment comes to draw straws, so to speak. Does that make sense?"


    Slowly, Kayla nodded. "I believe so¡­ you''re saying that, if something like that happens, then until it comes time for us to pick who goes, we''re both going to keep working together under the assumption that we''ll both make it."


    "Exactly right," Pale affirmed with a nod. "I see no reason for us to be at each other''s throats over this. Like I said, the odds of us not running into anyone else are astronomically low as-is¡­ but more than that, you and I are close, and I don''t want to jeopardize that closeness by acting with hostility towards you."


    Kayla let out an annoyed huff. "You can just say I''m your friend, you know¡­ we''ve been through enough to justify it¡­" She shook her head. "Whatever the case may be, I think that makes sense."


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    "Good." Pale looked up to check the position of the sun, frowning as she did so. She rose to her feet, offering Kayla a hand in the process.


    "That''s enough resting for now," she said. "Let''s get going."


    Kayla nodded, and the two of them set off once more.


    XXX


    Unfortunately, Pale''s prediction about the thick foliage slowing them down proved true, and by the time night had started to fall, they were barely halfway to their destination. The thought made her frustrated ¨C they weren''t short on time just yet, but it would soon become a valuable commodity, and they couldn''t afford to waste it the way they had when they''d been forced to fight the Amalgamation.


    Granted, she didn''t exactly regret fighting it, but still.


    "Stop here," Pale announced, causing Kayla to pause.


    "Yes?" Kayla asked.


    "We''ve gone far enough for one day," Pale told her. "We''ll rest here for the night, then resume in the morning."


    "Are you sure?"


    "Positive. We''re only halfway there, and the idea of continuing on through the night is unappealing, to say the least. The last thing I want is to risk running into a second Amalgamation."


    Kayla shuddered at that thought. "Gods, don''t even joke about that¡­"


    "That was no joke, I assure you." Pale took her pack off and laid it on the ground. "Do you want the first watch?"


    "Sure," Kayla agreed. "You always take the first watch, it''s about time I return the favor."


    "Very well. Let''s-"


    Pale paused mid-sentence as she suddenly realized something ¨C she couldn''t hear any kind of ambient noise around them. There was no wildlife or even insect activity from what she could tell. And with the memory of the Amalgamation still fresh in her mind, that could only mean one thing.


    Slowly, Pale looked at Kayla, then brought a finger up to her own lips; Kayla caught her meaning immediately, and sparks began to dance across her fingertips.


    Unfortunately, that was the signal for whatever lurked in the dark to start moving.


    A dull chittering noise filled the air above them, and Pale looked up to find that the dense foliage had started to move. As she stared, several eight-legged shapes began to descend from webs up above, their eyes glowing red and their mandibles gnashing together as they did so. They were large, about the size of a human torso from end to end, and boasted a black-with-green-stripes pattern.


    That was all Pale needed to see. She shouldered her rifle, flicking off the safety as she brought it to bear, then began to let loose with several bursts of automatic fire. As she did so, the spiders continued to descend down from the trees, coming as if in waves. A few seconds passed, and by that point point, the tide of arachnids was so thick that she couldn''t miss; she simply held down the trigger, hosing the oncoming horde with armor-piercing 6.8mm ammunition. Each shot was another dead spider, the bullets occasionally tearing through one''s chitinous body and into the one behind it.


    Kayla was no slouch, either ¨C lightning and fire sprang from her fingertips, each one carving a swathe through the tide of spiders descending from the trees. And yet, it still wasn''t enough ¨C for every spider the felled, another descended to take its place.


    "What is this?!" Kayla shouted over the sound of Pale''s suppressed gunfire.


    "We must be right beneath some kind of nesting ground!" Pale called back. "Burn the trees!"


    "What?! But we''re right-"


    "Burn them, Kayla!"


    She didn''t need to be told twice. Kayla pointed a hand upwards, and flames spouted out from it, jetting up several dozen feet before finally making contact with the foliage above. The fire illuminated a thriving mass of spiders above them, and also caught the trees ablaze; a loud hiss filled the air as those spiders that were able to shrank back from the flames in an attempt to get away, while those that couldn''t burned alive.


    "Run, now!" Pale shouted. She scooped up her pack and threw it over one shoulder, then turned to take off running, only for a pained shout to catch her by surprise. Eyes widening, Pale turned around, and froze at what she saw.


    One of the spiders had dropped directly onto Kayla''s back, and now had its fangs buried directly in her neck. Kayla was trying in vain to knock it loose, but it was no good; Pale hurriedly switched her weapon to semi-automatic, then took a careful, aimed shot that eviscerated the spider, finally dropping it off her friend. Once it had been dealt with, Pale surged forwards, took Kayla by the hand, and began to pull her loose.


    None of the spiders followed them as they ran, but somehow, Pale could tell that was the least of their problems.


    XXX


    They didn''t stop running for several minutes, though eventually, Pale determined that the area was clear enough for them to rest. She reloaded her rifle, then turned to check on Kayla, who was doubled over in pain.


    "What''s wrong?" Pale asked, running over to Kayla''s side.


    "I don''t¡­ feel so good¡­" Kayla muttered.


    She began to sway from side to side, and finally began to fall over; Pale caught her just in time, then gently laid her down on the forest floor and began to frantically check her wound. When she did, her heart skipped a beat.


    There was a thin green fluid leaking out from the punctures in her neck.


    "Kayla?" Pale said, suddenly frantic. "Kayla, talk to me. How do you feel?"


    Kayla said nothing, instead letting out a low cough. Pale let out a muffled curse, even as she reached into her IFAK for something that should have been able to help. She withdrew a syringe, this one filled with cream-colored liquid.


    "This is universal antivenom," Pale stated. "It''s designed to counteract the effects of any kind of venom someone might come across in the wilderness."


    She wasn''t sure if Kayla could even hear her at this point, but if there was even a chance that she could reassure her, then that was what she''d do. Pale pulled the cap off the syringe, then stuck it into Kayla''s arm and depressed the plunger, watching as the cream-like liquid flowed into her friend''s veins. The universal antivenom was designed to be fast-acting, the same as the other medicine she had on her.


    But to her dismay, several minutes passed, and Kayla was showing no reaction to it. If anything, she was starting to look worse ¨C her breathing had become more shallow, and she''d started to sweat profusely. Pale stared at her friend in shock.


    For the first time, she was unsure of what to do.


    The antivenom should have worked, but it hadn''t. She knew how to make antivenom herself, but that would require that she head back and capture a spider alive, as well as somehow obtain the proper equipment to make the medicine, which was not possible at the moment.


    She was out of options, save for one.


    With no other choice, Pale slung her rifle across her front and helped Kayla up, throwing an arm over her shoulder to support her. And then, she began to walk.


    There were still several miles to go, but she''d be damned if she left her friend there to rot.


    She owed Kayla that much, at the very least.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 16

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    For three days, Pale trekked through the underground, all but dragging Kayla''s unconscious body along with her as she went. She didn''t dare stop to even sleep; Kayla''s condition had continued to deteriorate over time, and there was no telling how much longer she had before the spider venom finally killed her.


    And so, Pale had gotten to walking as fast as she could go. Needless to say, it was slow going; the journey would have taken them a day even if they''d both been healthy, but now, with Kayla out of commission? Pale knew she would have to double-time it in order to make it.


    To make matters worse, during her trip through the forest, Pale wasn''t able to encounter any of the other initiates. Normally, that would have been problematic, as they were still missing a tome; for now, though, it could wait.


    Kayla desperately needed medical attention.


    Finally, on the evening of the final day, Pale crested over a small hill and saw it ¨C a large doorway carved into a cliffside. Her heart about skipped a beat at the sight of it, and she turned towards Kayla.


    "Just a bit further," she urged. "Hang on for me, Kayla."


    Kayla said nothing in response. Pale, for her part, simply redoubled her efforts, marching towards the doorway.


    It took her the better part of fifteen minutes to get there, and when she finally did, she raised a hand and pounded on the door.


    "Whoever''s in there, open up!" she called. "I''ve got someone who needs medical attention now!"


    For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Out of desperation, Pale reached for her rifle, intending to blow the lock off the door, but just as her hand closed around the weapon''s grip, the door was unlocked and opened. The scarred professor from a few days ago stared at her for a moment, but then his gaze traveled down to Kayla, still unconscious and leaned against Pale''s shoulder, and his eyes widened.


    "In here, now," he commanded. "Be quick about it; she doesn''t have much time left."


    He stepped aside, allowing Pale entry. She didn''t even bother to look around and get a bearing on her surroundings, so focused was she on getting Kayla medical treatment. The professor stepped in front of her and motioned for her to follow him into a nearby room.


    "This way," he urged. "We have medical staff on standby. We''ll get her fixed right up."


    Pale breathed a small sigh of relief. She followed after him, stepping into the room. And immediately, she was taken aback at the sheer breadth of what awaited her.


    There had to be around twenty students here, all of them wounded somehow. Several of them had large claw and bite marks across their bodies; a few were bleeding from open wounds, while others had limbs wrapped in bandages. Two or three of them also appeared to be afflicted by some kind of sickness, though Pale couldn''t tell what it was.


    "What¡­?" she muttered. "What happened to them?"


    The scarred professor''s eyes narrowed. "Let''s just say that initiation was far more dangerous than we''d suspected it would be. Set your friend down here."


    He motioned to the floor, where a large blanket had been laid out. Pale obliged, carefully placing onto it. The moment she had, a few healers rushed over and began to examine her.


    "Mana spiders," one of them said. "I''ve got the counterspell ready."


    "Do it," another one said.


    "Okay. Three, two, one¡­"


    There was a flash of bright light; Pale blinked, suddenly forced to clear her vision. Once she was able to see again, she stared down at Kayla, and to her surprise, her friend''s uneven breathing had become much more steady. She was also sweating less, and looked far less clammy and sickly than she had even just a few seconds ago.


    Someone put a hand on her shoulder, and Pale immediately whipped around to face them, her fingers curling around the grip of her pistol. But it was just the same professor who''d let her in, giving her a reassuring look.


    "Your friend will be fine," he explained. "You got her here just in time. There''s nothing to worry about, though ¨C ultimately, Mana spiders can be dangerous, but a quick application of the counterspell is all it takes to disperse their venom from the victim''s system."


    Pale relaxed slightly at that. "So she''ll be okay? There won''t be any kind of long-term after-effects?"


    "She''ll have a killer headache when she wakes up, and she''ll likely feel dizzy over the next day as her sjel replenishes its Mana, but past that, she''ll be perfectly fine. Now, I suggest you go join the other uninjured students; I imagine some of them have probably been looking for you, and your friend needs to rest."


    With that, he removed his hand from Pale''s shoulder, then turned and left. Pale spared one final glance down at Kayla, then pursed her lips before heading the opposite direction.


    Time to see who else had made it.


    "Pale! Hey, Pale! Over here!"


    Pale had to bite back a wince as Cal''s voice hit her from across the room she''d just entered. She pretended not to hear him, instead looking around the room to try and get a bead on where she''d ended up. As far as she could tell, they were all in some kind of massive underground fort; she gotten to explore a few of the rooms before finally ending up in what appeared to be the barracks, if the lines of beds all around her were any indication.


    Stolen story; please report.


    The sound of footsteps hit her ears, and Pale was unable to hold back her wince. Apparently, Cal had gotten fed up with waiting for her to come to him and had taken it upon himself to rush over. Naturally, he''d dragged Cynthia along with him; the two of them stopped a few feet away.


    "You made it!" Cal greeted with a wide smirk, only for it to falter when he realized she was alone. "Hey, where''s-"


    "She''s in the infirmary," Pale reported. "We got swarmed by mana spiders and one bit her. Apparently, it almost killed her. I didn''t ask how much longer she still had left, but I can tell I wouldn''t have liked the answer."


    "Mana spiders¡­?" Cynthia echoed, giving a small shudder. "That''s awful!"


    "She''ll be okay, at least; she just needs to rest right now." Pale looked around the room once more, frowning as she did so. "This is it? This is all that have made it?"


    Cal nodded. "Yeah¡­ counting us, there''s maybe just over thirty people."


    "And by my count, there''s around another twenty in the infirmary."


    Cynthia''s eyes widened. "Only around fifty people¡­? But I thought the initial number-"


    "Was somewhere around 200," Pale finished the thought for her. "Around a quarter of the initial applicants are here¡­ what happened out there?"


    "No idea," Cal informed her. "But everyone''s got a similar story ¨C the moment they made it to the forest, they started getting attacked by monsters. I mean, I think we all figured that''d happen, but from what they''re saying¡­ these were something else; way tougher than they had any right to be. Even those mana spiders you mentioned¡­ they don''t normally group up in swarms like that."


    "And then there''s the Amalgamation," Pale reminded him.


    Cal nodded. "That thing in particular has everybody spooked. Apparently, lots of people saw it stalking them; a few were even attacked by it and barely managed to escape with their lives."


    "Then they''ll be happy to know it''s dead."


    "Uh¡­ yeah, about that¡­" Cal''s face flushed red. "You and Kayla might be minor celebrities among the other initiates."


    Pale blinked, then tilted her head, confused. "Come again?"


    "Cynthia and I have kinda been talking you both up, since you two killed the thing. Apparently, nobody else was even able to scratch it, or at least, none of the people who fought it and lived were able to. Anyone who got away was only able to do so because they had someone else to help them out, or because they just got lucky somehow. I''m sure there''s a story there with them all, but I didn''t think it was right to try and dig deeply into it, given how terrified everyone was."


    "Probably a good move," Pale reluctantly conceded, even though she desperately wanted to know more.


    "Oh!" Cynthia said, a thought suddenly crossing into her mind. "Did you get your tomes, by any chance?"


    Pale grimaced, then shook her head. "No."


    Cal and Cynthia exchanged a worried glance with each other. "Then¡­ you''re still one short," Cal surmised.


    "We are. Don''t remind me of it." Pale let out a tired sigh, running a hand through her hair as she did so. "We''ve got enough for one of us to get in. I was hoping we''d be able to set up outside the entrance and pick someone off, but Kayla getting attacked by spiders put a damper on that. So now we''re one short of another full set."


    "Then¡­ what does that mean for you both?" Cynthia questioned.


    Pale was silent. Truthfully, she didn''t know. Logic dictated that one of them accept the set and use it to gain entry this year; that was a no-brainer. The only question was which of them it should be.


    Pale had her reasons for wanting to get in, of course, and they made sense in a vacuum, she had to admit. But the more she thought about it, the more it became apparent that going in alone was going to be incredibly difficult. Kayla wouldn''t be there to guide her at all, for one, plus she''d be making that decision without consulting her first, which would be a huge betrayal considering Kayla had just as much a claim to entering the Luminarium as she did.


    And even then, no matter what she picked, they''d both still be separated.


    The thought caused a pit to form in her stomach. Whether she accepted entry or not, she''d still be alone. Normally, Pale wasn''t one to care about such things¡­ but part of her had grown attached to Kayla over the months, both as an ally¡­ and as a friend. It was going to be lonely without her there. But all the same, there were lives at stake, and Pale couldn''t risk losing more of them over something as frivolous as a friendship.


    Besides, it wasn''t like Kayla would want to be her friend anymore if Pale betrayed her like she was thinking.


    At that thought, Pale winced. It was one thing to end their friendship naturally, but something like this? For some reason, it bothered her.


    "Pale," Cal asked, interrupting her thoughts. "What are you going to do?"


    Pale turned towards him, completely unsure how to respond. Not that it would have mattered if she could; a door on the other end of the room opened, and the bearded man from a few days ago, Professor Tomas, stepped inside. Immediately, all the students fell silent as he cleared his throat.


    "This is¡­ unprecedented," Tomas admitted as he stared out at the crowd before him. "In all my years proctoring these exams, I don''t think I''ve ever seen a prospective class take as many casualties as you all have. Needless to say, this shouldn''t have happened."


    "What''s he talking about?" Cal asked Cynthia. She quietly shushed him, and they all continued to listen in as Tomas began to pace around the room.


    "I''ve heard what some of you have been saying," he reported. "About how monsters lurked in the forest, including one in particular that apparently killed several dozen of you on its own. I don''t think I need to tell you all that this was not the intention; we wanted to test you, not slaughter you all like hogs. Each of you has our sincerest apologies for what you''ve gone through."


    That made Pale''s eyes widen with surprise. So initiation had gone awry, after all. She''d suspected as much after seeing exactly how many people the Amalgamation had killed, but to hear it confirmed was unnerving.


    Whatever they''d planned for initiation, clearly something had gone horribly wrong with it. Unfortunately, as much as Pale wanted to learn more, it seemed she wouldn''t get the chance.


    "Now then, we''ve already collected tomes from most of you," Tomas said. "And so far, everyone has the required number. If anyone does not, I ask that you speak up now."


    Pale felt a lump form in her throat. Here it was ¨C the chance for her to claim her rightful spot. It would be so easy to throw Kayla under the bus and gain entry for herself. On a certain level, it was even required of her. All she had to do was speak up.


    "Nobody?" Tomas asked as the seconds ticked by. "Everyone has the required number?"


    "I don''t, sir."


    Everyone turned to look at Pale, her words hanging in the air around her. The entire room stared at her in surprise, as if they couldn''t believe what they''d just heard. Pale couldn''t blame them; it was just as surprising to her.


    "You don''t?" Tomas questioned. He began to step over to her, though once he was halfway there, he stopped, his eyes widening. "Hang on¡­ the others have been talking about you, as well as your friend. You''re the one who killed the creature that had been hunting down the other initiates."


    Pale clenched her fists. "Not just me," she amended. "My friend did just as much to help, if not more than what I did."


    "I see, I see¡­ and, if you don''t mind me asking, how many tomes do you have?"


    "She has a full set. I''m short by one."


    Tomas thought for a moment, then looked around. The other students were deathly silent; nobody dared to make a sound. Finally, he gave a small nod.


    "Very well," he said.


    And with that, he turned and left the room the way he''d come. Pale watched her go for a second, her heart pounding in her chest.


    Just like that, she''d sealed her fate, along with the fate of countless other people in her home solar system.


    And yet somehow, it didn''t feel nearly as hollow as she thought it would.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 17

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    As Professor Tomas walked off, Cal and Cynthia turned towards Pale, surprised looks on their faces.


    "Pale?" Cynthia asked. "Did you just-"


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "I did. Don''t ask me why; I wouldn''t be able to tell you, myself."


    "What does that mean?" Cal asked, tilting his head. "You don''t know why you-"


    "No," Pale interrupted. "I don''t." She let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Just¡­ let it go, please. I''ll speak to Kayla about it once she''s awake. For now, I just want to try and take it easy."


    Cal and Cynthia exchanged a glance with one another, but after a moment, turned back to Pale and gave her a small nod.


    "Alright," Cynthia offered. "Whatever your reasons, we won''t pry. We owe you that much, at least."


    Pale breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."


    With that train of thought now over and done with, Pale looked around the room, trying to see some of the other initiates who''d made it. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a familiar blue cloak in the corner, surrounded by a trio of other haughty-looking young people.


    "I''ll be right back," she said to Cal and Cynthia, just before marching off to that side of the room. Cal and Cynthia both briefly tried to stop her, but she paid them no mind.


    Joel still had something of hers, after all.


    He was leaned up against the wall, and naturally, he saw her coming within moments. Rather than shy back from her, however, he stood up straight and crossed his arms, a grin splitting his face as she approached.


    "Well, well," he said to her as she drew closer. "Look who made it¡­ or, rather, didn''t quite make it, if that little display a short while ago was any indication."


    "Save it," Pale demanded. "You have something of mine. I want it back."


    "What, you mean this?" Joel motioned to the pack, still thrown over both of his shoulders. His grin widened. "Hm¡­ I don''t know. I mean, it''s pretty comfortable and very useful. Think I''ll hang onto it for a while."


    A vein pulsed in Pale''s forehead. "It''s of little use to you."


    "I beg to differ. I mean, once I''m actually enrolled in the Luminarium, I''ll need something to help carry my books, and this seems perfect for the job. Besides, it''s not like you''ll have that problem."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "Just give it back. I need what''s inside it."


    "What, you mean those little box-like objects full of brass?" Joel shook his head. "Those things were super heavy, so I dumped them in the forest somewhere. Besides, I couldn''t figure out what they were for, anyway; that made them dead weight to me."


    Pale started to grind her teeth. With her extra ammunition gone, there wasn''t much else of value inside of her pack, save for a few rations and some medical supplies, neither of which Joel would know how to use. Normally, the medical supplies would be cause for concern, given that they were hypodermic needles full of the same lifesaving medicine she''d used on Valerie earlier, but at this point, she didn''t care. If anything, she hoped Joel was dumb enough to stick himself in an artery with one and bleed out.


    "You know," Joel said, his grin widening enough to show off some of his teeth. "If you want it back so badly, you could always take it from me. Of course, that didn''t go so well last time, if I recall¡­"


    The people around him ¨C three other boys and one girl ¨C all began to laugh. Pale was unperturbed; if anything, she was more annoyed at the loss of her equipment, not to mention Joel''s cockiness.


    Still, he had a point. Unless she was willing to put a bullet between his eyes right here and now, there really wasn''t much she could do, considering he''d won their last fight with barely any effort. Sure, she''d underestimated him back then, a mistake she wouldn''t be making again any time soon, but the fact remained that he had her dead to rights unless she specifically wanted to murder him, and despite his incessant teasing, she wasn''t willing to go that far.


    Instead, Pale gave him one final glare before turning and marching away. Joel''s group all laughed at her even harder as she went, and she ground her teeth yet again as she made her way back to Cal and Cynthia, who were watching her with wide eyes.


    "Who is that guy?" Cynthia asked.


    "Someone who has something of mine and is unwilling to give it back, but who I am also incapable of strong-arming into turning it over," Pale grunted.


    Cal blinked. "He seems like a real asshole."


    "Cal!" Cynthia chastised.


    "Well, he does." Cal turned back to Pale, frowning. "You really can''t do anything about him? Nothing to make him give your stuff back?"


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    "No," Pale said, bitterness creeping into her tone. "I fought him once and he beat me."


    "Really? Even with your weapons?"


    "My weapons aren''t meant for anything short of lethal force. If I use them on someone, it''s because I fully intend to kill them."


    Cal''s eyes widened. "You really mean that?"


    "I do." Pale pointed to her rifle and pistol in turn. "These are not blades, Cal; I cannot use them to disarm someone and force them to yield, for example. They function by propelling small bits of metal forwards faster than the speed of sound. There is no way to make them non-lethal aside from using specialty ammunition, which I do not have."


    Cynthia swallowed nervously. "You¡­ make it sound like you''ve killed people with them."


    "Because I have," Pale said. "In self-defense, mind you; you can ask Kayla and she''ll confirm it. Safe to say, we''ve both had quite the travels behind us before coming here."


    Cynthia stared at her with wide eyes. "You¡­ how can you be so nonchalant about it?"


    Pale shrugged. "It was me or them. I made the logical choice, and I have no regrets. If that bothers you, then that''s your problem, not mine."


    Cynthia stared at her for a moment, seemingly in shock, before bringing a hand up to rub at the bridge of nose. As Pale watched, she suddenly turned and walked off, as if in a daze.


    "Ah¡­! Cynthia, wait!" Cal called, chasing after her.


    Pale watched them both go for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh laden with exhaustion. Even unintentionally, she still drove people away. Kayla was going to be upset with her when she found out, that much was certain.


    A sudden flash of purple out of the corner of her eye caught Pale''s attention, and she turned towards it, freezing at what she saw.


    Valerie was standing a short ways away, staring at her with wide, fear-filled eyes. Pale stared back for a moment before clearing her throat.


    "Valerie-"


    She didn''t get a chance to say anything else before Valerie took several steps back, then abruptly turned and began to run away. Pale stared at her as she disappeared into a nearby room, another sigh escaping her.


    "You can''t be surprised about that. She was telling a few of us what happened to her legs. That''s a justified reaction."


    Pale blinked as the familiar voice reached her ears. Without looking back, she let out a slow exhale.


    "Nasir," she said evenly. "You made it."


    "I did," he confirmed. "No thanks to you."


    She turned towards him, and was surprised to find him glaring at her. She blinked, taken aback at the fact that the timid dark elf she''d met just a few days ago seemed to have suddenly grown a bit of a spine.


    "What happened?" she asked, unsure of how to continue their conversation. "After I stole your tome, I mean."


    "Does it matter?" Nasir questioned, crossing his arms. "I''m in and you''re not."


    Pale let out another exhale. "No," she said, "I suppose it doesn''t. Is that why you wanted to approach me? To rub some salt in the wound?"


    "Partly. Really, I just wanted to point out¡­ for all your ruthlessness, you still failed. M-maybe you should reflect on that."


    Pale let out an amused snort. "Don''t count on it," she told him.


    His glare intensified. "Very well," he said. "Then I have nothing further to say to you."


    "What is it to you, anyway?" Pale suddenly asked. "Why do you care-"


    She turned towards him once more, but he was already walking away. She rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed groan, then leaned up against the nearby wall, crossing her arms and lowering her head.


    So far, this entire mission had been an exercise in frustration, one way or another. And to make matters worse, she hadn''t even succeeded in gaining entry for herself. Of course, that begged the question of what to do next, she supposed; she couldn''t exactly join Kayla at the Luminarium, which left her with precious few options. Perhaps she could head back north and join Evie and Knight-Captain Allen back at Stonebriar, at least for another year?


    The thought earned an annoyed grunt from her. Simply put, she couldn''t afford to wait another year ¨C there was no telling how much additional progress the Caatex would make with an extra twelve months behind them, all because she had a moment of weakness and let Kayla take the spot.


    "Copper for your thoughts?"


    Pale blinked, surprised, but turned towards the voice, her expression softening as she did so. "You''re awake," she said.


    Kayla walked over to her, grimacing as she did so, favoring one leg over the other; Pale peeled herself off the wall, intending to help her, but Kayla waved her off.


    "I''ll be fine," Kayla said. "Just a bit of residual pain and some numbness in my leg. The healers said it should fade within a day."


    Reluctantly, Pale held herself back. "How''s your head? They mentioned you''d have a migraine."


    "It feels like I just spent a week in an enclosed space listening to your weapons go off continuously. The only thing missing is the ringing in my ears." Kayla''s tail lashed behind her in frustration, and she let out a sigh. "So, what happened? The healers filled me in as best as they could, but-"


    A pit formed in Pale''s stomach. She looked down at the floor. "...I had to spend the rest of our time getting you here so you could be treated, because the medicine I was giving you didn''t work."


    Kayla blinked. "...You dragged me the entire way here by yourself?"


    "No," Pale said. "I carried you. Dragging you would have just made things worse."


    Again, Kayla blinked. "I¡­ I don''t know what to say, Pale¡­ you saved my life."


    "And you''ve saved mine multiple times since we''ve been traveling together. Think nothing of it."


    Slowly, Kayla nodded, though Pale could tell it was with great reluctance. "So¡­ what happens now? You already turned in our tomes, right?"


    Pale grimaced, turning her attention to the floor. "I only had one full set to turn in."


    Kayla blinked, her expression falling. "Oh¡­ well, I can''t fault you for it; you have a mission, after all-"


    "Actually," Pale corrected, "your set was the one I turned in. I kept the one that was short by a tome for myself."


    Kayla''s eyes widened. "...You did? But¡­ your mission¡­ won''t this mean you won''t get back home as fast as you want? I mean¡­ that''s all you''ve been talking about-"


    "I know," Pale interrupted her. "And¡­ I don''t know why. My mind acted on its own, before I even realized what I was saying."


    "But then what are you going to do?" Kayla asked, concerned. "Pale, you can''t-"


    "I already did, and I intend to stand by it, whatever the consequences are," Pale said softly. "I owe my creators an end to their war, I know I do, but¡­ I can''t explain it, I just felt compelled to do this for you¡­"


    Kayla froze for a moment, saying nothing. Finally, after a few seconds ticked by, she hesitantly stepped forwards and threw her hands around Pale, pulling her close.


    "¡­Thank you for this," she said softly. "I know it''s a huge sacrifice for you. You have my word that I''ll do whatever it takes to repay you. Any information you need, you let me know and I''ll get it to you somehow as soon as I can. I just¡­ thank you so much, for giving me my dream¡­"


    Pale felt her heart skip a beat, and with great hesitation, brought her arms up, reciprocating Kayla''s hug.


    "...You''re welcome," she said softly. "Just¡­ promise me you''ll earn this, Kayla."


    "I will," she said emphatically. "You have my word."


    The two of them held the hug for a few seconds, though it was soon interrupted by heavy footsteps from off to the side. They separated, both of them turning towards the source of the noise; to Pale''s surprise, it was Professor Tomas, approaching them.


    "You two, come with me," he said. "I wish to discuss some things with both of you."


    With that, he turned away, beckoning for them to follow. Pale and Kayla exchanged a confused glance, but with nothing else to lose, they both did as they had been told.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 18

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    Professor Tomas led them through the various rooms, allowing Pale to get a better look at where they''d ended up. It was clearly still underground, that much was certain; the walls were carved out of stone, as if they''d been cut into the inside of a mountain. Bright yellow crystals were embedded into the rock, casting light over each of the rooms, and what little bits of shadow they couldn''t reach were instead illuminated by torchlight. Even just looking around, Pale could tell that nothing about this place was intended to be livable long-term. This made sense to her; in all likelihood, this was little more than a spot for successful initiates to rest and recover after their ordeal.


    Of course, that only reinforced the question at the forefront of her mind ¨C where was she going to go when it came time for her and Kayla to separate?


    Pale held that thought as Professor Tomas led them to a door. He threw it open, revealing a medium-sized room with a table and some chairs in it. He beckoned the two of them inside.


    "Sit, please," he said. "The others will be joining us shortly."


    "Others?" Pale couldn''t help but ask.


    Tomas nodded. "I''ve asked some of the other professors to join us."


    Immediately, alarm bells began to go off in Pale''s head. "What is this about?"


    "Nothing bad, I assure you. We simply wish to discuss a few things regarding what happened during initiation. Believe me, neither of you are in any trouble in the slightest."


    Pale and Kayla exchanged a glance with each other, but eventually they turned back to Tomas and reluctantly nodded. At least in Pale''s case, they hadn''t seen fit to take her weapons from her yet, so she still had that line of defense.


    Of course, she doubted it would do much against a well-trained mage, but it was reassuring nonetheless.


    The two of them sat down, and Professor Tomas left the room, though he didn''t bother to close the door behind him as he went. Once he was gone, Pale turned to Kayla.


    "What do you think this is about?" she asked. "Because something tells me this isn''t just regarding what happened in initiation."


    "Honestly, I have no idea," Kayla admitted. "But I can tell that everything about this is unprecedented¡­"


    "Probably a safe bet." Pale shifted, making sure her rifle was within easy reach, just in case. "I doubt they intend to do us harm; if they did, they wouldn''t bother with a pretense like this. Whatever''s going on, it must be pretty big."


    Kayla didn''t respond. A few seconds later, the two of them heard a series of footsteps echoing through the halls. Pale tensed as several people came into view, only two of whom she recognized ¨C there was Professor Tomas, as well as the scarred man from earlier, but the others were new to her. Of the three new people, one was a giant dark-skinned man who stood about seven feet tall, one was a woman who looked to be in her forties who had a sword on her hip, and the final one was a man in robes who looked like a bipedal dragon. Pale blinked, taken aback by the sudden appearance of these people, but she recovered quickly as they all sat down across from the two of them.


    "Alright," Professor Tomas announced as he settled into his seat. "Let''s begin. First, I believe a round of introductions are in order. You already know me, but the others must be strangers to you."


    "I recognize him as well, of course," Pale replied, motioning to the scarred man. "Even if I can''t place a name to his face yet."


    The man let a grunt. "I make it a point not to let initiates know who I am until after they''ve passed. But considering the extenuating circumstances surrounding initiation, as well as the fact that one of you has already passed¡­ I am Professor Marick."


    That was all he told her. Pale nodded, then turned to the others, listening to them in turn.


    The woman spoke first, pulling the hood of her cloak down, revealing her face to them. She had bright green eyes and red hair tied back in a ponytail, and nodded towards Pale and Kayla.


    "Professor Kara," she replied.


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    The black-scaled dragon-man spoke next, clearing his throat to get their attention. He stared at the two of them with his piercing red eyes, never taking his gaze away from them for a moment as he spoke.


    "Professor Virux," he told them with a deep, reverberating hiss that seemed to rumble from his throat, betraying his reptilian heritage. "And I am glad to see that you both made it through."


    The tall man next to him rolled his eyes. "Spare them the ceremony, Virux; we have important matters to attend to." He looked over to Pale and Kayla, giving them both a nod. "Professor Glisos."


    "Pleased to meet you all," Pale replied once they had finished their introductions. She motioned to herself and then to Kayla. "You may call me Pale. This is my friend, Kayla. Now, if you would be so kind¡­ what is this about?"


    "Pale," Kayla gently chastised. "What my friend means to say is¡­ we can tell that we''re here for a reason. If you would be so kind as to tell us-"


    "Skip the pleasantries," Marick said gruffly. "Tomas has already assured you that you are not in trouble, yes? He was right. All we want is to learn more about what happened during initiation. Several of the students said they were attacked by a large creature of some kind, and that it was responsible for most of the deaths this time around."


    Pale raised an eyebrow at that. "You make it sound as though you expected some of us to die."


    "Unfortunately, that''s usually what happens," Kara explained. "We usually lose around ten initiates a year. It''s always a shame, of course, but it is also unavoidable whenever the ceremony involves some form of combat or wilderness survival. Everyone is warned of the potential consequences beforehand, of course, as I''m sure you recall, but unfortunately, some of them who are not qualified still believe they are capable of pushing past their own boundaries."


    "And yet, this year was an anomaly even beyond that," Virux noted. "And it mostly revolves around that creature you two fought."


    "You make it sound as though you don''t know what it was," Pale realized.


    "Because we don''t," Marick admitted, taking her by surprise. "The other students have described it to us, and it doesn''t match any of the creatures native to this area. We don''t know what to make of that, and were hoping that you could enlighten us a bit."


    "There isn''t much to tell, Professor. It was a large creature made up of some combination of a big cat, a bear, and a lamprey. Vicious, deadly, smart, and highly predatory. It hunted people for sport."


    "For sport?" Virux asked. "That doesn''t sound like any kind of animal I''ve ever heard of before."


    "Believe me, we were just as surprised as you were," Kayla offered.


    Pale nodded in agreement. "And like I said, it was smart. It knew how to set traps and ambush us, as well as when it had bitten off more than it could chew and needed to pull back."


    The professors exchanged a glance with each other before turning back to her.


    "Some of the other initiates said you two were the ones who killed it," Tomas noted. "Mind explaining how you did it?"


    Pale''s face darkened. "It wasn''t easy," she said. "It had some kind of natural armor under its skin that kept my weapons from working on it." She tapped the receiver of her rifle for emphasis. "For a quick explanation ¨C my weapon operates by propelling small bits of metal forward at incredibly high speeds. But that monster ¨C we took to calling it the Amalgamation ¨C was unaffected by anything I was throwing at it. Kayla was the one to really bring it down; we managed to get it under the rain, then she hit it with enough lightning to tear a hole in its armor, and I pumped it full of lead to put it down."


    Kara nodded in understanding. "So you used the water to amplify the lightning in order to debilitate it, and then finished it off. Good thinking."


    Pale nodded, then turned back to Tomas. "Unfortunately, it was too little, too late; that thing had already hunted and killed over thirty other initiates, and those are just the ones we found. I wouldn''t be surprised if there were more than that and we simply didn''t find them during our time in the forest."


    Tomas'' face darkened. "Then it''s a good thing you took it out. You have our thanks for doing so."


    Pale waved him off. "We were simply trying to save ourselves. That thing was hunting us, too."


    "Still, the fact that you stopped it is worthy of praise. Were it not for your intervention, it would have surely killed even more."


    Pale said nothing in response. Instead, she watched as Professor Kara suddenly rolled her eyes.


    "Oh, just tell her, already," Kara said. "We now know for sure that they''re the ones who stopped it. Stop dragging things out."


    "I was getting to that," Tomas emphasized. He turned back to Pale, clearing his throat as he did so. "Anyway. We understand that these are strange circumstances you''ve found yourselves in, and you have our sympathy, as do the other prospective students."


    "We understand that you both entered initiation together, as a pair," Virux added. "And, to be honest, it would be a shame to split you up, especially when one of you only missed the cutoff by a single tome."


    Pale sat up straighter in her chair. "Not to be presumptive, but is this an offer for me to join the Luminarium?"


    "It only seems appropriate," Tomas said. "After all, you saved countless other initiates by killing that creature, and you only just barely missed the cutoff in the end. It would be remiss of us not to at least offer you a chance to join afterwards."


    "Say no more; I accept."


    The professors looked to each other and nodded, then turned back to her. "Very well, then," Glisos said. "Welcome to the Luminarium, both of you."


    "Thank you," Pale replied. "Believe me, I intend to make the most of it."


    XXX


    The professors left the two of them a moment after, leaving them alone in the room. The moment they were gone, Kayla threw herself at Pale, wrapping her arms around her as she laughed.


    "You''re in!" she exclaimed. "This is great, Pale!"


    This time, Pale didn''t hesitate to reciprocate Kayla''s hug. And somehow, despite everything that had happened, she couldn''t hold back the small grin that had crossed her face.


    Somehow, someway, she had made it in to the Luminarium.


    Now, all she had to do was see what awaited her inside.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 19

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    The professors gave the two of them a moment to collect themselves before a few of them came back to get them. They were walked out into the main room, where the professors explained what had happened, and how they''d decided to admit them both to the Luminarium. Most of the students didn''t seem to mind; Cal and Cynthia, at least, seemed happy for them. But Pale didn''t miss a few others giving her a dirty look, namely Joel and his group, who were no doubt angry that they''d just had the wind taken out of their sails.


    They weren''t the only ones, though ¨C through the crowd, Pale was able to spot Nasir, staring at her with a disappointed look on his face. She averted her gaze away from him, looking elsewhere; there was no sign of Valerie, but Pale suspected that she was reacting much the same way.


    That made three potential enemies she''d have to be wary of, not to mention the other members of Joel''s group. Not that she cared, though; she''d managed to make it into the Luminarium, and at the moment, that was all that mattered.


    Eventually, the professors finished their announcement. Pale suspected that would be the end of it, but to her surprise, a few of them instead beckoned for the newly-minted students to follow after them. They all took a moment to collect their things, then did as they were told. As they went,.Pale did a quick headcount; by her estimate, there were just over fifty of them who''d managed to gain entry, herself and Kayla included. That was a far cry from the group who''d first begun initiation alongside them, though it wasn''t unexpected, given what the professors had told her.


    The thought made her scowl. Just what had gone wrong during initiation, then? From the sound of things, everything about it was anomalous in some way, though the professors clearly weren''t about to tell any of them much about it.


    In the end, Pale supposed it didn''t matter. Her and Kayla had been granted entry together, and that was all she cared about.


    The professors who''d opted to escort them ¨C those being Glisos, Kara, and Virux ¨C eventually led them to a large circular stone chamber, where sunlight was spilling down from above. Pale looked up, her eyes widening at what she saw. The stone above them had been perfectly cut to accommodate the platform they were all standing upon, and from the looks of things, it traveled straight up for several hundred feet.


    "First of all, congratulations on earning your way into the Luminarium, all of you," Kara offered. "You''ve all been through quite the ordeal, but now it''s over. As of this moment, you are all students here."


    She flashed them a thin smile, and a quiet murmur of happiness went up through the crowd. After giving them a moment to talk among themselves, Professor Glisos stepped forwards.


    "As some of you may have probably surmised, the platform you are standing on will take you directly to the Luminarium," he informed them. "Now, that being said¡­ all of you, bunch up together, and keep your hands and feet away from the walls."


    Kayla tilted her head, confused. "How does he intend for this thing to take us-"


    She got her answer a split second later, when a black aura enveloped Glisos'' hands. He brought them together, then began to lift them up, as if he were hoisting something heavy above his head. At the same time, the large stone platform underneath their feet began to shift, and before any of them knew it, they were rapidly traveling upwards. A few students let out cries of surprise, but Pale was more focused on maintaining her balance as they traveled, as was Kayla; they both held on to each other, helping to keep themselves steady as they went.


    To Pale''s amazement, the platform covered the distance to the top of the hole in under a minute. When the stone piece finally settled into place underneath their feet, Glisos lowered his hands, and beckoned for them to step away.


    "Right, everybody off," he emphasized.


    They all did as they were told, scrambling off the platform. As they did so, Pale looked around. They were in some kind of large courtyard, in a far-off corner of what had to be the Luminarium''s campus. Somehow, it all looked even bigger and more imposing up-close; she''d seen the entire thing from a distance already, of course, but that kind of view hadn''t done it justice. The large tower in the center of campus was really just the focal piece; there were a myriad of smaller buildings scattered around that, while dwarfed by the tower, were no less impressive from an architectural standpoint. Each one was adorned with a complex pattern of some kind carved into the stone, though Pale couldn''t tell what it was just yet.


    "Now that you''re here, I suppose you''ll all want to be shown around," Virux offered. "Generally, we''d prefer for our students to discover the campus on their own, but a little brief introduction wouldn''t hurt. Follow me, everyone ¨C I''ll show you around."


    Virux took off walking, and the students followed after him.


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    XXX


    "Finally, this is where you''ll all be staying as first-years."


    Virux threw open the double doors to the three-story building, then stepped aside so they could walk in. They all moved into the building, taking a look around as they did so. Pale''s attention again fell to the intricate carvings across the stone; thanks to Virux''s tour, she''d already discovered them to be broken chains.


    "I''ve seen you staring at those," Virux said from behind her, causing her to turn towards him. He stepped over to her, his hands clasped behind his back. "Can you guess what they symbolize?"


    Pale thought for a moment. "Broken chains are traditionally a symbol of the abolition of slavery, at least where I''m from."


    "You''re partially correct. In truth, the carvings represent knowledge freeing us from our shackles, whatever those shackles may be. For some, those shackles are indeed a life of servitude under another."


    Pale was surprised. "Slavery is an institution here?"


    "In some far-away lands, yes," Virux explained. "But not in this kingdom. Still, we do occasionally get a mage in who''s a servant to someone from overseas; as you can imagine, their servitude doesn''t last long once they''ve finished studying here."


    "Knowledge is power."


    "Indeed." The corners of Virux''s mouth quirked up slightly. "Let''s join the others, I imagine they''re all eager to see their rooms, as are you."


    Pale nodded and followed after Virux as he led her back to where the other students had disappeared to. Most of them had found their way to a nearby hall, and were standing in the doorways of what appeared to be dorm rooms. A few of the more bold students ¨C Joel and his entourage included, Pale realized ¨C had already stepped into some of those rooms and laid their packs down, claiming them for themselves. Virux nodded at them as he passed by.


    "They have the right idea," he said. "Everyone, now is the time to find a room for yourself! Two to a room, no more and no less!"


    Pale looked around and found Kayla standing in a doorway to a room at the end of the hall. She made her way over to her, then tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention; Kayla turned to her, her expression changing to one of relaxation.


    "What do you think of this one, Pale?" she asked.


    Pale stepped into the room, looking it over. From what she could tell, it was surprisingly modern by her standards ¨C two beds against the walls on either side of the room, two desks in the center pressed up together, and a few yellow crystals embedded into the ceiling above to provide light. A large window was situated in the center of the room, its curtains fluttering in the breeze. There were two small closets on either side, plus a large dresser complete with a mirror. Finally, and perhaps best of all, the room seemed to be complete with its own attached restroom as well.


    Granted, as nice as all that was, it wasn''t Pale''s primary concern. She poked her head into the restroom; there were no windows or other points of entry there, meaning the only ways in or out of their room were the large window and the door she''d entered through. And as luck would have it, their window was blocked by a large thicket of nearby trees, making it difficult if not impossible for someone far-off to spy on them, or worse.


    Pale stepped back into the main room, then gave Kayla a nod. "It''ll do."


    "Great!" Kayla said, flashing her a smile. "I''ll start unpacking." She paused. "Um¡­ you have my-"


    Pale shrugged the pack off her shoulders, then offered it to Kayla. Truthfully, they''d both been traveling light the past few months; most of their belongings were still in the wagon Evie had given them when they''d left Stonebriar.


    At that thought, Pale turned to Virux, who was leaned up against the doorway. "Hey," she said, causing him to turn towards them. "We arrived in a wagon pulled by two horses."


    He caught on immediately, and gave her a nod. "That''s been taken care of. Everything is waiting for you in the campus stables. I''d suggest going to pick up your belongings and check on your horses after dinner, though."


    "Dinner¡­?" Kayla echoed. "Is it really dinnertime already?"


    "Just about," Virux explained. "I''ll give you all a few minutes to get settled before escorting you to the mess hall. But before then, there''s one thing I wanted to discuss with you, Pale."


    He peeled himself away from the doorframe and stepped over to her. Immediately, Pale was suspicious. Professor Virux had been nothing but trustworthy to them so far, but something told her that whatever this conversation was about to entail, she wouldn''t like it.


    "One of the students explained your weapons to me," he said. "From the sound of things, they are quite destructive, even if we don''t understand how they work."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. "Where are you going with this, Professor?"


    Virux let out a tired sigh. "Look, I know this may not be entirely acceptable to you, but we have to take certain precautions to safeguard all our students. And from what I was told, your weapons are too dangerous to be kept on your person at all times. I will need you to turn them over to me for now."


    Pale grit her teeth. Of course, there had to be some kind of catch involved with her entry to the Luminarium. She cast a glance over at Kayla, who was giving her a worried expression, before she turned back to Virux. Pale''s first instinct was to tell him off, but it didn''t take a genius to realize there would be consequences attached if she did that.


    And so, with much reluctance, Pale unloaded her guns and handed them both to Professor Virux.


    "A few ground rules, Professor," she said as she passed them both over to him. "Nobody is to mess with those at all. If you''re going to take them, they are to remain under lock and key unless I need them, at which point they will be returned to me. Is that acceptable?"


    Slowly, Virux nodded. "Very. I''ll guard these carefully, you have my word."


    With that, he turned and walked down the hall, taking Pale''s weapons with him; no doubt he was going somewhere to lock them up. Pale watched him go before heaving a tired sigh.


    She had a good idea who had told Virux about her weapons, but it wouldn''t do any good to dwell on it for now. As much as she hated it, if disarming was necessary to maintain her spot at the Luminarium, then so be it.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked.


    Pale waved her off. "I''m fine. Just tired, is all."


    "I can imagine." Kayla stepped over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "It''s been a long couple of days, hasn''t it? But we''re finally here."


    Pale nodded. "Hard to believe, isn''t it?"


    "You''re telling me. I''ve dreamed of walking these halls ever since I was little, and now I''m actually doing it." Kayla flashed her a grin. "And I have you to thank for it."


    Again, Pale waved her off. "Don''t sell yourself short, Kayla. Something tells me you would have made it here just fine on your own if you''d really wanted to."


    Kayla went to argue, but didn''t get the chance to before Glisos called out from down the hall.


    "Students, it''s time for dinner!" he called, his booming voice echoing against the stone walls. "Follow me to the mess hall!"


    Kayla and Pale didn''t need to be told twice. They hurriedly exited their new dorm, then joined the throng of students following after Professor Glisos.


    With any luck, the night would be a short one, and they''d be able to finally get a nice, long rest right after dinner.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 20

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    As it turned out, the mess hall was only a short walk away from the first-year dorm buildings. As they all walked towards it, heading past the various stone buildings and courtyards that pockmarked the Luminarium''s campus, Pale had to admit that out of everything she''d experienced so far, being here was probably the single most alien thing to her.


    Admittedly, that felt strange to say, given some of the horrors she''d faced since her arrival on Sjel. But really, it was just how mundane being here was ¨C out of all the things that could have possibly happened to her, being forced to attend school was probably towards the very bottom of her list. The fact was, she was a war machine; the closest thing she''d ever had to school had been a very rudimentary training program that had only lasted a few weeks, and even that was more designed just to make sure that she was functioning perfectly. The moment her creators had established that all her systems were green, she''d been pulled out of the training program and set to work, fighting and killing Caatex like it was second nature to her.


    And now she was here, attending school like a normal person.


    Something about that didn''t sit right with her, but Pale tried not to let it show on her face as she continued walking along with the others. With any luck, her time here would be brief and fleeting, though obviously, that depended entirely on how quickly it took her to find an answer to what she was looking for.


    Idly, Pale went through her systems, cataloging everything she''d need to get herself fixed. In the periphery of her vision, several charts and reports were opened and categorized from severity of damage to ease of repairs. Aside from raw materials ¨C steel and the like ¨C she''d need a way to weld her hull and engines back together. Fire magic might have been enough to accomplish that, but the problem there was that she doubted it would burn hot enough to properly stitch panels of metal together the way she needed. Plus, there was the issue of the raw materials themselves; short of starting her own refineries, she''d need to find something that could serve as a good enough substitute to get herself moving again. And then there was the fuel problem as well¡­


    Pale shook her head, gritting her teeth as she did so. With a small sigh, she decided an in-depth diagnostic scan was in order. Normally, this kind of thing was something she''d just run in the background, especially since there''d almost always been something more pressing that had required her attention instead. But now, with things settled down, she had more than enough time to go over everything in-depth.


    Her stomach rumbled, and Pale paused for a moment before shaking her head. The in-depth diagnostics could wait until she had food in her belly, at least.


    XXX


    Glisos and Virux threw open the doors to the mess hall, letting them all enter. A few of the students gasped at the sight that awaited them, and Pale wasn''t exactly confused as to why ¨C the mess hall reminded her of a very fancy restaurant, or at the least the idea of one that had been imprinted in her memory banks. As with the rest of the campus, it had been carved out of some kind of yellow stone, with those same pillars and chain-like pattern circling around them. Gemstones had been inlaid throughout the walls in evenly spaced increments, casting a faint glow across the entire room. Ornate wooden tables and chairs were lined up in rows ¨C Pale counted enough to seat around four-hundred people, though presently, it seemed that they were the only ones here. She didn''t doubt that there were other students at the Luminarium, but so far, they''d hadn''t seen any of them yet.


    Professors Marick and Tomas were nowhere to be found, though Kara was seated at the other side of the room. The floor upon which her chair rested had been raised several feet up, allowing her to easily see across the entire room. Next to her was a man Pale didn''t recognize, though just from what she could tell, he was very old. He was dressed in a dull gray cloak that fell down to the floor, covering his legs completely. A large white beard flowed down from his chin to almost the center of his chest, the color matching with the small patch of white hair that adorned the top of his head. A set of thick-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, and he peered through them with dull blue eyes. In his right hand, he clutched a large wooden staff, the top of which had a big gemstone the size of his fist perched on it; Pale''s eyes just about bugged out of her skull when she realized it was a rough cut diamond.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked from next to her as she took her seat. "You seem surprised about something. Is everything alright?"


    "Fine," she said, quickly recovering. "It''s just¡­ that man has a very large diamond on the top of his staff."


    Kayla paused. "Wow. I, um¡­ no offense, but I didn''t take you for the type to appreciate jewelry."


    Pale shook her head. "It''s not that. A diamond that size would cost a lot of money where I come from. I don''t care about such things, myself, but it is surprising to see someone flaunt it so openly."


    "He''s not flaunting it," Cal said from behind her. Both girls turned to look at him, and he locked eyes with Pale as he approached. "That''s headmaster Albrecht. He''s one of the most powerful mages in history."


    "Is he now?" Pale asked.


    Cal nodded. "You know how when people turn fifteen and get their sjel unlocked, their magical affinity is appraised at the same time? Albrecht unlocked his on his own five years before that, which is unheard of. Not only that, but he had affinities for three types of magic, not just one or two."


    "The Luminarium offered him entry on the spot," Cynthia chimed in, stepping up alongside Cal. "He was the youngest entrant in almost two-thousand years. The professors called him a one-in-a-million prodigy, and he lived up to it."


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    "What did he do to earn that kind of reputation?" Pale questioned.


    "Oh, you know, the usual ¨C developed or improved upon a lot of different magical theories, hunted a lot of very dangerous monsters, killed his way across more than a few battlefields¡­ you name it, he''s probably done it."


    Pale frowned. "All that and he ultimately decided that teaching a bunch of spoiled rich people is what he wanted to do with his life?"


    "Admittedly, it is a strange decision," Cal offered. "But nobody really knows the real reason why he chose to return here and spend the rest of his life running the place except for him. To my knowledge, he never gave anyone who asked a straight answer, and eventually, people decided to stop asking in case they angered him."


    "He''s quick to anger, then?"


    Cynthia shook her head. "No¡­ but when you''re dealing with a mage of his caliber, it''s best to err on the side of caution."


    Pale nodded in understanding. "And the diamond on his staff? What''s that for?"


    "It''s a foci for his magic," Cal explained. "I''d explain more, but honestly¡­ I''m sure we''ll be getting the crash course on that sooner rather than later. From what I can see, most of the people in our class haven''t yet developed their own foci yet, so I assume that''ll be an early lesson for us all."


    Pale blinked, then turned to Kayla. "Do you know anything about what they''re talking about?"


    Kayla bit her lip and shook her head, her tail swishing behind her. "I mean, I''ve heard about foci before, but I was under the impression that it was for advanced magic users¡­ you really think that''ll be an early lesson?"


    Cal nodded. "If you wanted it to be easy, then you should''ve picked a different magic academy. Don''t worry, though ¨C Cynthia and I, we''ve already got foci on our own. If you need any help understanding it past the first class, come to us, we''d be happy to teach you both."


    Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."


    At that moment, the last of the students entered the mess hall, and Glisos shut the doors behind them before clapping his hands together, silencing the entire room.


    "Find a seat," he commanded. "And be quick about it, too."


    They all obliged, hurriedly sitting down in the nearest seat available to them. Glisos nodded in approval once he saw they were all seated, then strode through the room to get to the raised podium that Kara, Virux, and Albrecht were already at. As he settled in, Albrecht stood up and cleared his throat.


    "First off, I would like to offer a moment of silence for those initiates who did not survive the entry exam," he said. He didn''t raise his voice at all, and yet somehow, it still echoed across the room.


    He bowed his head for a moment, and the students did the same, only looking back up once he cleared his throat once more.


    "Now then, I would also like to extend a round of congratulations for those of you who made it here," he offered. "It is my hope that you do not let the tragic loss of your fellow initiates spoil what should be a very happy and momentous occasion for all of you. This is your first step into becoming true masters of your sjel, and you all should be proud of making it here."


    A round of applause went up through the crowd, though it only lasted a moment before Albrecht raised a hand, silencing them.


    "It goes without saying, but you all have a hard path laid out in front of you," he explained. "It will not be easy. It will not even be entirely safe, all the time. But the rewards at the end are great, and I am confident that any one of you who is willing to put in the work and apply yourself will, in the end, succeed at your chosen path. But that is something to worry about for another day¡­ for now, I want you all to enjoy the fruits of your labor so far."


    At that, Albrecht jabbed the bottom of this staff into the stone floor, the noise echoing through the mess hall. The moment he did so, several doors scattered around the room opened, and men and women in fancy dinner outfits ¨C suits and dresses ¨C came flowing in, their arms full of trays. Pale scarcely had time to react before a plate of food was shoved in front of her, along with a glass of what appeared to be ale. She blinked, and her brain finally registered what she''d been served: a large chunk of steak that appeared to have been cooked to perfection.


    "Oh, wow¡­" Kayla muttered next to her as she stared at her own steak. "This looks expensive¡­"


    "It''s a bone-in, thirty-two ounce ribeye, cooked about as well as one possibly could be cooked," Cal said, his mouth already full of steak. "And if my estimation is correct, it probably costs more than the average day laborer makes in a week."


    "Cal, your mouth is full¡­" Cynthia gently chastised.


    Kayla blinked, her eyes widening in surprise. "Um¡­ is it really okay for me to eat this? I mean¡­ it''s so expensive¡­"


    "Consider that a perk of being a part of the best magic academy in the world," Cal answered, his mouth still full. Next to him, Cynthia gave a small groan of embarrassment, her face flushing red; Cal swallowed what was in his mouth with a content sigh, then looked back to Kayla. "Seriously, you should enjoy yourself."


    Kayla still seemed hesitant, even as she cut off a piece of steak, though her hesitation faded as soon as she placed her fork in her mouth. In that moment, her eyes lit up, her ears perked up, and her tail began to swish behind her as she dug in with fervor.


    Pale, meanwhile, found herself forced to hold back a thin smile as she watched her friend enjoy her food. It had been a long time coming, but finally, Kayla and her were able to truly relax, even if only for a moment.


    XXX


    Eventually, the food stopped coming and the ale stopped flowing, and they were all left to sit there, regretting their decision to eat and drink so much. Pale had been far more measured than most in her consumption; she''d eaten most of her steak and had a single glass of ale, and then had decided to back off. Even Kayla, for all her thinly-veiled gluttony, had known when to call it quits, and had stopped after finishing her own steak and ale. Cal and Cynthia, meanwhile, looked absolutely miserable, as did most of the rest of the students.


    Idly, Pale couldn''t help but wonder if this was some sort of test, and if they were now going to be expected to run a mile or something along those lines. She certainly hoped not; they would all surely fail if that was the case.


    Thankfully, the professors had mercy on them. Albrecht wiped at his face with a napkin, then stood up to address them once more.


    "I am pleased to see that you''ve all eaten your fill," he said. "Before we part ways for the night, there is one more matter to discuss. As some of you may be aware, the Luminarium has precious few professors qualified to help run the school. As a result, there are often gaps that need to be filled ¨C not in teaching, but in managing the rest of the campus, and chiefly, in managing the students. To that end, every year, the Luminarium brings on a series of temporary adjunct helpers, dedicated to assisting with whatever needs to be done. Without further ado, please give a warm welcome to this year''s adjunct faculty."


    A round of applause went up as the doors to the mess hall opened, and several older adults began to file in. Most of them looked as expected ¨C nobles of some kind, no doubt sent by the family members of the students to keep an eye on them. None of them were worth noticing, at least until the final one entered the room, and Pale''s eyes opened in disbelief. She looked over to Kayla to make sure she wasn''t seeing things, but Kayla''s angry surprise only confirmed what Pale already knew to be fact.


    He was almost unrecognizable. The long, flowing blonde hair had been cut very short, and his entire body was adorned with scars and burns. An eye patch was settled over his right eye socket, and the ends of a scar poked out from underneath either side of it. He was missing his right arm, and walked with a slight limp. But even through the injuries, there was no mistaking who it was.


    Somehow, someway, Sven Greymane had made his way to the Luminarium.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 21

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    Neither of them moved, even as they both stared at the man they knew was Sven. Pale was simply in disbelief ¨C the last time she''d seen him, he''d been buried under a bombardment of 250-millimeter high-explosive shells that she''d rained down on his village. And now he was here ¨C worse for wear, to be sure, but here nonetheless.


    Sven locked eyes with her, and she tensed, a hand falling to the sheathed knife at her waist. Inwardly, she silently cursed Virux for confiscating her guns from her. The last time she and Sven had faced each other, they hadn''t done her much good, but they were still better than being armed with just a knife and Kayla''s magic.


    At that thought, Pale turned towards her friend, only to find her sitting there, equally as tense, some of her teeth bared as her body trembled with rage. Between the two of them, Kayla had far more of a reason to hate Sven ¨C he''d killed her father right in front of the two of them. Pale still remembered everything in detail, between tracking Kayla''s father across the north side of the kingdom to eventually finding him being held as a prisoner in one of Sven''s camps¡­ as well as his ultimate fate, dying at Sven''s hand in order to protect Kayla. The mere thought of it still made her blood boil with sheer rage.


    They''d both thought he was dead. It was an easy thing to assume ¨C Pale had just about reduced his entire village and all its occupants to little more than ash on the ground. For all intents and purposes, that should have been enough to kill him, but somehow, here he was, staring at her. Pale held his gaze for a moment until he did something entirely unexpected.


    He blinked and turned away, seeming for all the world to not even have recognized the two of them.


    That took her off-guard, enough that she nearly felt the breath be stolen from her lungs from the sheer shock of it. He''d killed Kayla''s father, not to mention however many other people, but in return, Pale had all but bombed his entire village back to the Stone Age, severely wounding and disfiguring him in the process. That wasn''t something somebody just forgot, particularly somebody as unscrupulous as him. Her brow furrowed as thoughts ran through her mind.


    Was it possible he''d lost his memory somehow? She supposed so, but that didn''t explain why he was here now, and why nobody else seemed shocked to see him there. Perhaps they simply didn''t know who he was, but given the path of destruction his men had carved across the northern parts of the kingdom, that was hard for her to believe. But then again, they were very far south now, so she figured it was certainly possible¡­


    Albrecht was saying something, she finally realized. He''d been speaking for the past minute or so, and she''d entirely tuned him out, instead laser-focusing on Sven Greymane as he stood at the back of the room, his one remaining hand shoved into his front pocket. Idly, Pale stared at him from top to bottom. He was dressed differently from what she was used to ¨C gone were the ornate furs, and the metal armor, replaced instead with a set of simple, almost common-looking clothing and some lightweight leather armor over top of it. He''d once had a large sword sheathed at his hip, but that had apparently been set aside in favor of a wicked-looking dagger on his waist. That wasn''t to dismiss him as dangerous, however ¨C of all the opponents they''d faced since her arrival here, Sven was the only one to have dealt her a defeat so crushing that she''d had to resort to an orbital bombardment just to survive.


    And, more than that, he was the only one to ever haunt her nightmares.


    Pale grit her teeth as those thoughts came rushing back. No matter how hard she tried to push them away, they refused to leave. A quick look over at Kayla confirmed she felt the same way.


    The only question now was what they were going to do about it.


    Albrecht finally finished speaking, and all the students stood up, apparently having been dismissed at the end of the speech. As they all filed out, Pale took Kayla by the hand and began to pull her away, heading for the doors farthest from Sven as she rushed back to their dorm room.


    XXX


    They both ended up sprinting back to their shared dorm, Pale slamming the door behind her as they both entered the room. And the moment they were alone, Kayla exploded.


    "What is going on?!" she demanded. "How¡­ how is he here?! You killed him!"


    "We never confirmed it," Pale growled. "I just¡­ figured a barrage of 250-millimeter shells would be enough. I never could have suspected he was tough enough to actually survive it. Nothing else in that village did."


    "The village¡­" Kayla echoed, her eyes widening. "He''s going to want revenge, Pale. You know he is."


    "I''m aware. And believe me, I intend to do something about it."


    "What¡­? Don''t tell me you''re going to try to-"


    "Relax," Pale urged. "I''m going to talk to Professor Virux, see if I can''t get him to see where we''re coming from. I''d rather not get kicked out of this place for spilling blood. Granted, the last thing I want to do is talk this out, but we have to be careful how we handle things at this point. We can''t afford to lose our spots here, even if he''s now here with us."


    Kayla hesitated for a moment before nodding. "And¡­ if Virux doesn''t see sense, or understand how dangerous Sven is? What will you do then?"


    Pale said nothing, instead turning away as her expression darkened. Kayla didn''t call out to her, but she didn''t need to; Pale knew she understood regardless.


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    "Stay here," Pale told her without looking back. "Lock the door behind you, and don''t open it until you know it''s me coming back. If he comes for you, go out the window and run like your life depends on it."


    Kayla was taken aback. "You''re going alone?"


    "Yeah. Believe me, I''m not happy about it, either, but I''d rather keep one of us out of harm''s way for now. Someone has to stay alive to tell the truth if something happens to one of us, after all."


    Kayla offered no arguments to the contrary, even as Pale opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. She took a few steps before hearing the door close and lock behind her. Slowly, a soft exhale escaped from between her lips, and she started walking.


    With any luck, she could get Virux to see sense in this matter.


    XXX


    It wasn''t hard to find Virux''s office ¨C the professors had all showed the students where they could be found most of the time when they weren''t busy teaching. And sure enough, as Pale approached, she could see there was a light on in the room. Pale didn''t hesitate; she stepped up to the door and knocked on it, loudly enough to get Virux''s attention.


    "It''s me," she said. "We need to talk."


    She heard movement from the other side, and then a moment later, the door opened. Virux stared down at her from inside his office, a perplexed look on his face.


    "Pale?" he asked. "No offense, but it''s a bit early for this, isn''t it? The academic year doesn''t officially begin until tomorrow."


    "I know. This isn''t about that; it''s much more important. May I come in?"


    Virux, to his credit, didn''t hesitate. He stepped aside, allowing her entry. Pale walked into his office as he closed the door behind her, taking a moment to look around. From what she could tell, it looked like a stereotypical academic''s office ¨C stray books and papers were scattered haphazardly across the entire room, which itself was fairly small, and was mostly occupied by two large, very overstuffed bookshelves lined up against the back wall. To put it simply, it looked as though a tornado had swept through the room, though she couldn''t find it in herself to care about that at the moment.


    "Have a seat," Virux offered, motioning to the chair nearest to her. "Oh, don''t mind the books, either ¨C you can set those on my desk."


    Pale did as she was told, picking up the stack of books and setting them on Virux''s desk before settling into her seat as best as she could. The moment she was seated, she locked eyes with Virux.


    "One of the adjuncts for this year is a bloodthirsty murderer and slaver," she said bluntly.


    Immediately, Virux blinked, taken aback by her statement. "What¡­? How do you know?"


    "It''s hard to explain. I''ll give you the short version ¨C the burned man who''s missing an arm? He''s the leader of a clan of barbarians, far to the north, and sent his men to attack several villages along the northern part of the kingdom. One of those villages was Kayla''s home town. His men slaughtered almost everybody there; whoever they didn''t immediately kill, they took as slaves, including her father. Kayla was the only survivor, and together, the two of us tracked her father back to where he''d been taken." Pale leaned forwards. "You asked how I know for sure, Professor? It''s because I watched with my own two eyes as he murdered several slaves, killed Kayla''s father, and tried to kill the two of us right after.''


    Again, Virux was taken aback. "This¡­ this is unbelievable¡­"


    "I''m aware that this probably sounds crazy to you-"


    "Then you must understand where I''m coming from." Virux took in a shaky breath. "Do you have proof of any of this?"


    Pale shook her head. "Just my word and Kayla''s. I doubt he''d tell you the truth, but if you''re curious, ask him how he got so disfigured." She paused for a moment. "What''s he doing here, anyway?"


    "He''s¡­ a servant of one of the royal families," Virux informed her. "He''s here representing them, though personally, I think he''s mainly here to keep an eye on their heir, who is attending this year."


    "That''s allowed?"


    Virux nodded. "A few of the wealthier noble families tend to be very protective of their heirs. They make generous contributions to the Luminarium in order to ensure they have someone inside its walls who can look after their family members."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. That explained why certain people became adjuncts, then. But it didn''t explain why Sven, of all people, was currently serving as one.


    "Regardless, we don''t have any kind of concrete evidence aside from our word," Pale told him. "Do you believe me?"


    To her dismay, Virux sucked in a breath before speaking again.


    "It''s not about what I believe, it''s about what you can prove," he told her. "And right now, you can''t prove any of this. You understand that, right? Your story, even if it''s true¡­ ultimately, it''s your word against his, and he has the backing of a noble family on his side."


    Pale grit her teeth. She''d suspected it would ultimately come down to proof, and unfortunately, neither her nor Kayla had any.


    "Just promise me this," Pale urged. "Promise me you''ll keep a very close eye on him. He may not look like it, but that man is incredibly dangerous."


    This time, Virux nodded. "I will. You have my word on that."


    "Thanks."


    And so, resignedly, Pale stood up and left Virux''s office, marching down the hall back to her dorm.


    She wasn''t sure what happened next, but one thing was certain ¨C her and Kayla were going to have to be very careful with Sven around.


    XXX


    Pale moved through the campus as quickly yet carefully as she could, taking pains to not leave herself exposed for too long as she went. The knife at her waist provided some semblance of comfort, but it paled in comparison to the weapons she ought to have had, or even the weapons still on her ship. If nothing else, she knew those would do a number on Sven, even if the collateral damage was unacceptable at this point.


    Still, though, if it came down to it, and he was about to kill her¡­ in that case, she wouldn''t hesitate.


    Pale continued to move through campus as those thoughts and others like it plagued her mind. It was dark now, the moon high in the sky already by the time she stepped through the doors to her dorm building.


    And the moment she did so, someone roughly grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the nearby stone wall, holding her in the air as she futilely kicked her legs, trying to free herself. Through the pain and her rapidly-closing airway, Pale managed to crack one eye open to get a look at her assailant.


    She was not surprised to find Sven staring back at her.


    "Well, well," he said. "How amusing that the two of us should cross paths here, of all places. One might consider it to be fate, even." His one good eye narrowed. "Did you really think your explosion magic would be enough to kill me?"


    "I¡­ had hoped¡­" Pale managed to get out.


    Sven shoved her against the wall yet again. "You were wrong," he said with a snarl. "Of course, the rest of my village wasn''t so lucky. You killed a lot of innocent people that day."


    "You''re one¡­ to talk¡­"


    Sven snarled at her once more. "Consider this a warning," he said. "I know what you''re capable of. If you even think of hurting my ward, I will end you and that mutt of a Beastkin friend of yours. And when the time comes¡­ when the time comes, I will be back to take my revenge for what you did to my village."


    Despite her lack of oxygen, Pale still managed to open both eyes and glare at him. "And we¡­ will be ready¡­ to pay you back for Kayla''s father and village."


    Sven gave her one final, baleful look before dropping her unceremoniously to the ground and stepping away. Pale instantly scrambled to her feet, ripping her combat knife from its sheath, only to find that he''d already stepped outside, leaving her alone. She took a moment to suck in a few deep gulps of much-needed air, both to stave off the encroaching unconsciousness and to calm her pounding heart. And the moment she had recovered enough to move again, she took off down the hallway in a dead sprint, hoping that Sven had left Kayla alone.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 22

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    "Kayla!" Pale shouted as she reached the door. She went for the doorknob, but it was locked; immediately, a wave of relief washed over her, and it only grew when the door opened, revealing her friend standing there, a confused look on her face.


    "Pale?" she asked. "What happened? Did you speak with Professor Virux?"


    "I did," Pale said as she stepped into the room. Kayla closed and locked the door behind her, and she took a seat on one of the beds, Kayla having already claimed the other one. "As you can probably expect, he didn''t believe us."


    Kayla''s eyes narrowed, and she let out a shaky breath. "That figures¡­" she muttered. Shaking her head, she added, "What do you want to do now, then? Sven is too dangerous to be left alone."


    "More like left alive," Pale grunted. "And unfortunately, short of killing him in his sleep, there''s not really anything we can do."


    "Is that even an option?"


    "Honestly? I don''t think it is. Sven doesn''t strike me as the kind of person who''d be taken down so easily; it''d take more than a sneak attack to put him in the dirt, we know that from experience." Pale let out a frustrated sigh. "I suppose I could try to whip up some kind of poison to deal with him, but it doesn''t seem like the students or staff prepare their own food here, and I doubt the staff would let any of us get close to the kitchens. Even if I could, there''d be no way to get the poisoned food or drink to Sven without delivering it myself, and he''d see right through something like that."


    "So we''re stuck," Kayla surmised, her ears flattening against her head. "We''re being forced into waiting for him to make a move, then¡­ assuming he does so."


    "He will," Pale assured her. "I''m not sure when or through what means, but I know he''ll try something at some point."


    "So what do we do until then, Pale?"


    "The only thing we can do," Pale told her. "Nothing at all."


    Kayla''s eyes narrowed, a sign that she wasn''t happy with that answer. Pale couldn''t blame her for it.


    XXX


    The two of them ended up tossing and turning for several hours that night before they finally drifted off to sleep. Kayla was the first to go, as per usual, which meant that Pale had been treated to the experience of listening to her have a terrible nightmare for the first time in months. The entire time, Pale had stared up at the ceiling, gritting her teeth in anger as she listened to her friend suffer.


    It wasn''t exactly hard to imagine what she was dreaming of. Especially not when Pale finally fell asleep herself and had Sven''s face appear in her mind, too.


    The sun rose a few hours after that, indicating that it was about time for the day to begin. Reluctantly, the two of them got up and started getting ready, eventually making their way out of the room and towards the mess hall.


    As they left the first-year dorms, Pale was surprised to find Professor Kara standing outside, several stacks of parchment paper piled up on the ground nearby.


    "Good, you''re both awake," Professor Kara greeted. "Honestly, I was wondering when you both were going to show up. Long night?"


    "Something like that," Pale answered. "What are the papers for?"


    Kara flashed her a grin. "I''m so glad you asked."


    At that, she passed a paper each to the two of them. Pale took one look at it before turning back to her.


    "Class schedule?"


    Kara nodded. "Yup! You both will have five classes to complete this year, three of them on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the other two on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."


    "Weekends are off-days?" Kayla asked.


    "Usually, but occasionally we''ll have a field exercise for some of you. You''ll learn more about that as the year goes on, however. For now, I think you both should be on your way ¨C classes start soon and you''ll need to eat something beforehand."


    "Very well," Pale said with a nod. "Thanks."


    Professor Kara simply flashed her another grin, then turned back to the first-year dorm and continued passing out fliers to other students. Pale and Kayla didn''t waste any time, and instead continued on their way, reading through their schedules as they did so. Pale noticed that there were five classes in total, just as Kara had said ¨C today''s allotment were History and Magical Theory, and Tuesday and Thursday''s classes were Physical Training, Weapon Handling, and Basic Dueling.


    It was an interesting mix, to say the least, but she supposed there had to be some method to the madness presented to her.


    "Do we have the same schedules?" Kayla questioned, glancing at the paper held in Pale''s hand.


    "It would seem so," Pale replied, her brow furrowing. "This may be problematic."


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    "What makes you say that? We''ll be together throughout the week."


    "Because the second class for today is magical theory," Pale said, pointing to her schedule. "And unless something changes in the next few hours, I''m going to be completely useless there."


    Kayla bit her lip, but ultimately said nothing as the two of them continued on their way. Pale didn''t blame her; after all, it wasn''t like any reassurance she could give would suddenly make her capable of casting magic.


    XXX


    After a quick breakfast, Pale and Kayla found themselves stepping into a classroom in one of the buildings right in the center of campus. As it turned out, the Luminarium had a few basic wall-mounted maps spread out at regular intervals throughout the campus, which made navigation much easier; Pale had taken one look at one of these maps and instantly committed it to memory. And now, before the professor for this first class did the same, she was flipping through one of the provided history books, scanning its pages for a second before turning to the next.


    "What are you doing?" Kayla asked from beside her.


    "Reading," Pale replied without looking up. "I suspect whoever runs this class is going to anticipate that everyone here has at least a basic understanding of this world''s history, which means I''m already behind. So I''m reading through the book and committing it to memory as quickly as I possibly can."


    Next to her, Kayla tilted her head. "Huh. I just realized that this class will probably be very easy for you, assuming it''s entirely memory-based."


    "I wouldn''t disagree. Frankly, this is the class I''m least concerned about. By the end of tonight, I should have this book completely memorized, at which point this class will cease to be a concern."


    "Must be nice¡­" Kayla muttered.


    The last of the students came filing in just as Pale finished up yet another chapter in the book. She didn''t need to guess who the final stragglers were; the sound of laughter echoing through the halls heralded their arrival. A scowl crossed her face as Joel and his entourage entered the room, but she did her best not to show too much emotion.


    At the end of the day, she was a war machine. Getting involved with petty ridicule was entirely beneath her¡­ even if a small part of her still wanted to wring Joel''s neck for throwing away her ammunition and stealing her pack ¨C a pack which, she noticed, was still slung over his shoulder as he walked in.


    She must have been staring, because as he turned to look around the room, their gazes met. Joel flashed her a sly grin, and Pale grit her teeth before turning back to her book.


    She only had time to get through a few more pages before the doors opened again, and the professor came marching in.


    "Good, you''re all here," Virux said as he strode to the front of the room, where a chalkboard was set up. "Normally, this is the part where I''d introduce myself, but given that I know most of you already, I think that would be superfluous. Instead, we should begin right away."


    He turned and picked up a piece of chalk, then wrote something on the board before turning back to them; he''d scrawled ''History'' across it in big, bold letters.


    "Who can tell me what this word means to them?" Virux said.


    A confused murmur went through the crowd of students before someone decided to be bold and raise their hand. Virux pointed to her, and she cleared her throat.


    "It''s, uh¡­ the study of the past?"


    "Close, but not quite," Virux emphasized. "Ultimately, what you all need to understand is that history, or at least the history being taught to you in these books, is the study of the past, specifically as recorded by people qualified to do so. There''s an obvious problem inherent there, of course ¨C can anyone tell me what it is?"


    Again, another murmur went up through the crowd, but this time, nobody ventured forward with an answer. Virux waited a few seconds before nodding.


    "Nobody has a guess, huh?" he asked. "That''s fine; I wouldn''t expect you all to realize it. The problem is this ¨C who decides who''s qualified to teach history and who isn''t? I''ll spare you the guesswork ¨C it''s whoever is in power at the time the historical record is taken."


    Virux turned around and began to write on the chalkboard once again, this time scrawling the words ''Undead Crusades'' across it.


    "As many of you are probably aware, these were the single most impactful events to happen throughout the past few centuries," he noted. "The Four Undead Crusades as a whole spanned some three-hundred years and claimed the lives of millions of people. Many kingdoms rose and fell throughout their time, and indeed, depending on where you lived, it likely seemed as though the world was ending. We remember them now as a time of great suffering, but also great heroism ¨C yes, millions of people tragically lost their lives, but there was no shortage of brave souls, willing to face the surging tide of undead, vampires, and other horrors of the night in order to slay the Elder Lich, which they eventually succeeded in doing." He paused for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest.


    "How do you think the undead remember the Crusades against them?"


    Silence reigned over the room, with nobody saying anything until Virux spoke again.


    "That is exactly my point," he continued, unfolding his arms as he once again began to walk across the room. "History is written by the victor, ladies and gentlemen. We remember the Undead Crusades as a time of terror that ultimately gave way to a bright future; the undead, that is, what few of them are left and that are still capable of rational thought, consider the Crusades to have been the end of their world. Imagine, if you will, what would have happened if the Elder Lich had truly succeeded in his goal to spread decay across the land ¨C the undead would have been the ones to write the history books, and we''d be the ones forced to scurry from shadow to shadow like rats in order to survive. We should all be so thankful that it didn''t turn out that way, but at the same time, remember this ¨C the history in these books, to a certain degree, is all propaganda. If ever you''ve flipped through a history book and wondered why it seems like the good guys always win, know that it''s less because they were inherently good, and more because, at the end of the day, they were the only ones left standing, and they weren''t about to write anything bad about themselves if they could help it."


    Virux stopped, then clasped his hands behind his back. "I know this because I am a Dragonborn. There are precious few of my kind left in this world, and most of us that still exist are as long-lived as any elf. If there is a major historical event that occurred within the last two-thousand years or so, odds are that I at the very least have personal experience with it. I have witnessed the rise and fall of kingdom after kingdom in my time, enough to understand that most of what is being told to you in these books is not the entire truth. But that being said, you are expected to learn what is in this book, and that is what we shall do¡­ but with a healthy dose of skepticism and reality added on to it."


    At that, Virux stepped up to the large oak desk in the center of the room, picking up a book that was lying across it. The students mirrored his actions, and he cleared his throat once more.


    "Now, turn to page thirty-eight. We have much to discuss."


    XXX


    "Well, that was intense," Kayla admitted as her and Pale left Virux''s classroom a few hours later. "I''ll admit, I didn''t think he was that old¡­ I mean, I know he''s a Dragonborn, but still¡­ what did you think, Pale?"


    "It was interesting," Pale said with a grunt. "Honestly, though, I am not too curious about it. I am only here to gain access to the archives, which I hope will be happening sooner rather than later."


    "Oh, come on," Kayla protested. "You''re here anyway, so you might as well make the most of it."


    Pale didn''t argue, instead turning her attention back to her schedule. "Next class¡­ Magical Theory¡­"


    "You''re not still worried about that, are you?" Kayla asked. "Look, whatever it is, I''m sure it won''t be nearly as bad as you think it will be."


    Pale''s only response was to scowl as the two of them made their way over to the next classroom.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 23

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    After a quick lunch, the first-year students continued on to their next class, which was Magical Theory. As they filed into the classroom, Pale was surprised to see the teacher already there. It was Professor Tomas, and he was eyeing them all with no small amount of disappointment.


    "You''re all late," he surmised as they sat down.


    The students shared a quick glance with each other before one of them ¨C Joel, by the sound of things ¨C decided to speak up.


    "Professor, we''re right on time. Class starts at one on the dot."


    "If you''re not early, then you''re late," Tomas grunted. "I have a year to teach you all the very basics of advanced magical theory, which isn''t nearly enough time to do more than scratch the surface. It''s my duty to prepare you all for the upper-level courses, where the really dangerous things start being taught. If you don''t have the discipline for it, then this school is not for you. The things we will be dealing with here are very volatile, and we cannot afford any mistakes."


    That got Pale''s attention right away. She made a mental note to pay close attention, even if she couldn''t cast any magic herself; if nothing else, perhaps learning more about it would help her learn how best to counter the various mages she''d come across.


    Professor Tomas took a seat at his desk, which was situated in the back of the room, in front of a row of chalkboards. Pale couldn''t help but note that there didn''t seem to be any textbooks present in the room, which was more than a bit confusing.


    "First off, you all need to understand what it is we''ll be learning here," Tomas said. "This class is not about the practical application of magic. Rather, it is very specifically about the theory of magic. What does that mean, exactly? Well, magic is an extension of your sjel. You can think of it as physically projecting the very essence of the sjel itself. Everyone on this planet can use magic; it is an ability inherent to us all. But what separates the true practitioners of magic from the common riff-raff using parlor tricks is the ability to look within and truly understand how magic is being cast."


    Someone raised a hand; Pale turned and saw it was Cal. Tomas pointed to him, and Cal said, "Question, Professor ¨C you said that the things we''d be dealing with here are incredibly dangerous, but you also said that this class isn''t about the practical application of magic. Could you elaborate on that, please? I mean, how can magic be dangerous if we aren''t actually going to be casting any of it in this class?"


    "Good question, I''m glad you asked it," Tomas complimented. "Ultimately, what we''re doing here is simple on its face ¨C I will be teaching you to delve into the depths of your sjel to begin fully unlocking its true potential."


    The room went dead silent at that. Pale looked around and saw that many of the students suddenly seemed incredibly fearful of what they''d heard. A few who had been taking notes, Kayla included, had suddenly paused, their eyes wide with shock. Tomas seemed unperturbed, however; he merely cleared his throat before continuing.


    "I understand that many of you have your misgivings about hearing me say that," he said. "The sjel is a sacred thing, after all ¨C it''s what makes you the person you are. And while, on a certain level, it is possible to tamper with it, I''m sure you have all heard horror stories of people who went too far too quickly. Rest assured, that will not be happening in this class. What I seek to do is push the limits of your sjel in a controlled environment. It is not without its danger, but at the same time, it is not nearly as dangerous as some of you seem to believe it is."


    Kayla swallowed nervously, then raised a hand. Pale noticed she was shaking. Tomas called on her, and she took a breath.


    "What¡­ do we stand to gain from doing this?" she asked. "I mean¡­ there must be some kind of benefit to doing something this dangerous."


    "Indeed, there is," Tomas answered with a nod. "If you lot are like the other students who have come before you, then you''re here for a few key reasons. Some of you simply wish to research magic to increase your own knowledge of it; some of you want to test your capabilities and improve yourself. Some of you want to serve in some capacity, whether that''s as a soldier for your kingdom, a mercenary or adventurer, or as a professor of magic yourself. In each case, all of you will benefit from testing the limits of your sjel. As for the specific benefits¡­" Tomas smirked a bit; Pale had to admit that it looked more than a little strange on him, given how straight-laced and serious he normally was. "I''ll start with the obvious one ¨C how many of you have heard that a person can only have a single magical affinity, aside from a few rare instances among the nobility?"


    A few tentative hands went up, Kayla''s included. Tomas stared at them for a moment before shaking his head.


    "That is complete nonsense," he said bluntly. "Yes, it is true that some people naturally have two affinities and others do not. It is also true that this happens primarily among the nobility. But the idea that it''s exclusive to them is false. In reality, any of you in here can unlock a second affinity."


    For the first time, an excited murmur went up through the crowd of students. Pale looked around and noted that several of the students of noble blood ¨C Joel among them ¨C suddenly seemed much more dour than they had been before. It didn''t take her much thought to figure out why.


    They''d gone their whole lives thinking their second affinity made them special, and that knowledge had just been cruelly ripped away from them in the course of a single afternoon. If she''d been less disciplined, it would have been enough to make her crack a smile.


    "Settle down, please," Tomas stated, causing the students to go quiet once more. When they were all settled, he began speaking again.


    "Believe me, a second affinity is just the tip of the iceberg," he promised them. "By the end of this first year, all of you will have found a second affinity, sure¡­ but you will also have improved your casting with your first affinity, too, to the point where you could be considered expert mages in it. Not master or grandmaster mages, mind you, but experts. Faster casting times, more mana to draw from, more powerful spells in general, the ability to cast silently and without an external catalyst¡­ all of that will come to you in due time. Let it be known that in this class, there is no such thing as a risk without an accompanying reward."


    That, at least, seemed to placate the students who had earlier been worried about working directly with their sjel. Pale still wasn''t sure exactly what that even meant, but hopefully she would find out in due time.


    "Now, for today''s class, I am going to keep things simple," Tomas offered. "I am going to go around to each of you. You will tell me your affinity, and I will gauge the depths to which you have managed to explore your sjel so far. Do not worry if you do not seem to measure up exactly to your peers; everyone''s rate of development is different in this regard, and by the end of the year, it won''t matter, anyway, as you will all be good enough to be considered experts."


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    Tomas approached the first row of students, motioning for the first one ¨C Valerie, Pale noticed with a small pang of some unidentifiable emotion. She buried it as quickly as it came, however, instead focusing as Valerie took in a breath.


    "Earth," she said. "That''s my affinity."


    Tomas nodded, then rest a hand on her head. Valerie closed her eyes, and to Pale''s shock, a light began to emanate out from all around her. It only lasted a moment, but it seemed to tell Tomas everything he needed to know.


    "You are quite skilled already, for a girl your age," Tomas surmised. "However, as you would expect, there is still much work to do."


    Valerie seemed a bit disappointed at that, though it soon faded as Tomas tested the next few students and found them to be, for lack of a better term, novices, though he was quick to assure them that it didn''t matter at this stage. Pale, for her part simply paid close attention, watching for anyone she recognized.


    Eventually, as Tomas went around the room, he stopped in front of someone Pale couldn''t see through the crowd. The small voice that came a moment later told her exactly who it was, though.


    "U-um¡­" She heard Nasir say. "My affinity¡­ I''d rather not say¡­"


    That took her off-guard, as it did with the other students. Tomas, however, was unperturbed.


    "You are a dark elf, yes?" he asked. "I understand that magic for your people is slightly different than it is for the rest of us. That''s nothing to be ashamed of; your affinity is a part of you, after all, and it does you no good to keep it concealed."


    "O-okay¡­" Nasir sucked in a breath. "It''s¡­ my affinity, it''s¡­. blood magic."


    A worried murmur went up through the crowd of students, one Tomas was quick to silence with a glare.


    "One thing I cannot stand is the idea that there is such a thing as good magic and bad magic," he said. "There isn''t. Magic is simply magic, and whether it''s good or bad depends entirely on how it''s used. I will not tolerate anyone looking down on anyone else''s affinity or skill level in my class. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"


    The students all nodded. That seemed to placate Tomas, who immediately went back to judging Nasir. After a moment, he nodded.


    "Your magic is somewhat unfamiliar to me, I will admit, and yet I can tell you are very practiced in it," he said. "I hope to learn from you as much as you learn from me."


    That seemed to placate Nasir; while he shrank back into his seat afterwards, he didn''t seem nearly as upset as he had been when first called upon.


    Tomas continued to move through the room, eventually their row. Kayla was up first, and she seemed slightly nervous as he approached her.


    "My affinity is fire," she told him, her voice coming out softly. Tomas nodded and rested a hand on her head; to Pale''s surprise, the light that enveloped Kayla seemed to blaze compared to most of the other students, something which made Kayla flush bright red with embarrassment.


    "My, my," Tomas said. "You have made much progress with it already. Tell me, who taught you the basics?"


    "My father," Kayla immediately answered.


    "Hm. And practical application, I would assume?" She nodded, and Tomas took his hand off her head. "Fire is a very volatile element on its own, and yet I can tell there''s something else there, too. Not a second affinity, more like a subset¡­ you have cast other forms of magic before?"


    "Basic lightning spells," Kayla admitted.


    "Interesting," Tomas said. "Very interesting, indeed¡­"


    He said nothing else, instead moving on. He stopped in front of Pale, and she stared up at him for a moment in silence, unsure of what to say. Tomas stared back, as if expecting an answer. Finally, she let out a small, irritated sigh.


    "I don''t know my affinity," she told him. "I don''t think I have one."


    "Nonsense," Tomas replied. "Everybody has one, even if it simply has not been unlocked yet."


    "Not me."


    "Then you won''t mind if I check?"


    Pale let out another sigh, but ultimately shook her head. Tomas placed a hand on her head, and she stared up at him as he tried to do something. Whatever he was trying, it didn''t seem to be working; there was no glow around her like there had been with the other students. Tomas stood there, his brow furrowing in concentration; he continued to try for a few seconds before finally conceding, taking his hand off her head and giving her a confused look.


    "I have had a great many students walk into my classroom in my years at the Luminarium, and yet you are the first I have seen with no trace of magic to speak of," he admitted. "See me after class, please ¨C you are not in trouble, but I wish to discuss this further with you."


    The students began to talk once more, but Pale nodded. Tomas moved on to the next person, and as he stepped away, she caught sight of Joel, staring at her from the other side of the room with a wide grin. Pale''s gaze narrowed, and she looked away.


    It wasn''t worth giving him the satisfaction.


    XXX


    After class had ended, Pale did as she was told and stayed behind. Kayla had tried to stay with her, but Pale had talked her out of it, instead telling her to get some food along with Cal and Cynthia. She''d done so reluctantly, and only after Pale had promised to only be a few minutes late.


    In any case, Pale approached Tomas'' desk, where he was already waiting for her.


    "You wanted to see me?" she asked.


    "Indeed," he said. "Sit, please."


    He motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk; Pale obliged, taking a seat across from him. After a moment, he let out a small exhale.


    "This is a quandary," he admitted. "I''ve heard of people having low affinity for magic, but in all my years, I''ve never heard of someone having zero affinity for it."


    "First time for everything," Pale told him.


    To her surprise, he shook his head. "Not like this. Magic is a gift given to us by the gods. If you are unable to use it at all¡­ something is afoot, I am simply not sure what."


    Pale bristled. "I thought you said I wasn''t in trouble."


    "I did, and I meant it," Tomas explained. "But even still, this is strange to me. To think that somebody would go their entire life without the blessing¡­ it is unheard of."


    "Maybe the gods simply missed me."


    "The gods do not make mistakes," Tomas assured her. He leaned back in his seat and thought for a moment before speaking again.


    "What are you hiding from me, Pale?"


    Pale was taken aback by his question. At first, she wasn''t sure how to respond.


    "I have no idea what you''re talking about," she said.


    "Yes, you do," Tomas replied evenly. "Look, I am not out to get you. I simply want to understand what''s going on. You have to realize, the Luminarium is a magic academy, first and foremost; I know you joined as a scribe, but I need to understand what''s going on so I can accommodate you, perhaps even find a way to help teach you magic."


    "Somehow, I don''t think that''ll happen," Pale told him.


    "What makes you say that?"


    Pale hesitated. In the entire world, there were only two other people who knew the truth about her circumstances. She''d been careful to keep it close to her chest, if only to keep her true nature confidential. But now, she had to admit that she was starting to wonder if that hadn''t been detrimental in some ways. It certainly was now; at this point, Tomas knew something was going on with her, and attempting to deny it would only make him more suspicious.


    Besides, two people already knew; a third wouldn''t hurt, especially thanks to something Evie had told her about several months back.


    "Swear an oath to me and I''ll tell you," she said.


    Tomas blinked, surprised. "You wish to form a blood oath?"


    "I do. You have to understand, this is important to me."


    "Does Kayla know?"


    "She does, and there was no avoiding it, but I trust her; we''ve fought and bled alongside each other for months now. She has proven herself to me through thick and thin. I cannot say the same about you."


    "That''s fair enough, I suppose. Alright, suppose I do decide to form an oath with you. What then?"


    "I''ll tell you everything I''ve told Kayla," Pale promised. "In the hopes that you can maybe help me make it home."


    "And where is home?" Tomas questioned.


    "The oath first," Pale insisted. "Otherwise, I say nothing."


    Tomas thought for a moment before nodding. "Very well. May I borrow your knife?"


    Pale nodded, then reached for her blade, handing it to him hilt-first. "Be very careful with that," she warned. "It''s far sharper than it appears. It will take your fingers off with ease."


    Tomas nodded in understanding, then lightly passed the blade across his palm, just enough to draw blood. He passed the knife back to her, and she sheathed it, watching as he began to drip his blood across a sheet of blank parchment, chanting under his breath the entire time. A strange light began to glow around him, and after a few seconds, he turned to her.


    "The ritual is complete, and I am now bound to keep your secret until you will it not to be," he told her. "Now then, what did you want to discuss?"


    "It''s simple, Professor," Pale said, leaning in a bit.


    "I''m not from here."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 24

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    "There you are!" Kayla exclaimed as Pale entered the mess hall. "We''ve been waiting for you¡­ well, mostly."


    Pale stopped at their table and stared at Kayla and Cynthia''s plates of uneaten food. Naturally, Cal was already finished, and was leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face. Pale frowned as she took a seat next to Kayla, noting that Kayla had already fixed her a plate of what appeared to be some kind of herb roasted pork. If nothing else, it certainly looked and smelled more appetizing than the military rations they''d been eating during initiation, though something told her that was going to be a theme with the Luminarium. Nothing here came cheaply, it seemed.


    "You didn''t have to wait for me," she said, settling in next to Kayla.


    "It was the polite thing to do," Cynthia explained. "Well, for most of us, anyway."


    Cal let out a small, content sigh. "Do what you want with me; I''ve already won."


    Cynthia simply let out a small, annoyed grunt and shook her head. "Ignore him; he has bad manners even back home."


    "I''ve been meaning to ask about that," Kayla interjected. "You two seem to have known each other for a while."


    "We have," Cal explained. "Cynthia and I come from neighboring friendly kingdoms to the west. We''re both¡­ not quite high-tier nobles, but sort of in the middle, if that makes sense? Like, we''re not royalty, but we come from money. I think you''ll find most of the people in our year fit that description. Anyway, the two of us have been friends since childhood."


    "And believe me, he was like this back then, too," Cynthia said, crossing her arms. "I was hoping the Luminarium would emphasize etiquette to at least some degree, given that most of its students are nobility, but I suppose they take their mission statement of primarily teaching us magic very seriously."


    "Maybe they intend to introduce things like that later on?" Kayla asked.


    "I''m right here, you know," Cal said. "You can stop talking like I need to be straightened out."


    "We will once you''ve actually been straightened out," Cynthia retorted.


    A vein pulsed in Cal''s forehead. "What are you, my father? You sound just like him."


    The two of them started to bicker back-and-forth. Pale watched, confused. She leaned over to whisper to Kayla.


    "Is this what good friends do?"


    "Yes, Pale," Kayla said, giving her a small, amused giggle. "It is."


    "Hm. By the way, I suppose you''re curious about what happened with Professor Tomas. Let''s just say¡­ he knows."


    Immediately, Kayla froze, her eyes going wide. "Really? You told him about how you-"


    "Yes," Pale interrupted, "I did. He knew something was out of the ordinary already; it didn''t make sense to try and lie my way out of it when he was just going to grow even more suspicious about it. And I made him swear a blood oath to keep it secret, too."


    Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Good¡­ at least you had him take an oath. And who knows, maybe he''ll be able to help you out in some way."


    Pale''s only response was to nod. Cal and Cynthia continued their small argument as she started to eat her dinner.


    The peace only lasted for a moment before Pale suddenly tensed, her eyes widening as she sensed something going wrong with her ship.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked under her breath, quietly enough that Cal and Cynthia couldn''t hear her. "Is everything alright?"


    "Something has happened," Pale informed her. "Sorry, I need a minute in private."


    With that, she abruptly stood up and hurried off, Kayla following after her.


    XXX


    Pale didn''t even try to make it back to their room, instead stopping in some kind of supply closet. Kayla came in after her, and the two of them did their best to settle into the closet while Pale tried to diagnose her issue.


    "What''s going on?" Kayla asked, worried. "Something with your sky-thingy?"


    Pale didn''t answer immediately, trying to focus on diagnosing the issue. She frowned when it wasn''t immediately evident to her; normally, she was able to have a rough overview of the ship''s condition just in the back of her mind without having to do anything further. That had been good enough so far, especially given that they''d both been so busy focusing on other matters and she hadn''t really had the time or presence of mind to run a full-on, in-depth diagnostic scan.


    But now they were at the Luminarium, and she had both the time and the necessity to do so.


    "Watch that door," Pale ordered. "I''m going to have to run a full scan of my systems. It shouldn''t take long, but I''ll be preoccupied while I do it."


    Kayla nodded. "Okay."


    Pale sucked in a breath, then began to focus her mind. Immediately, panels started to pop up in her vision ¨C data readouts, telling her everything there was to know in-depth about the ship and its various systems. She read through them all at a lightning-fast pace, cataloging anything that had changed.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Navigation Systems: Offline; Heavily Damaged.


    Engines: Offline; Heavily Damaged.


    Primary Weapon Systems: Offline; Heavily Damaged.


    Secondary Weapon Systems: Online


    Cryostasis Pods: Online.


    Life Support Systems: Online.


    Radio Buoys: Online; Actively Broadcasting.


    Pod Delivery System: Online


    Pale took note of all of those warnings, but it was the final one which popped up that was most concerning to her.


    WARNING: HULL AND ARMOR INTEGRITY SEVERELY COMPROMISED. SHIP INTERNALS ACTIVELY EXPOSED TO VACUUM OF SPACE. EMERGENCY BULKHEADS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED TO SEAL BREACH. PLEASE SEEK EMERGENCY REPAIRS IMMEDIATELY.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked. "What''s going on?"


    Pale blinked, and the panels full of information suddenly cleared from her vision. She shook her head, then turned back to Kayla, a deep scowl on her face.


    "A damaged piece of the ship must have finally broken off," she growled. "It''s not surprising; I was in pretty bad shape when I arrived here. But for it to happen now¡­ it''s not convenient."


    "What does that mean?"


    "It means¡­" Pale paused, struggling to find a way to explain it that would make sense to her friend. "...It means I''m suddenly much worse off than I expected. I''m going to have to make additional repairs now."


    "Oh¡­ I''m sorry."


    "Don''t be; on a certain level, this was expected. Can''t have damaged pieces of the ship exposed to space and not expect them to get even more damaged than they already are." Pale sighed tiredly, running a hand through her hair. "All the more reason to focus on the mission at hand. Not like I can do anything about it right now, anyway."


    Kayla nodded in understanding. "If there''s anything I can do-"


    "Thanks, but there isn''t. At least, not yet. For now, let''s focus on what we can actually accomplish here."


    Kayla nodded, and the two of them stepped back out into the hallway and began to head back to the mess hall.


    XXX


    The rest of their first day passed by uneventfully. Pale didn''t see any sign of Sven anywhere, though curiously, she didn''t see any sign of Joel, either. Sven had mentioned having a ward of some kind at the Luminarium; perhaps he was spending his time looking over them instead of spying on her. Whatever the case was, she wasn''t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If Sven opted to leave them alone for now, then she would accept it.


    The next morning started the same as the first ¨C they woke up, got ready, and headed for their first class of the day after breakfast, which turned out to be Weapon Handling.


    "I''m curious about this class¡­" Pale muttered as the two of them stepped through the doors to the classroom.


    "Why is that?" Kayla asked.


    "Because, on its face, it makes no sense for us to be learning it. The Luminarium is a magic academy, yes? So then why would they see fit to teach us about martial weapons?"


    As she said this, Pale looked around, frowning as she did so. The classroom turned out to look nothing like the two she''d been in earlier. Rather, it was set up as more of a training room than anything, and was quite large compared to the other classrooms. Wooden practice dummies were set up throughout it, already scored with marks from bladed and blunt weapons. Racks of swords, maces, halberds, and other assorted weapons were set up throughout the room. There was an archery range off to the far side, with a table at one end that was already filled with bows, crossbows, and quivers full of arrows. Next to Pale, Kayla swallowed nervously.


    "Well," she said, "this all looks dangerous."


    A door at the far end of the room near the archery range suddenly opened, and Professor Kara came striding in. Pale took note of the fact that she already had a sword strapped to each hip.


    "Welcome, welcome!" Kara called out, getting their attention. "Everyone, gather around me at the front of the room, please!"


    They all did as she commanded, forming a circle around her. Pale noted that they were all now very close to the racks full of weapons, though she didn''t have much time to dwell on it before Kara began to speak to them.


    "I know what some of you are wondering ¨C why is it important that you learn how to fight without magic when this academy is supposed to be teaching you more about magic in the first place? Well, that''s simple ¨C even the most practiced mage in the world will eventually run out of mana, and if that happens, they''re useless. My goal is to teach all of you the basics of how to defend yourselves when you''re out of mana."


    Several of the students exchanged a glance before Cynthia raised her hand. "Um, Professor? If we were out of mana, we''d be suffering from mana exhaustion, right? So we''d still be mostly useless."


    "But not completely," Kara pointed out. "You are correct that you''d be debilitated by mana exhaustion, but would you rather fight on despite being exhausted and live, or lie down and die? I know which one I''d choose, and I suspect you''d all choose the same."


    Kara looked around, her face brightening as she took note of the fact that several of them already had weapons on them. "I see some of you have come prepared. That''s good ¨C there''s a reason we gave you weapons to pick from during initiation. Of course, this begs the question ¨C what are we going to be doing here to train you, exactly? Well, I''m so glad you asked. To put it simply¡­ I''m going to drill you like you''re my own soldiers. By the end of this year, you will all be practiced in how to wield basic weapons effectively enough to defend yourselves with them without using magic of any kind. Not the most exciting thing, I''m aware, but I''d implore you to take this seriously since it could very well save your life at some point."


    Kara put her hands on her hips and grinned at them. "Now then¡­ I believe a demonstration is in order. I''ll need two volunteers."


    "Volunteers for what?" Cal asked.


    "I''ll need one volunteer," Kara said. "How about¡­ you."


    She pointed at Kayla, who immediately stiffened. "Me?"


    "Both of you, step forward," Kara said. Tentatively, they both approached her. She nodded once they were about ten yards away from her. "Good. Now¡­ try to kill me."


    "W-what?!" Kayla asked.


    "I mean it. Take that blade on your hip and try to run me through with it. I want to see what you''re capable of." She looked over to Cal. "And you¡­ take up a weapon and try the same. Ideally, both of you will attack me at once."


    Cal hesitated. "Professor, is this-"


    That was as far as he got before Kara suddenly closed the distance, drew her sword, smacked him across the head with the flat of her blade, and sheathed it, all in one move. Cal fell to the floor unconscious while Cynthia screamed his name, only for Kara to raise a hand and silence her.


    "He''ll be alright," she said. "I''ll use some healing magic on him in a minute. For now, I want to see what she''s capable of."


    Her gaze turned to Kayla, who again simply stared at her with wide eyes. Pale''s expression narrowed, one hand flowing to the hilt of the knife at her belt. Kayla did nothing, though, and continued to do nothing for several seconds until Professor Kara finally let out a sigh.


    "There''s a couple every year¡­" she muttered. "Not to worry, though ¨C we''ll work on those self-preservation instincts easily enough. By the end, you''ll all basically be killing machines."


    Kayla let out a small, fearful whimper at that. Pale, meanwhile, refrained from saying or doing anything.


    She was, after all, already a killing machine, but nobody else needed to know that right now. And so she stayed silent, even as Kara motioned for Kayla to head back into the crowd, then began healing Cal and woke him up.


    "Have a nice nap, Cal?" she asked.


    "Ugh¡­" Cal groaned as he stood up. "I feel like I just got in a fight with an elder dragon and lost¡­"


    "That''s a bit exaggerated, admittedly, but hopefully by the end of the year, you''re all confident enough that you could take on an elder dragon." Kara''s eyes suddenly lit up. "Ooh, perhaps wyvern hunting would make for a good practical exam¡­"


    Kayla let out another whimper, and Pale simply stared at Kara in disbelief. So far, this was the weirdest class they''d ever experienced, though something told her the others might surprise her just as much as this one had.


    She certainly hoped they wouldn''t, but the Luminarium was turning out to be full of surprises already.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 25

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    "Well, that was certainly an experience¡­" Kayla muttered as they all came filing out of Professor Kara''s classroom.


    "That''s one word for it," Pale agreed. "By the way, are you feeling alright? You looked pretty shaken up back there."


    Kayla shook her head. "I''ll be fine, it''s just¡­ I didn''t expect her to directly tell me to try and kill her, you know? I''m¡­ still not used to killing people, even after everything. I probably should be by now, but-"


    "Don''t," Pale said, interrupting her. Kayla turned to her in surprise, but Pale''s demeanor didn''t change. "I know, in the past, I''ve disparaged you for not being willing to kill¡­ but that morality is part of what makes you who you are. And even beyond that¡­ you''re not like me. You weren''t designed for that purpose like I was."


    "Pale-"


    "Let me finish, Kayla," Pale implored. Kayla fell silent, and Pale let out a small sigh. "On a certain level, yes, I think your earlier feelings about killing were more than a little misplaced¡­ but you''ve proven that you don''t let them hold you back from doing what needs to be done. Rather, you''ve simply become more measured with how you do it now."


    "Measured¡­" Kayla echoed. "If you want to call it that, I guess¡­"


    "I mean it, Kayla." Pale reached out and gently rested a hand on her shoulder as they walked; Kayla''s ears perked up slightly at the sudden sensation, but she didn''t say anything. "Never lose sight of who you are."


    Kayla bit her lip, her tail lashing behind her. "...It''s just been harder than I thought. Ever since Sven got here-"


    "I know; I''ve had the same memories come up, too. But we''ll deal with him in due time. For now, let''s focus on what we can actually control."


    "What would that be?"


    Pale looked out a nearby window, frowning when she saw the position of the sun in the sky through the clouds.


    "Getting to class on time, for one," she said. "Follow me, I''ll get us there as fast as possible."


    With that, the two of them started to double-time it through the halls, intent on, at the very least, not being the last ones to make it there.


    XXX


    As it turned out, they weren''t the final pair to make it to class ¨C that dubious honor went to Cal and Cynthia, who came striding in just as Professor Glisos entered the room from a door in the back. It didn''t take a genius to see which class this was supposed to be ¨C the rudimentary weight sets and track equipment scattered about told the whole story, and as if that wasn''t enough, a large set of double doors off to the side led out to a wide-open courtyard in the center of campus.


    "Good, you''re all here on-time," Glisos said, his deep, rumbling voice reverberating through the room. "I''ll spare you the long introduction ¨C this is your physical training class, where I will whip you all into shape over time. This will be easier said than done, given how the Luminarium tends to feed its students, but make no mistake, by the end of this year, you all will be in the best shape of your lives so far."


    A hand went up in the crowd; Pale recognized Joel among his entourage on the other side of the room. Glisos pointed to him, and he took a step forward.


    "No offense, but what''s the point of this class?" he asked. "I thought this was a magic academy."


    "The point is to keep you in-shape so you may stay alive and continue casting spells," Glisos answered without a moment''s pause. "And aside from that¡­ casting magic is just as much dependent on your stamina as it is the overall strength of your sjel. The more in-control of your body you are, the more you can cast without getting physically fatigued. Professor Tomas is here to teach you control of your spirit; I am here to teach you control of your body. Two halves of the same coin. Does that make sense?"


    That, at least, seemed to placate Joel, who grimaced before shrinking back into the crowd. Glisos seemed unperturbed, however, and instead beckoned for the class to follow him.


    "For today, I''ll get you started with a basic introduction of what we''ll be doing, which will begin with showing you your uniforms."


    A groan went up through the crowd of students, one which made Glisos shrug. "They''re not mandatory if you don''t want to wear them, but you''d be very wise to do so ¨C most of you showed up to class wearing those ridiculous cloaks, if not other expensive articles of clothing. If you want to sweat like a pig in them and ruin them by getting them dirty, you''re free to do so. The uniforms are simply the Luminarium''s attempt to spare you the pain of ruining your outfits."


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Another groan went up through the crowd, though it was more muted than the first. With that having been established, Glisos beckoned for them to follow him.


    "Come on," he said, "I''ll show you all around."


    XXX


    The tour didn''t take very long; it was mainly showing them the various areas they''d all be working out in. As predicted, nothing here was high-tech at all; the most complex things they had available were the weight sets, among which Pale recognized what had to the have been Glisos'' take on a very primitive bench press and squat rack, along with more than a few sets of dumbbells. Everything was carved from stone, save for the bars the weights rested on, which were metal; Pale raised an eyebrow when she noticed that everything here was made by hand.


    It made sense, of course; this world wasn''t industrialized at all. But still, part of her suspected that Glisos had handcrafted everything here himself, which she had to admit was impressive considering the sheer breadth of equipment on-display.


    After showing them around the weight room and courtyard for a bit, he led them to a pair of what were essentially locker rooms where they could change and leave their valuables behind before working out.


    Pale, however, opted not to change; she was still wearing a set of combat fatigues and body armor, plus her knife, the same way she had been ever since she''d first learned Sven was here with them. As a result, she was the first one out of the locker room. Glisos raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of her.


    "You''re going to exercise in all that?" he asked.


    "Train how you fight, professor," Pale answered.


    To her surprise, Glisos cracked a small smile at that statement. "I can respect it, I suppose. What is that, anyway? Weighted vest?"


    "Something like that," Pale replied.


    A few of the students came stepping out of their respective locker rooms, already dressed and ready to go, though most of them didn''t look happy about it. Kayla was among them; Pale stepped over to stand next to her while Glisos appraised them for a moment before nodding.


    "Well, since you lot were the first ones out, I see no reason to keep you waiting," he said. "Give me five laps around the courtyard, fast as you can. I want to see you all sweating by the time you get back."


    A few of the students let out another groan, and Glisos smirked at them. "I''m getting a lot of good responses about that. Since you all seem to like it so much, make it six laps instead."


    For a moment, nobody moved, until Glisos crossed his arms. "Well? Get to work. Or would you rather learn to lift heavy weights right now instead?"


    None of them argued, instead taking off running around the courtyard.


    XXX


    "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow."


    "Kayla," Pale chastised.


    "What?" Kayla replied as the two of them walked down the hall to their next class. "All I''m saying is, my legs are killing me right now."


    "I''m not giving you any of my medicine so you can make your legs stop aching, Kayla."


    "Come on, please?" Kayla begged. Pale was unperturbed, causing her to pout.


    "It''s for emergencies only," Pale reminded her. "I can''t get more once it''s gone."


    Kayla let out a sigh of resignation. "I know, I know¡­ I just haven''t been this sore since we fought that vampire¡­"


    "Well, luckily it''s the last class of the day now," Pale said. "Dueling¡­ sounds pretty self-explanatory. No idea how it''ll work if I can''t use magic, but I guess we''ll find out soon enough."


    A few minutes later, and the two of them took a seat in their final class of the day, settling in next to Cal and Cynthia like usual. Cal was wincing and holding his head, Kayla frowned at the sight of it, then leaned over to speak with Cynthia.


    "Is he okay?"


    "He''s fine," Cynthia replied. "His headache has just come back after all that running, is all."


    "Professor Kara is kind of a bitch¡­" Cal muttered.


    "Cal!" Cynthia exclaimed.


    "What? It''s not like she needed to knock me out!"


    "If your head hurts so much, then go visit the hospital wing and get it healed!"


    "And tell the healers I got knocked out in a single move? No way!"


    "Quiet!" a large, booming voice suddenly announced. Immediately, all chatter in the room died. The throng of students parted, allowing Professor Marik to step up to the front of the room. Pale did not miss how his entire body seemed to clink with each step.


    Either he had some heavy-duty armor on underneath his cloak, or he was armed to the teeth under there. Either way, between that and his demeanor, it didn''t bode well for any of them.


    Marick made it to the front of the room, then turned to face them, clasping his hands behind his back.


    "I won''t waste your time," he said. "This is a class designed for you to test your abilities against your peers. Duels are fought either to the first drop ¨C emphasis on drop ¨C of blood, or until someone is otherwise unable or unwilling to continue fighting. There are only a few rules in this class ¨C no lethal or debilitating blows, no continuing to fight once I''ve determined the fight is over, no involving outsiders in your fight, and no leaving the arena until the fight has concluded. Past that, any kind of weapon or tactic is allowed. The goal here is to teach you what an actual, no-holds-barred fight is like, and to that end, the rules are kept deliberately sparse. To put it simply ¨C I don''t care how you win your fight so long as everyone is still in one piece afterwards. Understand?"


    There were a few murmurs of agreement through the crowd. Marick''s eye twitched.


    "Understand?!" he repeated, much louder this time.


    "Yes, Professor!" they all replied.


    "Good," he said. "Now, let''s get right into it. For most of the year, I will have you all fighting in one-on-one matches; anything else tends to get over-complicated at this stage. To that end¡­ you and you, up front. I want to see what you''re both capable of."


    He pointed out into the crowd, and Pale froze when she realized where he''d motioned towards.


    He was pointing directly at her and Kayla.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 26

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    For a moment, neither Pale nor Kayla moved or said anything, instead staying rooted to their spots out of sheer shock. Professor Marick stared at them both for a few seconds before crossing his arms.


    "Well?" he asked. "Are you going to step forwards or am I going to have to kick you both out of my class?"


    Pale''s mind was moving a mile a minute as she considered the possibilities before her. Obviously, she didn''t want to fight Kayla, and Kayla didn''t want to fight her, but it wasn''t like either of them had an option; Professor Marick had obviously done this on purpose, but to what end, she couldn''t figure out. Perhaps it was simply to prove a point, or to otherwise mess with them in some way. Whatever it was, she supposed the why of it didn''t matter nearly as much as the fact that there didn''t seem to be a way out of it.


    And so, with great reluctance in her heart, Pale began to step forwards, heading for the makeshift arena in the center of the classroom.


    "Pale¡­?" Kayla questioned, her voice small. "We''re really doing this¡­?"


    "So it would seem," Pale answered without looking back.


    "Don''t try to pull your punches too much," Marick warned. "This is meant to test your fortitude in a life-or-death situation. The class won''t do you much good if you''re only giving a fraction of your effort."


    In layman''s terms, that meant he wanted a show, and he''d know if they tried to hold back. Pale let out a slow exhale before reaching for her sheathed knife, her hand brushing against its hilt. Part of her was tempted to unclip it from her belt and toss it outside of the arena, but she knew Professor Marick would view that as her pulling her punches, so she reluctantly kept it on her hip.


    Kayla, meanwhile, still looked very uncertain even as she made her way to the other side of the arena. The two of them stopped at opposite ends of it and stared each other down, Kayla shifting nervously from side to side as she stood there, biting her lip. Pale couldn''t blame her for it, either; this was a fight she never expected to find herself in, and it was unnerving her just as much as it was Kayla.


    The one silver lining was that Virux still had her firearms under lock and key, so Marick couldn''t accuse her of holding back by not using them. At the very least, that mitigated a lot of the damage she could do, but she''d still have to be careful not to hurt Kayla.


    "Combatants ready?" Marick called out, his voice echoing through the room.


    "Ready," Pale grunted.


    "R-ready¡­" Kayla said, much more quietly.


    "Standby¡­ begin!"


    Pale moved first, as she expected she would; Kayla was still out of sorts from having been selected to fight her, and so Pale closed the distance in just a few seconds, her fist already cocked back. She''d intended to strike Kayla across the jaw, but froze when she saw Kayla''s eyes widen with surprise; Pale hesitated at the last second, which gave Kayla just enough time to backpedal, causing the incoming punch to miss completely. Pale stumbled slightly as she overextended, and in that moment, Kayla did something that surprised even her.


    She pulled out the blade on her hip, then lightly poked Pale in the arm with it, just enough to draw blood.


    Pale''s eyes widened when she realized what Kayla had just done. And sure enough, a moment later, Marick''s voice came booming across the arena.


    "Stop!" he called, causing both of them to freeze. He pointed to Pale. "You, show your arm."


    Pale obliged, lifting up her arm, allowing the thinnest trickle of blood to begin trailing down it. Marick stepped forwards and took her arm in his hands, examining it carefully before nodding.


    "First blood has been drawn," he declared. "The winner is Kayla. This fight is over."


    A few of the students began to murmur among themselves, apparently surprised at how easy it was to end the fight. Pale hadn''t expected it, but apparently Marick''s rule about only fighting to the first drop of blood was very literal. Then again, that made sense ¨C he was trying to train them up, not get them wounded or killed.


    Still, apparently they weren''t supposed to discover that particular technicality this early on in the year, if the baleful glance he gave to her and Kayla was any indication. All the same, he motioned for them to leave the arena anyway.


    "Stop," he said once they''d left the arena. The two of them paused a short ways away from the teacher, and he motioned to them both.


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    "As you can tell, neither of these two bothered to raise a magical barrier," he declared. "That was the first mistake. The second was that they were both too hesitant."


    "They''re best friends!" Cal shouted, all while Cynthia tried to shush him, to no avail.


    Marick seemed unperturbed, however, instead crossing his arms once more. "Yes. How would you suggest someone fight a friend of theirs?"


    "What?"


    "It''s not a trick question. Today''s friend can be tomorrow''s enemy just as easily. We are currently in an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity between the major kingdoms, but are any of you so foolish that you believe it will last forever?" Marick shook his head. "Those days of peace are going to fade at some point, and when they do, your allegiances ultimately lie with your family members and the kingdoms who rule over you, not to your friends from over the border. Ultimately, those of you who survive those kinds of times will be the ones who understand that it isn''t personal."


    Silence reigned over the room for several seconds before Marick let out a sigh.


    "You and you, step into the arena."


    XXX


    Dueling, as it turned out, could be very intense if it was between two people who were trained in magic and had no real reason to hold back. A few students tried the same trick Kayla had pulled, but it hadn''t worked out for any of them, and a few had walked away with nasty puncture wounds until Marick had hurriedly healed them.


    In any case, by the time they were dismissed and sent on their way, Marick''s classroom was a complete disaster, to the point where Pale wondered if it would still be in one piece by the time they went back it for their next class.


    "And, once again, I''m sorry for stabbing you."


    Pale''s musing was interrupted by Kayla sheepishly apologizing once more. A vein twitched in Pale''s head, and she sighed.


    "Kayla, for the hundredth time, it''s okay," she assured her. "And, honestly, you handled that far better than I could have."


    "Thanks, I-" Kayla paused, her eyes widening. "...Wait, you were really going to punch me?"


    Pale didn''t give her a response, and instead the two of them continued walking along to the cafeteria in silence. Cal and Cynthia had split off from them after Dueling Class was over; apparently, Cal''s headache had gotten bad enough that he''d finally decided to throw in the towel and seek some help from the healers, and Cynthia had decided to accompany him, with the promise that they''d head for the mess hall as early as they could. For now, though, it was just Pale and Kayla.


    "Hey."


    Or at least, it should have just been the two of them. Pale''s eyes widened as she froze mid-step at the sound of the voice behind her. Slowly, she set her foot down and turned to face the speaker, along with Kayla.


    They both came face-to-face with Joel and his entourage, standing at the other end of the hallway.


    "Joel," Pale grunted. "What do you need?"


    Joel''s eyes narrowed gave her a cocky smirk. "I just wanted to speak with you a little bit. Is that not allowed?"


    Pale didn''t dignify that comment with a response, instead turning back around and continuing to walk to the mess hall, Kayla following after her. Naturally, Joel and his friends came jogging after them.


    "Hey, wait up!" Joel said, coming up alongside them. "I just want to talk to you for a bit."


    "I"m not interested," Pale replied instantly. "Go away."


    "Now, is that any way to speak to your-"


    "Joel, whatever this is, I do not care," Pale said bluntly. "If this is your attempt to assert dominance over me in some way, then just know that it means nothing to me. Your attempts at petty schoolyard bullying are beneath me, and I won''t play along with whatever it is you''re trying to pull, because I find it to be completely pathetic. Understand?"


    Joel stared at her for a moment, and Pale thought she''d just managed to defuse the situation.


    At least, until a gust of wind sent her to the ground.


    That wasn''t enough to stop her, though; she was instantly back on her feet, one hand falling to the knife at her belt.


    Or it was, until someone came charging at her from down a nearby hallway and grabbed hold of her arm, slamming it to the ground and forcing her to drop the knife. It didn''t take much for her to realize it was Sven.


    Kayla reacted in the blink of an eye, lightning already dancing across her fingertips as she leveled them at Sven, only for Joel and his friends to ready magic of their own in turn. Nobody moved for several seconds until Sven, of all people, kicked Pale''s knife away and released her, dusting himself off in the process. He turned and gave Joel a baleful look.


    "These people are beneath you," he said simply.


    "Oh, come on!" Joel protested. "We were just trying to have some fun!"


    "I wasn''t aware your idea of fun consisted of beating up women. Perhaps your father would like to hear about that?"


    Joel paled at that, though it only lasted for a moment before he recovered. "Seriously? My dad hired you for a reason. We own you."


    Sven''s eye narrowed. "You don''t own me, you little fucking brat. I work for your father, and only temporarily. Or do I need to explain the terms of the contract to you once more?" He shook his head, then turned to Pale, glaring at her. "Don''t ever point a weapon at my ward again, or I''ll tear you limb from limb then and there, rules of the Luminarium be damned. Do you understand?"


    Pale simply returned his glare with one of her own. Neither one of them said anything, and finally, Sven let out a tired sigh, then turned and began to walk away. Joel gave Pale and Kayla one last look of sheer mirth before turning and following after him.


    And the moment they were all gone, Kayla was at Pale''s side, helping her up.


    "Are you okay?" she asked.


    "More or less," Pale confirmed as she picked up her knife and returned it to its sheath. "I''d say I''m more confused than anything."


    "You''re telling me¡­ what in the three hells just happened? Sven made it sound like the last thing he wants is to watch over Joel¡­"


    "I can''t blame him," Pale said dryly. "Put yourself in his shoes ¨C he is, or at least he used to be, the warrior-king for the northern barbarians. Whatever brought him here, I doubt he''s happy about being forced to guard someone like Joel for the better part of a year." She rolled her shoulder, testing to make sure her arm felt fine, which it did; apparently, Sven had been feeling merciful today, which wasn''t something she was used to associated with him. "Look, let''s not dwell on it now. I''m hungry, and I''m sure you are as well, plus we''ve still got a full week of classes ahead of us, too. Let''s just go get some food for now."


    Kayla hesitated. "If you''re sure¡­"


    "Positive. Come on, let''s get moving."


    With that, the two of them continued on their way, apprehension in their minds.


    Whatever had brought Sven here, Pale knew it couldn''t be anything good, and yet at the moment, they were both powerless to do anything about it. At the very least, it seemed to constrain him from killing them outright, which was good enough for her.


    Sven''s time would come eventually, but for now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 27

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    The rest of the week passed by almost in a blur. Curiously, Pale didn''t see much of Sven throughout the remaining few days; there were brief glances of him here and there, mainly whenever Joel was nearby, but for the most part, he kept his distance.


    And honestly, Pale wasn''t sure which was worse ¨C the idea that Sven was actively making moves, or that he was simply content to sit on the sidelines and observe for now, no doubt waiting for an opening to strike.


    In any case, she supposed it didn''t really matter. There was nothing any of them could do about Sven at the moment, so it didn''t make much sense to incessantly worry about it. And besides, she didn''t want to put Kayla on-edge, either.


    Eventually, though, their first week had to end. And it was during dinner that night that Headmaster Albrecht suddenly stood up and clinked a spoon against his glass, getting their attention.


    "Apologies for interrupting your dinner," he said. "However, that you are all gathered here, now would be a good time to explain what your weekends will be like. Essentially, you all signed up to the Luminarium for a specific reason, and now it is time that you begin to fulfill it. For some of you, that is the life of an adventurer, or mercenary on the battlefield; for others, it is that of a scribe or archivist, working in the library. Whatever your reason for being here, your weekends will be where you begin your pursuit of it."


    He looked over to the other first-year professors gathered at the table next to him. "Professors Glisos and Marick will begin training those of you who wish to be adventurers or warriors. Professor Kara will train those of you who wish to be healers. Professor Virux, on the other hand, will take those of you who wish to be archivists. For everyone else who may not fit any of those roles or who is undecided, see Professor Tomas. No matter which path you''ve chosen, your first lesson will begin early tomorrow. So eat well, get some rest, and be prepared to work hard in the morning."


    With that, Headmaster Albrecht returned to his seat. The moment he was seated, excited chatter started up among the first-year students, Pale''s group included.


    "I was wondering when we''d get assigned to our various duties," Cynthia said. "I figured the curriculum seemed a bit light for a school of this caliber; this must be how they make up for it."


    "Yeah, by putting us to work on the weekend¡­" Cal muttered glumly.


    "Come on, it''s not that bad," Cynthia protested.


    "It is if you really wanted to sleep in. Seriously, if I''m the same as the rest of you, then we''re all exhausted and everything aches."


    "He''s¡­ not wrong," Kayla pointed out, her tail swishing behind her as she continued eating. "Still, that being said¡­ I can see the value in it, at least. Right, Pale?"


    Pale nodded along. "Sure. Although, I''m wondering exactly what they have planned for everyone¡­"


    "You are?" Cal asked. "Myself, I want to know what everyone here is planning to do. I mean, I know Cynthia wants to be a healer, but me, I''ve always wanted to be an adventurer."


    "You have?" Kayla asked, tilting her head.


    Cal flashed her a toothy grin. "Hells yeah, I have. I mean, think about it ¨C you get to travel the world, plunder old tombs, get into trouble wherever you go¡­ not to mention, the girls love a successful adventurer."


    Cynthia gave him a baleful glare at that, crossing her arms as she did so. "Maybe try thinking with your head for once instead of something else, Cal."


    "Come on, can you blame me for it?" he asked. He shook his head, then turned to Pale and Kayla. "What about you two?"


    Kayla thought for a moment. "Honestly, I''m still undecided. Being a healer sounds nice, but I wouldn''t want to deal with all the blood and guts it''d require. Same for being a mercenary. As for being an adventurer¡­ I don''t know, it just doesn''t really appeal to me. I kinda just want to find a nice place to settle down in, maybe teach magic to some younger people¡­ do you think that''s an option here?"


    "I''d be surprised if it wasn''t," Pale answered, earning her a small, happy smile from her friend. "As for me, I can''t use magic, so that leaves being an archivist the only thing that''s somewhat viable."


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Yeah, about that¡­" Cal began. "We were wondering why you can''t-"


    "Cal!" Cynthia chastised.


    "Well, you were thinking it, too! Hells, so is everyone else in our year!"


    "You can''t just ask her something that''s as personal as-"


    "No, it''s quite alright," Pale interrupted, taking them both by surprise. "To tell you the truth¡­ I don''t know what it is, myself. I think Professor Tomas wants to look more into it, but we haven''t had a chance to get together after class again since the first time."


    "Well, no offense, but you might want to make that a priority," Cal pointed out. "This is a magic academy, after all; casting magic is kind of a prerequisite for being here. Not being able to probably doesn''t disqualify you in this year, but I imagine they can only reasonably accommodate you for so long."


    "Believe me, I know," Pale emphasized. "And I''m working on that. Hopefully, it''ll lead to something soon."


    Cal nodded, satisfied by her answer. The four of them went back to eating after that, the conversation tapering off. And as she ate, Pale couldn''t help but wonder exactly what Professor Virux had planned for her in the morning.


    XXX


    Pale considered herself lucky that she was already awake by the time someone knocked on their dorm room door. Kayla hadn''t been quite so lucky, and had been awoken by the sound; she sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide and her ears perked up, one hand already prepping a spell while the other reached for the sheathed blade she kept on the nightstand.


    "Who''s that?" Kayla asked, her voice still groggy from having been abruptly roused from her slumber.


    "It''s me," Professor Virux answered from the other side of the door. "I''m here to collect Pale."


    Pale motioned for Kayla to stand down, which she did, and she hurriedly retreated to the bathroom as Pale made her way to the main door. Pale, for her part, rolled her eyes at the sight of Kayla closing and locking the door behind her.


    She''d been telling Kayla for days now that only sleeping in her underwear was probably really stupid, specifically because of something like this happening, but Kayla had insisted that it was too hot for nightclothes. Pale made a note in her databanks to tease her about that later. For now, though, she approached the door, unlocked it, and threw it open, revealing Professor Virux standing there.


    "Good, you''re awake," he said. He suddenly frowned, peering past her to look into her room. "Is Kayla not-"


    "She''s here, don''t worry," Pale emphasized. "She just ran into the bathroom because she didn''t want you to see her naked."


    "I''m not naked!" Kayla protested from inside the bathroom. "I''m just¡­ not fully dressed yet¡­"


    Pale, for her part, rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I take it this is about my archivist training?"


    "Precisely," Virux said with a nod. "If you''ll just follow me, I''ll take you to the grand archives, and we can begin. You''re the only archivist in this group of first-years, so I hope you won''t get too lonely working with just me."


    "Somehow, I don''t think that''ll be a problem," Pale answered as the two of them stepped out into the hall.


    XXX


    The grand archives, as it turned out, lived up to their name. The Luminarium had impressed Pale before, but this was something else. It was a multi-story building, completely crammed full of shelves that themselves were filled to bursting with books. And from the looks of things, they''d all been very meticulously cataloged.


    "Wow¡­" Pale said as Virux led her into the main room. From what she could see, the archives started with a large circular room, from which several hallways branched out in multiple directions, each one stretching about the length of a small building before leading to a staircase traveling upwards.


    "Impressive, isn''t it?" Virux asked.


    "Very much so," Pale replied. "How is everything cataloged, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "It''s surprisingly simple," Virux explained as he began leading her through the various rows of shelves. "The paths are laid out according to the four cardinal directions. North is for magical theory and anything related to it, south is for history, east is for anything technical, and west is for whatever else doesn''t fit into any of the other three. The various levels are how we separate each of those categories into smaller sub-categories ¨C so, for example, the first floor for magical theory is specifically for the basic affinities; the second floor is for the study of the sjel itself, and so on."


    Pale nodded along with his explanation. "It seems very in-depth."


    "It is, but it''s pretty easy to get the hang of it once you''ve been doing it for a while, thankfully." Virux stopped as the two of them passed by a large desk towards the back of the room. "This, of course, is primarily where you''ll be working when you''re not finding books for someone or putting them back. The role of an archivist is, basically, to make copies of books, at least this early on. Admittedly, this strikes many of our prospective students as busywork more than anything-"


    "Which is why I''m the only one who signed up to do it," Pale finished.


    Virux nodded. "Precisely. It''s not a glamorous job, by any means, but it''s a very necessary one, as you can imagine. Books are important, of course ¨C without them, we live with the animals. And, to be fair, this job has perks of its own, too ¨C the entire archives are free for you to explore and take what you want, provided you put it back when you''re done with it."


    Pale''s eyes widened with surprise. "Truly? There''s nothing off-limits here?"


    "Knowledge is meant to be shared, not locked away," Virux answered. "Some students like to spread rumors about there being a secret forbidden section of the archives, but that simply isn''t true. If there truly were some esoteric knowledge in a book we didn''t want people to know about because it was simply that dangerous or something, we''d simply destroy the book rather than lock it away. And as you can imagine, we aren''t exactly fans of destroying knowledge. Like I said, it''s meant to be shared, first and foremost."


    Pale gave him a nod. "I understand. So, how do you want me to-"


    Before she even had a chance to finish, Virux had reached behind the counter and retrieved a stack of thick, leather-bound books, which he placed on the counter next to them with a heavy slam. Pale eyed them for a moment before her gaze slid over to him, and he gave her a grin.


    "Consider this the closest thing this job has to a trial by fire," he told her.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 28

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    "Done with the first one."


    Virux looked up at her from his desk, his eyes wide with surprise. "Truly? That was fast."


    "I aim to please," Pale answered.


    "Yes, I can see that. May I check it?"


    Pale nodded, then passed Professor Virux the copy she''d made of the first book he''d given her earlier. It had taken the better part of several hours to completely copy it down to a blank book, but she''d done it, thanks entirely to her artificial nature; it was a lot easier to transcribe words onto a page when she could recall the details of every page by memory with just a glance, and when every mechanical ministration her hands made was free of error.


    Virux flipped through several pages before turning back to her, amazed. "Well, I''ll be¡­" he muttered. "How did you do that, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "Just a skill I have," Pale told him. "Was there anything else you wanted from me for now? I can get started on the rest of that stack, if you''d like."


    "Take a break from copying those books for now," he offered. "Your writing hand must be killing you after that. Keep the desk manned; I''m going to go get some food, and you can do the same once I''m back. Got it?"


    Pale nodded in understanding, and Virux set the copy she''d given him aside, then stood up and left the room.


    And once he was gone, with nothing left to do except man the desk, Pale got to work.


    Nobody had come into the archives all morning, and even if someone did, they could simply call for her and she''d come running. For now, though¡­ there was an entire library of information scattered around her, and she was willing to peruse all of it to find what she needed.


    Pale walked along the aisles of bookshelves, scanning the titles of each book with a glance as she went. Thankfully, the Luminarium had meticulously cataloged each one, even to the point of writing a title or description onto the spine of each book; this made her search far easier than it otherwise would have been.


    There were two things she needed in particular ¨C a source of aircraft-grade metal and a way to arc weld it onto the broken parts of her ship. A quick diagnostic scan confirmed her suspicions ¨C her FTL drive was still damaged, but thankfully not in a way that made it irreparable. The real trouble was going to be getting the ship back into a healthy enough state that the jump to FTL travel wouldn''t instantly tear what was left of it to pieces.


    Propulsion in general was also going to be a concern, but less of one; her ship ran on nuclear power, and while the engines had been damaged, they also weren''t completely irreparable. But it was going to take time and resources to get everything back in working order, neither of which she had in abundance.


    Still, Pale knew she had to start somewhere, and while everything was going to be difficult to find, she was willing to at least look for them somewhere on the planet as opposed to jumping directly to uplifting the entire thing. Turning Sjel into a space-faring civilization would take decades, even in the best-case scenario she''d given to Kayla all those months ago; while it wasn''t an option that was completely off the table, she was willing to spend some time searching for a more natural solution first.


    After all, she''d already been absent from her war for several decades, and uplifting would take several more; spending a year or two trying to find a solution that already existed was nothing compared to those.


    The easiest thing to find, at least to her, was going to be the metal. Her ship used a classified blend of several different aircraft-grade metals; she knew the recipe for it, so to speak, and so it was possible to make more, but she''d first need to find the closest equivalents to the base materials that this planet offered. Iron was practically guaranteed, as were most of the other basic metals; the problem was going to be things such as steel. Depleted uranium was almost certainly a no-go, but she could make steel work. It wouldn''t be anywhere near as tough, but as far as she was concerned, it really only needed to work for a few FTL jumps rather than serve as a permanent solution.


    At least, that was the hope; she still didn''t know where this solar system was in relation to the one she''d come from. Her ship kept a log of her last known position before the jump, however, and so she was hoping that it''d be as simple as pointing herself in the right direction, locking in on that position, and making the jump.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    For now, though, her focus was on the raw materials more than anything.


    "Let''s see¡­" Pale muttered, looking through the books that lined the shelves, laser-focused on the words adorning their spines. "There must be something around here somewhere¡­"


    XXX


    She spent the better part of half an hour scanning through the various rows of books before finally finding something that seemed promising. It wasn''t much, really just a history of metalworking throughout the various territories throughout Sjel, and even then, it was mostly in relation to weapons and armor. But it was a start, and so Pale took the book back to the front desk and began flipping through it, scanning each page as she went.


    As expected, steel was the most technologically-advanced metal Sjel had to offer, at least at first glance, and it was only produced in relatively small quantities. This was unsurprising; the planet hadn''t yet had its own industrial revolution, and so large-scale production was still far-off for them, at least in the natural sense. That could be mitigated easily enough, she supposed; it''d require reaching out to someone with the capability of making it in the first place, but it could be done.


    Still, Pale read on. The book was surprisingly thick, and even with her accelerated reading ability and eidetic memory, it was taking her a while to get through it. Eventually, though, she found something that interested her.


    "Dragonsteel¡­?" she read out under her breath. Her brow furrowed as she continued to read.


    "''Steel with an incredible hardness to it and a very high melting point, known to be used for the highest-quality weapons and armor available; as such, it demands a very high price. Unfortunately, the method of its production is a secret known only to a select few, namely the dark elves to the south-''"


    Pale instantly paused, her eyes going wide. Inwardly, she gave a silent curse, but read on.


    "''-who keep the means of its creation a very closely-guarded secret. At any given moment, only two people in the world know the true method of how to create Dragonsteel, and they are sworn to secrecy using a blood oath. Many outsiders have tried to obtain the secret for themselves, however the dark elf weaponsmiths would sooner take it to their grave than give it up, as so many have found over the years.''"


    Pale let out a frustrated grunt, setting the book aside as she did so. It was frustrating; Dragonsteel sounded like exactly what she needed, but of course, it was extremely hard to get. Her only in with the dark elves was Nasir, who seemed to hate her after what she''d done to him during initiation. Still, that was her best lead; if nothing else, he was worth talking to again, if only to point her in the right direction.


    The sound of the door to the archives opening caught Pale''s attention, and she looked up, expecting to see Professor Virux returning from lunch.


    She froze when she found Valerie standing there instead.


    The two girls met each other''s gazes, both of them staring with wide eyes. To Pale''s surprise, Valerie began to tremble, then took a step back.


    "I''ll¡­ I''ll come back when Virux is in," she promised.


    "Wait," Pale called out to her as she went to turn and walk away. "He won''t be back for a while, it seems. He left me in charge while he''s away. What do you need?"


    "N-no, really, I can-"


    "This is my job," Pale insisted. "If you need something, I can-"


    Valerie began to tremble even more, and Pale froze when she realized what was going on. She blinked, then after a moment, let out a small sigh.


    "...Look, I''m not going to hurt you again, okay?" she offered. "What happened during initiation, that was¡­ regrettable."


    "Regrettable¡­?" Valerie echoed. "That''s your word for it? Y-you¡­ you destroyed my legs¡­"


    "I did, and that shouldn''t have happened," Pale told her. "Even if I fixed them up after. But you have to understand, I feared for my life; I thought you were about to kill me."


    "That''s what I thought about you!" Valerie replied, all traces of fear apparently having left her as she stared at Pale with a snarl on her face. "You drew blood, and then kept threatening me afterwards! I did what I had to do to protect myself!"


    "And you tried to bludgeon me with rocks," Pale retorted. "We both made mistakes back then, okay? But I have no grudge against you, and in fact, like I said, I regret what happened back then ¨C what I did, I mean. I wish I could take it back, but I can''t. There''s no need for you to be afraid of me. I don''t even have those weapons on me anymore, see?"


    Pale motioned to herself, showing that she was unarmed save for the combat knife sheathed at her waist. Valerie still didn''t seem content with that, however; Pale let out another sigh.


    "What book were you looking for?" she offered. "I can get it for you."


    "I just told you, I''ll come back when Professor Virux is in," Valerie replied. "I''m not in any kind of hurry, and¡­ and I don''t want to see you one-on-one again; too many bad memories¡­"


    With that, she turned and walked out of the archives, leaving Pale alone.


    XXX


    The rest of the day went by quickly, though Pale didn''t see Kayla again until later that night, when she came stumbling into the dorm room, looking exhausted. Immediately, Pale rushed to her side, only for Kayla to wave her off.


    "I''m fine," she said. "Just¡­ tired. Professor Tomas apparently takes that whole ''discerning your vocation'' thing seriously, because all we did was read about jobs, practice doing various jobs, test our skills for various jobs¡­ it was harder than I''m making it sound."


    "I''m sure," Pale offered. "Do you need anything?"


    "Just a hot bath and a meal¡­ I take it you''ve already eaten?"


    "Yeah, but I''ll go with you to the mess hall regardless," Pale said.


    Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. What about your day, though? How was it?"


    "It was¡­" Pale searched for the proper word for a moment. "...Interesting, in a few different ways. But mainly because I might have made some progress."


    Kayla gave her a surprised look, and Pale continued. "What do you know about Dragonsteel?"


    "Only that it''s expensive and really hard to get," Kayla replied. "Why? Do you intend to use that to repair yourself?"


    "That''s the idea. The only problem is getting my hands on enough of it to make the necessary repairs."


    "Yeah, I can imagine¡­ I guess you''ll need to find a way to make money, then?"


    "Not necessarily," Pale answered. Kayla tilted her head, confused, and Pale added, "The dark elves are the only ones who know how to make Dragonsteel. And fortunately for us, there''s a dark elf attending school alongside us."


    Kayla''s eyes went wide. "Pale, are you sure about this? I mean, that bridge is pretty thoroughly burned¡­"


    "It''s worth a try, regardless," Pale said.


    "Well¡­ if you say so. Hopefully, it works out."


    Pale''s only response was to nod. First thing in the morning, she was going to track down Nasir and start asking him questions.


    Hopefully, he was more receptive than not.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 29

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    When Pale awoke the next morning, it was with a mission in mind. She needed to find Nasir and speak to him about obtaining Dragonsteel, that much was certain. The fortunate part was that she knew where to find him.


    Unfortunately, that meant he was also going to take plenty of convincing.


    Kayla had been absolutely correct the night before, when she''d said that Pale''s bridge with Nasir had already been burned; Pale had made sure of that when she''d held a knife to his throat during initiation and extorted him for his tome. Part of her already suspected exactly how this encounter was likely to go, and needless to say, it almost certainly wasn''t going to end well for either of them. But she had to try regardless.


    The fate of her creators relied on her.


    XXX


    "Nasir."


    He froze when Pale called out to him from down the hallway. Like she''d known, it wasn''t hard to find him ¨C all she''d had to do was wait outside the mess hall until he came along. Slowly, he turned towards her, his eyes narrowing.


    "What do you want?" he demanded, his voice shaking.


    "I just want to talk," Pale promised. She took several steps towards him, and he matched each one with a backpedal of his own; seeing it, Pale immediately paused, holding her hands up in surrender.


    "Relax, okay?" she implored. "All I want is to speak with you about something, I swear."


    "You really expect me to trust you after that stunt you pulled during initiation?" he growled. "I almost didn''t pass because of you! I was lucky enough to find the exact kind of tome you''d taken from me just before I made it to the end." He paused, shuddering as he did so. "...I just wish I hadn''t had to take it from a dead person¡­"


    Pale wasn''t surprised at his statement, nor at the fact that it still had him incredibly shaken. Ultimately, almost everyone in this crop of first-year students was a sheltered noble of some kind, and even if they weren''t, they were still little more than young adults let loose into a cold and unforgiving world. Most of them had probably barely even left their home towns before now; she couldn''t imagine any of them had seen things the same way she and Kayla had over the past few months.


    That meant it was time for a little empathy. Her brow furrowed at the thought. Empathy wasn''t exactly something she''d been expected to have ¨C in fact, her superiors had always made it a point to say that she should have no empathy at all, as was the case with any good weapon ¨C but even she could tell that it was what the situation was calling for.


    And so Pale forced as sympathetic a look as possible across her face.


    She imagined it had to look as unnatural on her as it felt, but it was worth a try regardless.


    "It''s regrettable that you had to experience that," she said, trying to keep her voice gentle. "None of those people deserved to die, and you shouldn''t have had to see the aftermath of it all."


    Nasir let out a shaky breath. "...Yeah. Doesn''t change the fact that it happened, though¡­"


    "No, but at the very least, you have an opportunity to live on and honor the fallen that way," Pale urged. "Tell me, what was it that made you come to the Luminarium? I didn''t see you among the students who were undecided about what they wanted to be, and you''re certainly not an archivist like I am. So what made you-"


    "I¡­ I want to become the strongest, most powerful mage I can possibly be."


    His sudden declaration took her by surprise. Pale stared at him, watching as Nasir lowered his head, his fingers curling into the palm of his hand as he did so.


    "...Blood magic is unnatural even where I''m from," he explained, his voice quiet. "I can''t blame them for thinking of it in that way, either. The way it works¡­ I hate it. But an affinity is an affinity, and I''m unfortunately stuck with mine, so here we are." He shook his head. "I just want to become as strong as possible, so I can prove to everyone that just because I''m a blood mage, it doesn''t mean I have to be evil."


    Pale stared at him for a moment before giving him a slow nod. "That''s very noble of you," she said.


    As soon as the words left her mouth, Pale knew they weren''t good enough. Something within her was raging ¨C urging her to say more. She wasn''t sure why, but the feeling was utterly overwhelming, and before she even knew what was happening, the words came flowing out of her mouth.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "You control your magic, not the other way around," she told him. "Think of your magic as a weapon. A weapon at its core is just a tool. How it gets used depends on who''s using it. A sword can just as easily kill a tyrant and set his people free as it can kill a benevolent leader and enslave them. Ultimately, you choose what your magic is used for."


    Nasir finally looked up as she finished talking, staring at her with wide eyes. For a moment, Pale thought he was going to express some form of gratitude for what she''d said. Of course, that ended up not being the case.


    She realized it the moment his eyes narrowed again.


    "So, what do you want, exactly?" Nasir demanded. "Because I''m not dumb enough to think you''re speaking to me out of the kindness of your heart."


    Pale hesitated before letting out a long sigh. "...Alright. I need your help."


    "Oh, you do?" he challenged. "The same way you did during initiation? Should I expect another knife at my throat?"


    "The least you could do is hear me out," Pale insisted. "I can''t force you to say yes to helping me."


    "Just like you can''t force me to listen."


    At that Nasir turned and began to walk away. Pale watched him go for a moment, her thoughts racing, before she finally decided to throw caution to the wind and get his attention in a way that couldn''t be ignored.


    "Dragonsteel."


    That made Nasir pause instantly. He turned towards her, a shocked look on his face. "...What would someone like you want with Dragonsteel?" he said, marching over to her, fixing her with a harsh glare as he drew to within a few meters of her. "You realize what it is, don''t you?"


    "It''s a very high-quality type of metal that''s very expensive and hard to come by, with the knowledge of how to make it remaining exclusive to the dark elves."


    "You''re forgetting that it''s also extremely deadly. Sharpened Dragonsteel can cut through almost anything. There''s a reason why it''s so hard to get and why the elders keep the knowledge of how to manufacture it under lock and key ¨C because if word ever got out about how to make it, then suddenly, every battlefield becomes a mass grave." Nasir''s eyes narrowed once more. "If you want some that badly, I would recommend saving your coppers and buying it yourself."


    "Nasir-"


    "Even if I wanted to help you, I couldn''t," he explained. "It''s not like I know how to make it."


    "No, but you know the people who do," Pale pointed out. "If you could arrange a meeting-"


    Nasir scoffed at her, then shook his head. "You''re far from the first person to try this throughout our history, and you won''t be the last, either. My people have kept that particular secret for thousands of years, and we have no intentions of giving it up to an outsider, particularly one such as yourself. I''ll say it again ¨C you want Dragonsteel so badly? Save your money and buy it for yourself. Because otherwise, I won''t be helping you."


    With that, Nasir turned and walked away, leaving Pale alone in the hall.


    XXX


    "Try it again, Pale."


    Pale let out a huff of frustration. "This is pointless, Professor. Nothing is going to happen."


    "We won''t know until we''ve accounted for every variable," Professor Tomas told her. "Now try it again."


    Pale let out a tired sigh, but gave him a reluctant nod nonetheless as she closed her eyes and tried to focus on¡­ honestly, she wasn''t sure what she was supposed to be focusing on; Professor Tomas had given her some song-and-dance about ''channeling the source of her Sjel'' or something along those lines. She wasn''t sure what that was supposed to mean or how she was supposed to do it, but so far, it seemed like all he wanted her to do was close her eyes and meditate.


    And like meditation, this seemed like a complete waste of time to her, too.


    "So, talk to me," Tomas implored, taking a seat next to her. "You mentioned you spoke with Nasir earlier?"


    "I did," Pale said, keeping her eyes closed.


    "Hm¡­ I take it he wasn''t agreeable?"


    "I held a knife to his throat and stole from him during initiation, Professor. And even if I hadn''t, he wasn''t capable of doing anything for me, anyway."


    "Still, that is unfortunate," Tomas said quietly. "So, what''s your plan now?"


    "I don''t have one yet," Pale replied. She let out a huff of frustration. "Look, this exercise is pointless. It''s clear I don''t have a sjel, so I don''t know why you insist on putting me through this."


    Class had ended a short while ago, and yet Professor Tomas had held her afterwards, insisting he''d wanted to try running some experiments on her. Pale hadn''t been a lab rat for a while, not since first entering the fight against the Caatex, but it wasn''t like the feeling was unfamiliar to her. And in this case, at least there was far less poking and prodding going on.


    Honestly, though, at the rate things were going, she was starting to look back fondly on the poking and prodding. It had been annoying, sure, but it had served a specific purpose, whereas all these experiments to try and unlock her sjel did nothing more than waste her time.


    "Just be patient, please," Tomas said, scribbling on a piece of parchment. "I still think this is worth going through every now and again, just to see if we can make a breakthrough."


    "What''s your angle here, anyway?" Pale said, finally having had enough. She cracked both eyes open and stood up, stretching out as she did so. "Because, to me, this seems a bit deeper than professional curiosity."


    "It''s partially that," Tomas admitted. "But it''s also partly stubbornness on my part. I simply refuse to believe that a living being capable of rational thought is incapable of having a sjel. And so, I intend to run these tests until either we find where your sjel is lurking inside you, or it becomes clear that you are correct and do not have one."


    Pale let out an annoyed exhale. She''d tried explaining her origins to Professor Tomas earlier, but he''d simply shrugged them off, saying he wanted to try anyway. Not that it mattered; ultimately, Pale was the one calling the shots when it came to her own autonomy ¨C after all, it wasn''t like he could force her to meditate.


    "I''m going to be late for my next class," Pale told him.


    Tomas nodded in understanding. "Very well. Come see me again tomorrow, we''ll resume then. Oh, and one more thing ¨C I believe Professor Marick intends to take some of you on your first expedition this weekend."


    Pale tilted her head. "Expedition?"


    Tomas nodded. "Yes. There are some old ruins a short ways away ¨C we like to send the first-years out there in small groups so they can get a feel for what it means to explore the world."


    "Sounds dangerous."


    "It shouldn''t be; we haven''t had any incidents in years, not since the border crisis was resolved almost three decades ago. Ah, but that''s Professor Virux''s territory, not mine ¨C if you want to know more about it, speak with him."


    Pale stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "I''ll be sure to do that," she said. "Be seeing you, Professor."


    "Have a good day, Pale," Tomas said without looking up from his notes.


    With those final words, Pale stepped out of Tomas'' classroom, heading for her next lesson.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 30

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    The rest of the week passed by almost in a blur. It was the same as it always was ¨C class, then studying, along with carrying out her assigned duties as an artificer. Pale had to admit, having a routine felt strange to her; she was used to being out in the field for extended periods of time, carrying out her orders. Even when she''d first landed planetside, every day had still been fairly unpredictable. That had all changed with her arrival at the Luminarium, though ¨C suddenly, things were simply¡­ monotonous, it seemed.


    At least, she thought that was the correct word for it; nothing else really seemed to fit appropriately.


    Part of her still wasn''t sure what to do with herself during those moments when there was simply nothing to do. Generally, she helped Kayla study if she was truly that bored, but there were times when Kayla was busy or otherwise simply wasn''t around.


    And that felt strange to her, too. Ever since she''d arrived on this planet, Kayla had been a constant presence, and now she simply wasn''t. At least, not in the way she had been.


    And Pale wasn''t sure what to make of how that made her feel.


    Perhaps that was the reason why she was lying awake, staring up at the ceiling, despite still having an hour before waking up.


    Kayla let out a small noise from the other side of the room, and Pale turned over onto her side to make sure she was alright. She wasn''t surprised to find Kayla curled up on herself, the hair on her ears and tail standing up on end. The sight of it caused a scowl to etch its way across Pale''s face.


    Another nightmare, then.


    They were becoming more common by the day, and she was sure she knew what the cause was. Pale herself had been plagued by them every now and again¡­ unusual, given that she shouldn''t have had the capacity to even dream, let alone have nightmares, but perhaps the brain mapping that had created her consciousness had been a bit more accurate than her creators had intended it to be.


    Pale bit her lip as that thought crossed her mind, burying it as soon as it had reared its ugly head. She still had a job to do, and that meant staying as unfeeling and efficient as possible. Her creators still needed her, and she couldn''t afford to compromise her goals by allowing herself to get attached in any way.


    Kayla let out another whimper, and Pale turned towards her again, frowning as she did so. It was going to hurt to leave her behind, she knew, but it was an inevitability they were both just going to have to accept.


    As her creators used to say, the mission always came first, no matter what.


    Her silent musing was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. Immediately, Pale sat up, reaching for the knife she kept on the bedside table nearby. Across from her, Kayla stirred awake, her ears perking up as she blinked groggily.


    "Pale¡­" she managed to get out through a yawn. "What time is it¡­? And who''s at the door, anyway?"


    "Go back to sleep," Pale told her. "I''ll see what this is about."


    Kayla gave her a bleary blink, but then nodded and laid back down. She was asleep again in a matter of seconds, indicated by her gentle snoring once again filling the room. Pale stared at her for a moment before climbing out of bed and approaching the door.


    "Who is it?" Pale said, just quietly enough that the person on the other side of the door could hear her. For a moment, she didn''t receive any kind of response, but then¡­


    "It''s me," Sven said from the other side of the door, a combination of disgust and reluctance in his tone. "Open up, would you? I''m here to take you on your expedition."


    Immediately, Pale tensed, her grip on her knife turning white-knuckled as her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You really think I''m going to fall for that?"


    "What''s there to fall for? If I wanted to kill you, I''d just bust down the door and do it. You really think I''m stupid enough to try something like that in a school full of powerful mages? Give me a fucking break."


    "I still don''t believe you."


    "Professor Marick sent me. I''m gathering up the other students who are going with you."


    "So then let me speak to one of them."


    There was a pause. "You were the first one I approached."


    Pale rolled her eyes. "How stupid do you think I am, Sven?" she hissed. "Give me one reason not to open this door and cut your throat right now."


    "Because, like I said, this is a school full of powerful mages, and if either of us does something like that, we wouldn''t live long enough to regret it," Sven explained. "But if you don''t want to open the damn door, that''s fine, I''ll just tell Professor Marick that you refused to come along on your expedition. I''m sure he''ll be very pleased to hear you say that."


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    Pale bit her lip out of rage. Through gritted teeth, she said, "Then get one of the other students here as a witness."


    "Fuck you. Are you going to open the door and join me, or should I just move on to the next one and forget about trying to coax you out?"


    Pale let out a low growl. Against her better judgment, she reached for the door and unlocked it, then threw it open. Sven was standing there, just inches away from it, a fist already raised to knock one final time. He must have seen the knife she was clutching tightly in her hand, as he suddenly lunged for it and ripped it from her grasp in one fell move. Pale''s eyes widened as she was disarmed, and for a moment, she thought he was going to kill her with her own blade.


    Instead, he simply stared at it, held loosely in his one remaining hand, and then shook his head before turning back to her.


    "You shouldn''t play with blades," he warned her. "You might get hurt."


    Then he threw the blade down, embedding it point-first into the stone floor between her legs, before turning and walking away. Pale stared at him as he began to march down the hall, her artificial heart hammering in her chest and cold sweat running down her face. It only lasted for a moment before Sven paused and turned to face her once more.


    "Are you coming or what?" he demanded.


    Pale didn''t give him a verbal response, instead reaching down for her knife and sheathing it at her waist before hesitantly following him down the hall.


    She was careful to keep her distance the entire time.


    XXX


    There were ten of them, as it turned out, not including Sven and Professor Marick; apparently, these expeditions happened every week, with a different group of students each time. Pale could only guess that they intended for these to be much more intimate, practical lessons compared to what they got in school.


    Of course, it was just her luck that both Valerie and Joel were part of her group, too.


    It had taken everything in her power to avoid cursing aloud when she''d realized they would both be joining her. For their part, neither one looked too happy about it, either; Valerie''s reason was obvious, but Joel''s confused her. Most likely, he simply wanted to try messing with her again and knew he couldn''t so long as Professor Marick was present.


    That, at least, brought her some small amount of relief, though she suspected she''d have to stay close to Professor Marick if she wanted to ensure Joel left her alone for the duration of the trip¡­ or, strangely enough, Sven. And that was a strange thought, though it was true ¨C for as much as Sven hated her and she hated him, he at least did not seem to approve of the way Joel acted towards her. Granted, she knew that was almost certainly less because Sven thought it was wrong and more because he simply thought that petty bullying was beneath a young man of noble birth such as Joel, but still. A strange thought, nonetheless.


    In any case, they''d all been bundled into the back of a large, covered, horse-drawn wagon. Sven and Professor Marick had taken the front seats, leaving the rest of them packed in together.


    "Try and make yourselves comfortable," Marick called out to them. "We''ll be riding for about an hour until we get to the ruins."


    A few of the students groaned at that, but Pale stayed silent. Marick snapped the reins and the wagon started to move, and she looked around, watching as the Luminarium began to steadily fade away as they rode ahead.


    Normally, she''d try to get some sleep in a situation such as this, but between Joel leering at her and Valerie glaring daggers at her, she supposed the best thing to do was to stay awake for the entire hour, boring as it may have been. Idly, Pale found herself wishing Kayla were there with her.


    At least she''d have had someone to talk to, in that case.


    XXX


    Thankfully, while Pale had opted to stay awake, Joel had fallen asleep about twenty minutes into the ride. Valerie hadn''t, unfortunately, but still. Small miracles, she supposed.


    Eventually, though, the wagon stopped, and Professor Marick urged them all to step out. They did so one by one, each of them wincing and bringing a hand up to shield their eyes from the blazing sun. It only took Pale a few steps outside of the wagon to realize why.


    They were at the very edge of a desert. It was almost unnatural-looking ¨C it was divided into two by a large, rocky mountain, with the side they were on boasting a few trees off in the distance, while the other side was completely barren save for sand and rocks. Pale blinked at the sight of it, then turned towards Professor Marick.


    "This doesn''t seem like a natural formation," she observed.


    To her surprise, he nodded. "You''ve got a keen eye," he said. "You''re standing in the aftermath of a military campaign from thousands of years ago, between the Kingdom of Zaniel, where we''ve just come from, and the Otrudian Empire. To make a long story short, the Otrudians lost. Badly. So badly, in fact, that the then-king of Zaniel demanded that their side of the border be razed and the earth salted to the tune of several dozen miles of territory as recompense for what they''d done."


    "And what did they do to deserve that, exactly?"


    "Again, to make a long story short¡­ what started as a basic dispute over territory steadily devolved into a full-on war that lasted several decades. All of the king''s sons save for one were killed during that war. As you can imagine, he didn''t take it well."


    Pale said nothing, instead turning her attention to the mountain that stood before them. It was several hundred feet tall, and from what she could tell, about two-hundred feet wide; it looked extremely out-of-place on the border, almost as much as the desert itself did.


    "And the mountain?" she asked. "That doesn''t look natural, either."


    Marick nodded. "Again, good observation. This mountain itself was raised by skilled earth mages as a tribute to the fallen soldiers of Zaniel who fought a battle nearby; their remains are interred here, in a mass grave over which the mountain rests. Think of it as a giant headstone dedicated to their memory."


    "More like a giant insult to the Otrudians," Pale said. "I imagine they don''t appreciate having a giant headstone paying tribute to their enemies looming over their territory like this."


    "That, too," Marick conceded. "And you''re right, they didn''t. Hence why I''m here giving this history lesson instead of someone like Virux."


    "You make it sound like you expect them to try something."


    "It''d be stupid of them if they did, but every now and again, some idiot gets a thought in his mind that he''ll make the Kingdom of Zaniel pay for what they''ve done by going after some of the students from the Luminarium. Never mind that the school hosts Otrudian students as well¡­" Marick let out a tired sigh. "That''s why myself and Greymane are here, at least. Consider us the dedicated idiot patrol in case someone does decide to try something, though if I were a betting man, I wouldn''t put money on it."


    Somehow, that didn''t help ease Pale''s fears at all.


    Professor Marick adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder, then motioned for the students to follow him.


    "Come on," he said. "There''s more to this mountain than just rocks and sand. Let''s get inside and out of this heat, already."


    He motioned for them all to follow him, and the others did so without question. Pale, for her part, hesitated before following them all in.


    She wasn''t sure what it was, but part of her suddenly really wished she had her guns on her person once again.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 31

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    Professor Marick led them up the side of the mountain, to a large opening encrusted with bright white crystals of some kind. Outside, the sun bore down on them without mercy; most of the students were dripping with sweat by the time they made it halfway up the road leading to an opening in its side. As they approached the entrance to the mountain, Pale couldn''t help but look over the side; they''d ascended about two-hundred feet, ending up around its midsection.


    Someone bumped into her, and she stumbled a bit, though she managed to catch herself after taking an involuntary step forwards. Gritting her teeth, Pale turned around, her gaze narrowing when she saw Sven walking away from her, Joel trailing just behind him.


    "Watch your step," Joel said with a sneer. "We wouldn''t want you to go over the edge."


    Pale scowled, but said nothing, instead falling in behind the others as they entered the interior of the mountain.


    As she stepped inside, Pale was immediately struck by just how ornate the interior was. Professor Marick had said the mountain had been raised as a tribute to the kingdom''s fallen, and from the looks of things, he hadn''t been lying ¨C light-emitting gemstones were stuck into the wall and ceiling every few feet, and those same ornate broken chain carvings that adorned the Luminarium had been etched into the stone here, too. Moreover, the craftsmanship in general was simply master-class, from the carefully-erected pillars to the fact that the ground upon which they were walking was almost perfectly smooth and free of any kind of defect.


    "Wow¡­" Pale muttered. "This place is¡­"


    "Sobering, isn''t it?" Professor Marick said, coming up alongside her. "To think that this is all that''s left of a battle from so long ago¡­ Professor Virux would have a field day if he were here."


    "He hasn''t visited this place yet?" Pale asked, surprised.


    "Oh, no, he has," Professor Marick said, waving her off. "Many times, in fact. But he seems to come away with some new obsession whenever he visits this place. In his defense, though, it isn''t hard to blame him; everything about this mountain was masterfully done."


    Pale nodded along with his words. "Not bad for what was ultimately intended to be an insult to the Otrudians."


    "If you''re going to insult someone, then you might as well go all the way and really twist the knife a bit," Marick pointed out. He suddenly cleared his throat. "Students, gather around! We have a lot of ground to cover, so here''s what we''re going to do ¨C half of you will be with Greymane, and the other half will be with me."


    He motioned to Pale, Joel, and Valerie, along with two other students. "You five, go with Greymane. The rest of you, you''re with me."


    Pale had to bite back a curse. If she didn''t know any better, she''d have said that Professor Marick had done that on purpose, but somehow, she doubted it. Still, that didn''t change the fact that she was stuck with her three least favorite people in the world, plus two stragglers. Just her luck, she supposed, for as much as she believed in luck.


    In any case, the students all split off into their assigned groups. Once they were properly organized, Professor Marick looked over to Sven and gave him a nod.


    "You take your group to the upper floors to start," he said. "I''ll have mine take the lower floors. We''ll meet back here in two hours. Sound good?"


    Sven nodded, then motioned for the students to follow him as he began walking deeper into the mountain. Pale hesitated for a moment, but followed after the others as they trailed behind him.


    This was a bad idea, but it wasn''t like she had any other options.


    XXX


    "Alright, so we''re lost," Joel observed.


    Pale had to admit, for as much as she disliked Joel, he wasn''t wrong. They''d been traveling through the upper levels of the mountain for the better part of an hour now, and they still weren''t at the top. To play Devil''s advocate, however, the hallways deeper into the mountain had quickly turned downright labyrinthine; she''d heard the other two students and Valerie talking to each other in hushed voices, and from what little she was able to make out, the hallways had apparently been purposely designed to be confusing in order to deter would-be grave robbers. The idea wasn''t without merit, she supposed; information on her data banks told her that the pyramids of Egypt back on Earth had been designed in a similar way for the same exact purpose.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Of course, that didn''t change the fact that, ultimately, Joel was completely right, and they were completely, hopelessly lost.


    Normally, Pale would have been able to spot small imperfections in the stone that would have allowed her to navigate them out, but the mountain had been designed so immaculately that everything looked almost completely uniform; there was very little for her to go off of when it came to retracing their steps, and even if there wasn''t, Sven didn''t seem too interested in hearing what any of them had to say.


    "...booby traps?"


    At that small whisper, Pale suddenly paused, her foot midway to the floor. Slowly, she took a step back and turned towards the student who''d said it, a young man who was conversing with Valerie in a hushed tone.


    "Booby trap?" Pale asked. "You saw a booby trap?"


    The young man turned to her, his eyes wide, while Valerie gave her a glare before turning away. Pale gave her a baleful look, but then turned back to the other student.


    "Well?"


    He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable under her gaze. It didn''t take much for Pale to imagine why that was; no doubt Valerie had been telling everyone willing to listen about how Pale had put two rounds through her knees and nearly killed her during initiation. Pale breathed a sigh of resignation as that thought crossed her mind and went to turn away, only for the other student to finally let out an exhale.


    "...Wait," he said. She turned back to him, and he bit his lip, seeming to almost wither under her gaze. "Just¡­ read about it in a book, a while back. Apparently, this mountain was booby trapped at one point"


    "It was," Sven confirmed from up front, without looking back. "But that was a while back. Unless some Zaniel bandits have moved in, then we shouldn''t have to worry about anything like that."


    He said nothing else. Pale rolled her eyes. "How reassuring¡­" she muttered, her voice dry.


    Sven may have been confident, but that was no reason for it to rub off onto her. As far as Pale was concerned, there was now very good reason to be cautious as they moved through the mountain. It just made sense to her ¨C for lack of a better term, there was a lot of bad blood between the Kingdom of Zaniel and the Otrudian Empire, and it was the kind of bad blood that wasn''t about to fade any time soon, even with the war between the two having been over for quite some time now.


    Honestly, it reminded her of humanity and the Caatex more than anything. Even when the war between them inevitably came to an end, assuming one side hadn''t been wiped out by the other, then there were going to be a lot of consequences. Humanity had spent the better part of several decades on the backfoot, constantly losing entire worlds to the Caatex offensive; that kind of sin was not something that was easily forgotten, and moreover, it was the kind that could only ever be repaid with blood.


    If humanity ever won their war, there would be hell to pay. That much was certain.


    And she''d likely be a part of it.


    Pale shook those thoughts from her mind, instead focusing on following along with Sven and the others as they continued to stumble through the mountain.


    And yet, try as she might, she couldn''t ignore the way her artificial heart had started hammering in her chest at the thought of being one of humanity''s instruments of revenge.


    She''d been made for war, that much was certain, but there was a difference between a war and recompense. And yet, part of her knew that if she was ordered to do it, then that was what she''d do. Ultimately, she was a weapon designed by her creators, and like any other weapon, it was her job to fire when told to fire, and not to question the reason why.


    And yet, there was some part of her that felt uncomfortable with the idea of being used in such a manner. It didn''t make sense, even to her; she''d killed hundreds of thousands of Caatex already, so this should have been no different. But even then, with all her experience obliterating Caatex battle groups and all the orders she''d been given by her superiors, Pale still knew there was a world of difference between killing someone who was trying to kill you and wiping an entire planet from existence.


    A memory popped into her mind ¨C it was of a singularity expanding through space, swallowing everything in its way before collapsing in on itself. And as she watched, a voice came with it.


    "Test successful."


    It had been decades ago by now, and yet she still remembered the event vividly. It had been necessary, of course, and yet¡­ part of her knew it was wrong. She just wasn''t sure why.


    Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by one of the students giving a yelp as he tripped over something nearby. Pale jumped a bit, turning to him in surprise.


    She was stunned to see what appeared to be a broken piece of thin brown string, barely visible among the stone floors and walls, lying on the ground.


    None of them had any time to question anything, as several porcelain cylinders suddenly came rolling out of a nearby alcove. They stared at them for a fraction of a second before Sven called out.


    "Run, now!" he shouted.


    None of them needed to be told twice. They all took off in a random direction, looking for cover. Pale could tell a few of them happened to be with her, but she wasn''t focused on who; rather, she was focused on a doorway to the outside that had suddenly presented itself to them as they''d turned around a nearby corner.


    Not a single one of them bothered to think further than that; they all double-timed it for the doorway, running as fast as their legs could take them.


    Pale took her first step outside just as the porcelain cylinders behind them went off, shaking the entire floor with the force of the explosion. A huge wave of pressure suddenly enveloped them all, forcing them forwards, Pale was blown out of the doorway along with one of the other students, the two of them actually being lifted off their feet from the force of the explosion. There was no heat, rather it felt more like someone had just given her a very strong push. Somehow, it wasn''t enough to kill her, Pale realized as she flew through the air.


    But as she went over the edge of the mountain, something told her that she was going to wish it had.


    Pale fell several feet before making impact with her first rocky outcropping. There was a loud crack, followed by pain blossoming across her right side, and yet she continued to roll down the mountain, grunts of pain escaping her with every impact. She continued to fall for several more seconds before the next rock came into view.


    She had just a moment to realize how fast she was approaching it before it made impact with her head, instantly knocking her unconscious.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 32

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    "Hey. You still alive?"


    Pale let out a small, pained moan as someone shook her awake. Her entire body was screaming at her in agony; already, she could feel blood dripping down her head and arm, not to mention the litany of other cuts and bruises that seemed to cover her entire being. Her arm and head had it the worst, obviously, but her ribs were also blazing with pain, and her legs weren''t much better.


    Pale slowly opened her eyes, wincing as she did so. It was dark out now, but it didn''t take much for her to tell who was standing over her.


    "So, is this it¡­?" she managed to gasp out. "Come to finish me off, I presume¡­?"


    Above her, Sven rolled his eyes. "Not yet."


    "Then why-"


    "Because, much as I hate to admit it, I need your help, assuming you''re still capable of giving it."


    That got Pale''s attention. She stared at him in surprise, though she soon realized what he meant ¨C Sven was covered in wounds as well, no doubt having been blown off the side of the mountain along with her. He must''ve been the other person she''d seen falling off the side; apparently, even his magical barrier hadn''t been able to completely save him from the combination of the explosion and the fall, though he was certainly in far better shape than she was.


    Pale let out another groan as a fresh wave of pain rolled over her. "How bad is it¡­?"


    Sven eyed her up and down for a moment before shaking his head, a grunt escaping him. "It''s not good, but you''re still in one piece, at least."


    "How reassuring," Pale said dryly through gritted teeth.


    "I try." Sven looked up again, and Pale tracked his vision. From the looks of things, they''d both fallen several hundred feet, and were nearly at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, they were nowhere close to where they''d started; from the looks of things, they were now on the other side of the border.


    As if reading her thoughts, Sven shook his head.


    "Come on," he said, reaching for her with his one remaining arm. Pale instinctively flinched back, but he was unperturbed, and instead took her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Pale stumbled, biting back a cry of pain as she did so, but managed to remain upright; Sven eyed her the entire time, as if appraising her, before finally speaking to her again after a few seconds.


    "Can you walk and fight, or should I leave you here?"


    Pale gave him a baleful look, and without missing a beat, reached for the IFAK she kept mounted on her belt line at the small of her back. Normally, she would''ve taken great pains to prevent Sven from seeing what she was about to do, but there was no point to it now ¨C he already knew she wasn''t normal, even if he didn''t know the full extent of it.


    And besides that, she was in so much pain at the moment that she no longer cared even if he did see what she was about to do.


    And so, Pale retrieved one of her few remaining syringes and plunged the needle into her arm, depressing the plunger on it as she did so. A low gasp escaped her as the medicine flooded into her veins, the potent painkiller held within instantly going to work to help alleviate her discomfort. Within moments, she felt the smaller wounds begin to close, and the bleeding from the larger ones begin to taper off.


    Pale let out a shaky breath and stowed the used needle back in her IFAK, then turned back to Sven, who was eyeing her warily. She shook her head, a silent way of telling him not to even bother trying to ask; but unfortunately for her, Sven had other plans.


    "What was that?" he questioned.


    "Do you not have something more important to worry about?" Pale hissed. "You said you needed my help. Was that just a lie meant to catch me off-guard, or did you mean it?"


    Sven let out a slow exhale. "Unfortunately, I meant it, otherwise I would have killed you myself or otherwise simply left you on the mountainside to rot." He motioned towards the top of the mountain. "That explosion cut us off from the others. I have no idea how many of our group made it. Moreover, I don''t know what happened to Joel."


    Pale caught on immediately. "You''re planning to get back to him," she surmised, earning a nod. "Of course, that doesn''t explain why you seem to think you need me help for it."


    "Simple ¨C because someone had to set up the booby traps in the first place, and whoever did it, they''re almost certainly combing around the mountain now, looking for other people to kill."


    "How can you be so sure? Because you know that''s what you''d do?"


    Sven''s eyes narrowed dangerously at her words. "Booby traps are for cowards," he declared. "Of course, you''d know all about that, wouldn''t you?" Still, he shook his head. "Whatever the case may be, we don''t know how many we''ll be facing, what their skill levels are, how well-armed they are¡­ disdainful as I find you, I''d still sooner enlist your help for now, if only to get back to Joel sooner rather than later."


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    Pale had to admit, there was some sense in what he was saying.


    "And besides," Sven added, "I''m not going to let you be taken out by a booby trap and a bad fall. Not before I''ve had my chance to wring your neck myself."


    Pale glared at him. Admittedly, that was more in-line with what she''d have expected him to say, to the point where it didn''t surprise her at all.


    Pale stretched her arm out, testing it to see how the medicine was working. It was still extremely painful, but nowhere near what it had been. Still, she''d have to be careful with how she exerted herself for about the next hour or so until she was fully healed.


    That was easier said than done, given that they were going to be climbing a mountain and possibly getting into fights, but still.


    She turned to Sven and gave him a small nod. "I''m good to start moving out whenever you are."


    Sven returned her nod with one of his own. "Let''s get moving, then. And, for the love of the Gods, make sure your blade stays pointed in the right direction; I''d hate to have to kill you this early."


    Pale said nothing in response, and the two of them picked a direction and began trudging up the side of the mountain.


    XXX


    It only took a few minutes into their late-night, cloudy mountain climb for Pale to realize an issue with their plan.


    "You still don''t know where we''re going, do you?"


    "Of course not," Sven grunted. "It''s dark out, so I can''t see anything. Moreover, this place was maze-like on the inside; I can approximate where we are, but that''s about the best I can do."


    "You''re an earth mage, right? Why not simply bore a tunnel into the interior and go from there?"


    "Because that would take time and mana, plus I don''t know how structurally sound the interior of the mountain is after that explosion," Sven growled. "If I pick the wrong spot to start digging, I could bring everything above down on us¡­ or worse, on Joel, assuming he''s still in the upper levels."


    "So we really are stuck wandering in the dark, looking for an entrance back to the mountain," Pale surmised.


    "Unfortunately," Sven grunted. "Now, do me a favor and be quiet, would you? I''m trying to focus."


    Pale obliged, if only to avoid angering him any more than he already was. On a certain level, she could relate to his frustration, though not to the same extent; quite frankly, she couldn''t have cared less whether Joel lived or died, though it was probably in her best interests for him to live for now, if only to keep Sven''s focus squarely on defending him rather than fighting her, at least until she was confident enough that she could defeat him.


    At the very least, the medicine she''d taken earlier was now working fully, at least from what she could tell; there were still aches and pains, but nothing quite as extreme as when she''d first woken up almost at the base of the mountain.


    Speaking of where she''d ended up, Pale cast a glance up the side of the mountain, scowling when she saw how much farther they still had to go. They''d been climbing for around twenty minutes and had barely made any progress, and that was even before they reached the sheer part of the mountain. With a small sigh, she shook her head.


    "Sven."


    "What?" he snapped, turning around to face her.


    "This isn''t helping us," she pointed out. "There has to be a better way up the mountain."


    She expected Sven to snap at her once more, but instead, he simply continued to glare at her. Pale waited a moment, but then motioned down towards the base of the mountain.


    "I say our best bet is to head back to where we initially started with Professor Marick and the others," she told him. "We''d be able to better orient ourselves that way, plus the path ahead would be a lot more clear if we started from a known point of origin. In any case, it''d be better than trying to fight our way up a mountain in the dark."


    Again, she expected Sven to snap at her, but instead, he seemed to actually consider her words for a moment before reluctantly nodding.


    "...Much as I hate to admit it, you''re speaking sense," he growled out. "Alright. We''ll head for where we started. We''re going to have to circle around the mountain to get there, but like you said, it''s better than trying to force our way up the exterior in the dark. We''ll have to double-time it, though."


    "That''s fine," Pale said. "I''m feeling a lot better now."


    "I don''t care. Can you make it or not?"


    "Yes," Pale replied instantly. "I can make it."


    "Good. Then let''s start moving again."


    XXX


    The sun was nearly up by the time they made it around the mountain and back to the other side of the border. As they crested over the side of the mountain and their point of origin came into view, Pale paused at the sight of several people moving around what appeared to be a makeshift camp of some kind. There were about a dozen of them, complete with horses and wagons; even from this distance, none of them looked familiar to her.


    The weapons they were all carrying didn''t inspire confidence, either.


    "Who are they?" Pale asked.


    "Bandits, by the looks of things," Sven grunted. "I''m not surprised; this was always within the realm of possibility."


    Pale''s eyes narrowed. Something about his statement didn''t feel right to her. Sure, it was always possible they''d run into bandits on this trip, hence why Professor Marick and Sven himself were here with the students in the first place. But the fact that the bandits had set booby traps in the first place was suspicious to her.


    It was almost as if they''d known ahead of time that someone would be showing up, and had planned an ambush specifically to catch them.


    Sven shook his head, interrupting her thoughts. "We can''t go through them," he surmised. "That many combatants at once? Even I''m not that confident¡­ not since losing my arm, at least. And you only have a knife on you."


    Pale nodded. The thought of summoning new weapons with a fresh pod occurred to her, but if the goal was for search and rescue, the idea of a drawn out fight was not the viable option. "We''ll have to sneak around them somehow. If we can get a little bit higher up-"


    Her statement was suddenly interrupted by the sound of footsteps across the stone nearby. Instantly, Pale and Sven whipped around, both of them drawing their knives. The sound stopped for a moment, but it was soon replaced by a small voice.


    "It''s me," Valerie, of all people, said quietly.


    Pale exchanged a quick glance with Sven. He shrugged as best as he could, and she pursed her lips before turning back to the rocks behind which she''d heard Valerie speaking.


    "Are you alone?" Pale asked.


    "Yes. Hang on, I''m coming out."


    Pale watched carefully as Valerie stepped out from behind the rocks. She looked terrible, to say the least ¨C she was covered in dirt and mud, and covered in small cuts and bruises, though she didn''t seem injured beyond that. She flinched when she saw Pale still had her knife in her hand; at the sight of it, Pale sheathed her blade.


    "Are you wounded?" Sven asked.


    Valerie shook her head. "Not badly, no."


    "Good." He turned his attention away from her and back to the camp full of bandits at the base of the mountain. "This changes things, then."


    "What do you mean?" Pale questioned. "You can''t be serious about-"


    "I am," Sven insisted. "If this many bandits are set up outside the mountain, then it means we''re running out of time. And besides, a third person definitely evens the odds a bit." He turned towards Valerie. "You two, with me. We''re cutting through this fucking camp."


    Valerie swallowed nervously at that, whereas Pale''s eyes simply narrowed. Still, she had no opportunity to argue before Sven took off charging towards the camp. Idly, Pale became aware of Valerie looking to her, seemingly for guidance, and she let out a small sigh of resignation before following after Sven. A second passed, and Valerie followed after her, the two of them sprinting for the camp right behind him.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 33

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    As her and Valerie sprinted after Sven, Pale wasted no time in calling down a pod. It came screaming down from orbit a short time later, impacting the ground nearby, the door opening to reveal the treasure trove of gear, weapons, and ammo inside; Valerie paused, staring at it with her mouth agape as Pale rushed over to it and began to pull out pieces of gear.


    "Don''t just stand there," Pale growled as she clipped several caddies full of shells onto her belt and reached for the nearest semi-automatic scattergun, racking a round into the chamber with a satisfying sound of metal against metal. Her voice seemed to snap Valerie out of it, at least enough for her to swallow nervously.


    "W-why¡­" Valerie began. "Why do you have so many-"


    "Valerie," Pale said. "Now is not the time. Move, we have to back Sven up."


    Part of her couldn''t believe she''d just said that, but it was true ¨C Sven was currently their best bet of not only surviving, but reuniting with the others. And judging by how Pale could already hear spells being cast and men screaming down below, he''d wasted absolutely no time in rushing into the fray, not even bothering to wait for the two of them.


    Again, Valerie swallowed nervously, but ultimately, she nodded. "...Okay," she nodded. I''m with you."


    With that, Pale sent the pod screaming back up into the air, and her and Valerie took off after Sven once more.


    XXX


    It only took a few additional seconds of running until they found Sven. He was currently locked in combat against the remaining bandits, with three of them having already been felled. Sven himself was currently hunkered behind a large mound of rock, with flames, lightning, and sharpened shards of ice chipping away at his impromptu cover. As Pale watched, she saw several bandits break off from the remainder of the group and begin to move around to the sides of Sven''s barrier, no doubt intending to flank him.


    "Valerie," Pale said, getting her attention. "Provide cover from here. I don''t care how you do it."


    "W-what?!'' Valerie asked. "But¡­ he''s killed three of them!"


    "Yes," Pale observed. "And they won''t be the only three."


    "Y-you can''t! I mean-"


    "Valerie," Pale interrupted. "It''s kill or be killed right now. Do you understand?"


    Valerie bit her lip. Pale could tell she wanted to argue the point, but there was simply no time to do so at the moment. Instead, she acquiesced with a nod. Pale took that as her signal to begin moving in, and came bounding over the small hill they''d been perched upon, bringing her combat shotgun''s stock up to her shoulder as she went.


    The bandits noticed her before she was within her shotgun''s effective range. Spells impacted all around her, kicking up clods of dirt and sand. Small shards of sharpened rock cut through parts of her clothes, ripping tiny holes in them, but thankfully impacting harmlessly against her body armor. Thankfully, the incoming spells only lasted for a few seconds before Valerie began to cover her, raining large chunks of stone down on the bandits below. That was just enough for Pale to finish closing the distance.


    The first bandit crossed into her sights, and Pale squeezed the trigger, sending a payload of buckshot downrange. The man''s leg was torn in half at the knee, and he fell to the ground, screaming bloody murder as he clutched at the eviscerated stump where his right tibia and fibula had once been connected; Pale put him out of his misery with another shot that reduced his head to little more than a bloody pulp on the ground, then turned her attention to whoever was next.


    As it turned out, the sheer noise of her shotgun firing combined with the effect it had on her first target had suddenly drawn a lot of attention to herself. The remaining bandits, ten in total, turned towards her, spells already prepared to cast in each hand. Pale didn''t waste any time; she took aim and fired before they could launch anything at her, downing another man with a shot to the chest.


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    Whatever stupor the other bandits were in, that snapped them out of it. Spells again began to impact all around her, and Pale dove for cover behind a large rock, just narrowly avoiding a bolt of lightning that singed the ends of her hair in the process. She heard several bandits begin to advance upon her, and suddenly spun out from behind cover, firing off two shells into each as rapidly as she could; both of them fell, suddenly missing their heads.


    The other bandits, to their credit, didn''t turn tail and run, at least not yet. Instead, they pressed their assault; Pale grunted as a large chunk of stone suddenly impacted against her chest plate, nearly caving it in as she was forced to the ground, her shotgun nearly slipping out of her grasp. The bandit who''d felled her began to advance, drawing a knife from his belt, but she was quick to level her weapon towards him and fire off a shell into his groin, which brought him crumpling to the ground, screaming and bleeding like a stuck pig.


    Pale picked herself up off the ground, wincing as her torso screamed at her in agony. Her body armor had protected her from the worst of that last spell, but she could still feel a nasty bruise coming on. Still, that didn''t stop her from dropping a loose shell into the chamber of her shotgun and smacking the bolt release, then taking aim at another bandit who''d been dumb enough to avert his gaze away from her.


    Just before she could finish breaking through the full weight of her weapon''s trigger, however, Sven finally saw fit to make another move, jumping out from behind cover, sharpened stones in his hand already. He threw it as hard as he could, completely caving in the face of one of the bandits, killing the unfortunate woman before she even knew what was happening. Pale hesitated, her eyes widening as Sven inadvertently crossed into her line of fire, but she held herself back from shooting, instead looking for another target.


    The remaining bandits apparently decided they''d had enough, as they all began to turn tail and run away. Sven ran after one; Pale, meanwhile, racked the shell of buckshot out of her weapon''s chamber and dropped in a solid slug instead, then took aim through her weapon''s sights at the first target that present themselves to her, which turned out to be a female mage in a red cloak. Pale didn''t hesitate for a moment; her weapon bucked against her shoulder, far more than it did with the earlier shells of buckshot, and as she watched, there was a puff of red mist downrange as the slug entered the woman''s back and tore through her chest, no doubt eviscerating her heart in the process. Pale watched as the lifeless woman fell to the ground, dead before she''d even known what was happening to her.


    And just like that, it was over. They hadn''t killed all the bandits in that little melee, but they''d gotten most of them, and Pale was certain the survivors wouldn''t be back any time soon.


    She surveyed the area, taking note of the bodies scattered around. It was easy to tell who had been killed by who ¨C Sven''s victims had either been cut with a knife or crushed by stones, while the one she''d killed were missing entire chunks from their bodies. Empty red shotgun hulls were lying halfway buried in the sand, mixing in with the blood and gore around her; Pale shook her head at the sight of it, then threw her shotgun''s stock up onto her shoulder as she began to reload.


    "Pale¡­?"


    At the sound of Valerie''s voice, Pale turned towards her, though she didn''t stop loading her shotgun. Valerie flinched at the sight of it, though it soon faded as she surveyed the field of dead people around her.


    As Pale watched, she suddenly turned very green, then doubled over and began to loudly retch.


    "Valerie," Pale began. "I understand this is likely traumatic for you to see-"


    Valerie continued to dry-heave for several seconds before it finally tapered off. She sucked in several deep breaths, then stood up, swaying unevenly from side to side as she did so. Once she was mostly standing up straight again, she gave Pale a harsh, accusatory glare.


    "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she growled. "Just¡­ killing all those people like it was nothing, with a weapon that''s just so¡­ so¡­ terrifying. What is that thing, anyway?"


    "Ten-gauge automatic combat shotgun," Pale answered, giving no further explanation beyond that; Valerie wouldn''t have understood even if she had, and besides that, they didn''t have time to waste right now. "And to answer your questions¡­ like I said earlier, it was kill or be killed."


    "Is that how you justify it to yourself?" Valerie asked quietly. She hesitated, then added, "...Is that how you justified what you did to me back during initiation?"


    Pale''s only response was to give a small, tired sigh, then looked around as she finished loading her weapon. "Where is Sven?"


    "Here."


    Pale immediately whipped around, though she was careful to refrain from shouldering her weapon in the process. Sven was standing there, and he was spattered with blood, none of it his own. Slowly, Pale eyed him up and down before their gazes met.


    "How many did you kill?" she asked.


    "Two more," he grunted. "One got away, I think. Though I wouldn''t worry about him coming back, at least not without reinforcements, and by then, we''ll hopefully be long gone."


    "What''s going on, anyway?" Valerie asked, even though Pale could tell she was still absolutely terrified of both of them by the way she was trembling. "Why did they suddenly attack us out of nowhere?"


    Sven shrugged. "Who knows? Perhaps they simply thought that they could ransom us back to the Luminarium. Whatever the case, those devices they used to separate us all were very sophisticated."


    "What were they?" Pale asked. "They almost seemed like rudimentary explosives."


    "In a sense, they were," Sven grunted. "Take a ceramic jar, fill it with some kind of flammable material, and inscribe a wind rune on it. String it up with a tripwire and you''ve got a nasty surprise for whoever happens to stumble into it."


    "Runes¡­?" Valerie muttered. "I thought runes were a dying art¡­"


    "They are. Doesn''t stop some people from learning them, specifically for things such as this." Sven cast a glance up at the sky, noting the sun''s position. He let out a grunt, then shook his head. "We''re wasting too much time. Come on, we have to get back inside to the others."


    "The others?" Pale asked, tilting her head.


    "Yes, the others. Specifically, my ward," Sven pointed out, his eyes narrowing. "And you will help me find him, or else."


    Pale returned his glare with one of her own, but ultimately nodded. "Very well," she said. "If nothing else, Kayla would never let me hear the end of it if I didn''t."


    Sven didn''t say anything further, instead pushing past her and moving towards the entrance to the mountain. Pale watched him go for a moment, though she soon became idly aware of Valerie staring at her with wide eyes. Slowly, Pale blinked, then turned towards her.


    "What is it?"


    "Nothing," Valerie quickly answered. "L-let''s¡­ let''s just go. I really don''t want to be out here around the bodies¡­"


    She shivered, then took off after Sven. Pale stared at her in confusion for a second or two, but then followed after her in turn, heading for the inside of the mountains.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 34

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    Pale caught up with Sven and Valerie just as they entered the mountain once more. She fell in behind them, pausing only to take Valerie by the shoulder; Valerie jumped, letting out a small yelp when Pale touched her, only to then round on her and level a glare her way.


    "Don''t do that!" she quietly admonished. "I almost jumped out of my skin!"


    Pale was unperturbed, instead motioning over her own shoulder with a thumb. "Bring up the rear, Valerie. I''m going to support Sven."


    Valerie paled. "W-wait¡­ isn''t the middle the safest-"


    "Normally, yes. But if someone comes up behind us, I want you to bring part of the ceiling down on them. Not enough to collapse the hall around us, but enough to bring them down and cut them off from us."


    Somehow, Valerie paled even more. "I-I¡­ I don''t think I''m cut out for-"


    "Valerie," Pale emphasized. "You may not realize it, but this is the real thing. Okay? If they get their hands on you, they will almost certainly kill you, if not do something even worse than that. You need to be willing to defend yourself, even using lethal force if that''s what it takes. Do you understand?''


    Valerie stared at her for a moment before swallowing nervously and blinking away a few stray tears of fear that had filled her eyes. "...Okay," she whispered quietly.


    Pale gave her shoulder a small, reassuring squeeze. She wasn''t sure if the gesture would mean the same thing to Valerie that it did to Kayla, but it felt like the right thing to do in the moment, at least. Valerie swallowed once again, but did as Pale had asked, pulling back to bring up the rear while Pale fell in alongside Sven.


    "Do you know where you''re going?" she asked him, the two of them continuing to move through the halls.


    To her dismay, Sven shook his head. "No. But I figure we''ll find our way to them eventually. We''re right in the center; I think the best thing to do is make it to the top floor, then begin clearing the area from top to bottom."


    Pale gave him a slow nod. "Okay. I suppose that''s as good a plan as any others we may have."


    Sven gave her a grunt in response. "Keep an eye out for tripwires, by the way. I wouldn''t be surprised if they''ve set more in the time we''ve been gone."


    "I will." Pale hesitated for a moment. "Question."


    "Hm."


    "Do you think the students and Professor Marick are still alive?"


    "For the bandits'' sake, I sure hope they are," Sven replied without looking over to her. "Because if they aren''t, then I''m going to tear them all limb from limb and leave them to bleed out."


    Somehow, Pale didn''t doubt his conviction at all.


    XXX


    The three of them walked on for roughly twenty minutes, ascending up several floors, before they found the first traces of life, in the form of a dead student lying on the ground in front of them. Valerie let out a small gasp and went to take a step forward, no doubt to try to investigate and determine who it was, only for Pale to hold her back.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "What are you doing?!" Valerie demanded. "We have to see who she-"


    "That body has almost certainly been booby trapped," Pale informed her. Instantly, Valerie''s eyes went wide, and her struggles died. With her now under control, Pale turned to Sven. "How do you want to-"


    Sven didn''t even wait for her to finish, instead flicking his wrist, causing a large mound of earth to form under the body, turning it over. Sure enough, several porcelain containers came rolling out of the folds in the unfortunate girl''s robes; Pale, Valerie, and Sven all ducked down behind a nearby corner to avoid the incoming force, which flashed by them just a moment later, along with a cloud of shrapnel.


    And then, it was clear once more. Sven motioned with his head for them to follow after him, and they both did so, peeling themselves away from the wall and moving in behind him. Pale spared the body a single glance as they moved past; it had been mangled by the explosion and shrapnel to the point of being nearly unrecognizable.


    Or at least, she should have been.


    The first sign Pale received that something was wrong was when she noticed that Valerie''s footsteps were no longer sounding off in tandem with her own. The moment she realized Valerie had stopped moving, she cast a glance behind her, frowning as she did so.


    "Sven," she said, getting his attention. He looked back, his gaze landing on Valerie, and scowled at what he saw.


    Valerie was standing over the dead girl, her head lowered and her shoulders heaving with sobs. Tears fell freely down her cheeks, impacting against the ground below. She''d bundled her hands around herself, and was trembling heavily.


    "You can''t be serious," Sven said. "Get her moving again. We don''t have time for this."


    Pale couldn''t help but give him a baleful glance. She wasn''t exactly familiar with human behavior or psychology ¨C even Kayla still eluded her, and they''d known each other for months by now ¨C but even she could tell that Valerie was deep in the throes of grief, for some reason.


    And unfortunately, it was going to fall onto Pale to do something about it.


    "Valerie," Pale said as she approached, her voice coming out as gently as she could make it. "What''s wrong?"


    Valerie didn''t say anything at first, instead continuing to cry. Pale shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, but she didn''t get a chance to say anything before Valerie sniffled and began to speak.


    "...She was my roommate," Valerie said quietly. "I¡­ I really liked her¡­"


    Pale blinked, initially unsure of how to respond. "...I''m sorry for your loss," she offered. "But we need to keep moving."


    Valerie shook her head. "I can''t. I can''t just leave her here alone like this."


    "We won''t be able to stay behind and help protect you," Pale emphasized. "You''d be alone here. If more of those bandits showed up, what would you do?"


    Valerie didn''t say anything in response, instead sniffling once more. Pale pursed her lips, shifting again, tucking her shotgun''s stock into her shoulder.


    "We still need your help, too," Pale reminded her.


    "So does she."


    "Valerie, she''s beyond your help now. You know that."


    Valerie suddenly turned towards her, a snarl crossing her face. "You don''t know her the way I did," she insisted. "The things I felt for her¡­ you don''t get it."


    "That''s right, I don''t," Pale replied. "But what I do know is that she wouldn''t want you to throw away not only your life, but the lives of all the other students by waiting here with her body. Not when we have a chance to save the rest of them."


    Valerie said nothing, instead continuing to glare at her. Pale hesitated once more.


    "...Be honest," she ventured. "You want revenge, don''t you? Those bandits took away someone you cared about, and for what? To set a trap? They could have done that with a simple tripwire, but they didn''t. They specifically wanted to booby trap a body, because they knew it''d be more effective that way. They murdered her in cold blood for something as simple as that. So, be honest ¨C that makes you angry, doesn''t it?"


    Valerie bit her lip, reluctant to answer, but after a moment, she nodded. "...Yes," she said, "it does. More than you can possibly imagine."


    "Then help us," Pale told her. "We can avenge her with your help. Now, I can''t speak for her, but if it were me? I''d want to be avenged. And something tells me you know it''s what she would have wanted, too."


    Valerie sniffled once more, then brought a hand up to rub at her eyes. "...You''re right," she admitted. "I¡­ I want them to suffer. All of them."


    "And they will, I promise," Pale replied. "But you have to leave her behind. Can you do that?"


    Valerie hesitated, sparing one last glance at her dead roommate. "I¡­ I don''t¡­ it just feels wrong¡­ I mean, we had a connection; something really special, or at least I thought so¡­ it was brief, but-"


    Pale saw tears begin to fill Valerie''s eyes once more, and decided in that moment that she had to do something drastic. Luckily, there was one thing she knew worked already, thanks to Kayla and Evie.


    She suddenly stepped forwards and gently threw her arms around Valerie, pulling her close.


    Valerie suddenly froze, stiffening in Pale''s grasp.


    "...We need you," Pale said quietly. "Please help us."


    Valerie swallowed once again, but said nothing. Pale continued to hold onto her for a few more seconds before finally breaking the hug. And when she did, she saw Valerie staring at her with wide eyes, a faint blush on her face. Slowly, she gave her a small nod.


    "...Okay," Valerie offered. "I¡­ you''re right. I can''t stay here with her."


    Pale nodded, then motioned for Valerie to follow after her. "Come on," she urged. "We have the other students to save, and a girl to avenge."


    Valerie nodded once more, and then fell in behind them again as they continued to walk. Pale wasn''t quite sure what the look on her face was supposed to mean; it was some kind of mixture of anticipation, worry, and sorrow, but there was something else there that she couldn''t place her finger on. Whatever it was, it was going to have to wait.


    They still had a fight ahead of them, after all.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 35

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    The three of them continued into the mountain, Valerie still giving the occasional small sniffle as they all kept moving. Each time she did, Pale saw Sven''s brow furrow; eventually, after yet another sniffle from Valerie, he''d apparently had enough.


    "Stop doing that," he ordered without looking back. "I don''t need you giving away our position."


    Pale gave him a glare, but then turned to Valerie and nodded at her. "Much as I hate to admit it, he''s probably right. Think you can keep yourself under control for now? There will be time to keep grieving for her after we''ve made it out of here."


    Valerie swallowed the lump in her throat, but gave Pale a nod of her own in response. "S-sorry¡­"


    "It''s okay. Just focus on the mission at hand."


    With Valerie now silenced, they kept moving yet again. By this point, they''d been wandering through the mountain''s dimly-lit halls for close to an hour, and aside from a few more booby traps that they''d successfully disarmed, there''d been no sign of trouble.


    All of that changed when they climbed the next set of stairs up to one of the higher floors and were immediately met by voices from around the corner.


    Sven suddenly flattened himself against the wall, signaling for Pale and Valerie to do the same. Both girls did as he''d commanded them to, pressing against the stone while he steadily crept closer to the source of the noise. As he did so, Pale listened in to the conversation just around the nearby corner.


    "-whole thing is fucking stupid," she heard a gruff-sounding man say. "What''s the point of this, anyway?"


    "Does it matter?" another man replied. "We''re getting paid, aren''t we?''


    "Well, yes, but-"


    "We were told to ask no questions."


    "Somehow, I don''t think he''ll know if we do."


    "How can you be sure? Guy''s everywhere at once¡­"


    "Who are they talking about?" Valerie whispered to Pale.


    Pale shook her head. "No idea¡­ sounds like their boss. But I can''t even begin to imagine who that would be."


    The conversation tapered off after that, the two men apparently having moved down the hall and away from them. Sven chanced a look around the corner, and after seeing that it was clear, motioned with his head for them to follow him. Pale and Valerie peeled themselves off the wall, then fell in behind him, Pale keeping her shotgun at the ready as they kept moving.


    "Hey," Sven whispered to her as they once again continued down the halls. "I don''t suppose you can make that thing quieter?"


    Pale blinked, then shook her head. "No."


    "Then don''t use it unless you absolutely have to. The last thing I want is to alert the rest of them that we''re here."


    Pale grimaced, but begrudgingly, she had to admit he had a point. She clicked the safety on her weapon with her finger, then slung it across her front and drew her knife instead. Sven did the same, slipping his own knife from its leather sheath at his hip as they walked.


    Eventually, they approached another staircase, set in the middle of a T-shaped intersection that split into three paths. Just before they could begin moving up it, however, those same voices from before began to echo down a nearby hallway, approaching them; apparently, the two bandits from earlier had been tasked with patrolling this floor. Sven hurriedly ushered Pale and Valerie back into cover, joining them a second later.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He wasn''t a moment too soon, as both bandits rounded the corner a split second after he''d gotten out of sight. Pale was about to breathe a sigh of relief that they hadn''t been spotted when she realized that the pair of voices were approaching them. She looked to Sven, and he gave her a small nod; Pale''s expression narrowed, and she gripped the hilt of her blade hard enough to turn her knuckles white.


    When the two bandits rounded the corner, her and Sven made their move.


    Sven rammed into the closest one, driving his knife into the man''s throat and tearing it out, over and over again. Pale, for her part, didn''t get to see too much of it; she was too busy driving her blade into the other bandit''s torso time after time. The man opened his mouth to scream, but apparently she''d hit something in his respiratory system, because the only thing that came out was a wet gurgle. He fell to the ground, but Pale didn''t stop; she straddled the bandit, continuing to drive her blade into him over and over. Warm blood splashed against her front, but she paid it no mind, instead continuing to eviscerate the bandit underneath her until his movements finally completely stopped and he went still.


    Pale sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, before bringing a hand up to wipe the splotches of blood from her face. She wiped her blade on the dead man''s shirt, then rose to her feet. Her and Sven exchanged a glance as they did so; he was absolutely drenched in blood even more than she was, apparently from having severed his unfortunate victim''s carotid artery at some point. In either case, they both looked like something out of a nightmare, not that either of them cared.


    Valerie, meanwhile, was eyeing them both with sheer terror in her eyes.


    "I-I''m gonna be sick¡­" she muttered, a hand covering her mouth as soon as she was done speaking.


    Sven rolled his eyes as he sheathed his blade. "You''ll be fine. Come on."


    That was all he said before continuing on his way. Valerie exchanged a look with Pale, who simply shrugged and began to follow after Sven; a moment passed, and Valerie joined her, the three of them continuing on.


    XXX


    It wasn''t much longer before they reached what had to be the final set of stairs leading upwards, if the steadily-narrowing hallways and ceilings were any indication. Judging by how cramped everything was getting, Pale simply couldn''t see how there would be additional floors after this one. With any luck, at least some of the students would be up there, though she wasn''t holding her breath; it was probably just as likely that they''d all been moved to the lowest level instead.


    In any case, they ascended the stairs cautiously, Pale keeping one hand tight around her knife as they went. Sven was still in the lead, as always, while Valerie continued to bring up the rear. Of the three of them, Valerie was easily still in the worst shape; they''d encountered a few more stray bandit patrols while climbing to the top of the mountain, and each one had been dispatched as ruthlessly and efficiently as the first had. Valerie hadn''t taken their deaths well, to say the least; Pale could tell by the glazed look in her eye and the emotionless expression on her face that she was likely in shock. She was going to need some kind of professional help when all was said and done, that much was certain. Idly, Pale hoped there was such a thing as therapy in this world, though somehow, she doubted it very much.


    "Hey," Pale whispered to her as they climbed the stairs. "Are you going to be okay, Valerie?"


    Valerie''s only immediate response was to blink, but she turned towards Pale after a moment and gave her a nod. "...I''ll be alright," she softly muttered. "I just¡­ I want to get through this¡­"


    "I know. Stay strong; we''ll be done with this sooner rather than later. Not much longer now."


    Valerie didn''t answer verbally, instead giving her a small nod, her face as expressionless as it had been before. Pale felt a jolt of some unidentifiable emotion lance through her at the sight of it; idly, she renewed her hope that therapy existed in this world.


    Valerie wasn''t her biggest fan, and the feeling was mutual on Pale''s part, but she didn''t deserve to suffer the way she was now. It reminded Pale of the way Kayla had first looked back when they''d failed to rescue her father. Back then, they''d had Evie to help her get through it, but Valerie had nobody. Pale bit her lip as thoughts ran through her head. Perhaps one of the professors would be able to help? It was certainly worth a shot.


    Eventually, they emerged on the top floor. And the very first thing that hit her was the stench of fresh blood. Behind her, Valerie gasped.


    "N-no¡­"


    Pale peered out from behind Sven, a scowl crossing her face as she did so. There were several dead students here, all apparently having been massacred. She counted seven of them in total.


    "Students from Zaniel," Sven said.


    "You can tell?" she asked.


    He nodded. "Looks like the bandits separated them and brought them here specifically to execute them. I''m not surprised; tensions between Zaniel and the Otrudian Empire have always been high. Some people simply refuse to let the past stay dead and buried."


    This was all too much for Valerie. She finally doubled over, expelling the contents of her stomach onto the ground as tears leaked from her eyes. Pale eyed her with sympathy before turning back towards Sven.


    "Are there any survivors?"


    Sven took one look back at the bodies, then let out a grunt as he shook his head. "None that I can see. They severed everyone''s carotid; let them bleed out like pigs in a slaughterhouse. There are no signs of life here."


    Pale looked past him again, trying to identify the bodies. None of them looked familiar to her; that meant Joel and Nasir, at least, were still alive, and likely being held on one of the lower floors.


    "We''re of no use to any of them, unfortunately," she surmised. "Let''s keep moving down to the base of the mountain. Hopefully the others are still alive."


    "Joel, at least, had better be," Sven said, pushing past her. "Because otherwise, a whole lot of Otrudians are going to die."


    Pale didn''t doubt his declaration in the slightest. She watched as Sven began to move down the stairs once more, pausing only to check on Valerie.


    "Are you okay?"


    Valerie gently shook her head. "No¡­ no, I''m pretty far from okay¡­"


    "I''m sorry."


    "Yeah¡­" Valerie sucked in a breath, then stood up, wiping the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand. "Let''s¡­ let''s just keep moving. I want to get out of here soon¡­"


    Pale didn''t argue. She took point, allowing Valerie to come up behind her, and the two of them began to follow Sven down the mountain once more.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 36

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    Thankfully, there was no resistance there to meet them as Pale and her group continued down from the top of the mountain back to around the midpoint. It wasn''t until they started descending towards the base of the mountain that they again started to encounter more bandits, the first group of which were signified by their voices echoing from down a nearby hall as the three of them finished descending a flight of stairs.


    Hastily, they all ducked into cover, Pale sharing a quick glance and a nod of confirmation with Sven as they both readied their knives. When the two bandits came out from around the corner, they were both ready. Pale''s blade bit deeply into the throat of one bandit, and he fell to the ground, a sickening gurgle escaping from him as he grasped at his eviscerated jugular. She wasn''t done, though ¨C a few more stabs to the chest, and it was over. Pale wiped the blood from her face in time to turn and see Sven finish off his bandit with a stab through the man''s eye and into his brain. As she watched, Sven drew his blade out of the man''s eye socket and wiped it on his shirt, then sheathed it and motioned for them both to follow him.


    "This is taking too long," he surmised. "We need to start moving faster."


    He didn''t wait for either of them to respond, instead continuing on his way. Pale let out a huff of frustration, less out of being forced to pick up the pace and more due to Sven continuously rushing off on his own, but she did as he told them yet again, Valerie coming up behind her as she once more started walking.


    "Hey, um¡­"


    At the sound of Valerie''s voice, Pale shook herself out of her stupor. "Yes?"


    "I just¡­ um¡­ I was wondering¡­ uh¡­"


    "Speak up, Valerie."


    "How are you able to do it so easily?"


    Pale blinked, then turned and looked back at her out of the corner of her eye. "Do what?"


    "You know¡­" Valerie motioned to the knife, still in her hands and still marked with spots of sanguine red.


    Again, Pale blinked in surprise. After a moment, she shook her head. "I was¡­ a soldier, of sorts, before coming here."


    "Of sorts¡­?" Valerie echoed. "What, like a mercenary?"


    "That''s closer to what I did, but not quite completely accurate. All you need to know is¡­ I was specifically raised to fight for a higher purpose than myself. I was trained to kill from almost the very beginning. From the moment I was ''born,'' so to speak, I was under no impressions as to what my life would be like ¨C one of constant battle."


    "Is that why you''re here?" Valerie asked. "But then¡­ why become a scholar instead?"


    "It''s complicated, that''s all I can really say," Pale answered.


    "So then¡­ you enjoy killing? Is that it?"


    Pale shook her head. "No. I kill because it''s either my mission or indirectly related to my mission."


    "And what mission would that be?"


    "To serve those who made me into who I am."


    Valerie pursed her lips. "...That doesn''t make sense to me."


    "Why not?"


    "Because think about it. You''re basically killing to serve the people who trained you how to kill, specifically because they trained you how to kill."


    Pale hesitated. "It''s more complicated than that. They didn''t just train me ¨C they gave me life, and a purpose ¨C a chance to not only experience what it''s like to be alive, but to live for something higher than myself."


    "What, so they''re like your parents?"


    "Technically, yes. I owe them my life; the least I can do in return is serve them however they see fit. If that involves fighting their battles for them, then so be it."You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "That''s sad."


    Pale instantly paused, coming to a stop. Her brow furrowed, and she turned around to face Valerie.


    "What did you say?"


    "I said that''s sad," Valerie repeated. "Because it is. Think about it, Pale ¨C your entire existence is dedicated to fighting someone''s battles for them, and for what? Because they basically gave birth to you?" Valerie shook her head. "A parent''s job is to provide for their children ¨C to keep them out of harm''s way so they can grow up happy and healthy and safe, free to pursue their dreams, whatever those dreams may be. But from the sounds of things, your parents are just using you."


    "Because they have no choice," Pale emphasized. "This is a serious conflict they''re involved with. I need to fight for them. If I don''t, their bloodline will be completely wiped out."


    "You know this for a fact?"


    "I do," Pale confirmed. And it wasn''t a lie ¨C she''d run the simulations through her own systems many times before arriving on this planet. Barring some kind of major technological advancement, humanity would inevitably lose to the Caatex in due time. They''d put up a valiant fight the whole way there, sure, but they could only stem the bleeding for so long before they were wiped out. They''d needed a miracle, and for a short while, she''d been exactly that for them, but not anymore.


    Not until she made it back to them, at least.


    Again, Valerie bit her lip. "...That still doesn''t make it right," she insisted. "I mean, why did it have to be you, of all people? You didn''t deserve to have that burden placed on you."


    "I thought you didn''t like me," Pale said, turning back around and continuing to march after Sven once more, Valerie again following after her. "What brought this on?"


    "I just¡­ seeing the way you kill people¡­ it''s not natural."


    "And the way Sven does it is?"


    "Not what I meant," Valerie argued, her voice soft. "Look, do you want me to just come out and say it?"


    "Say what?"


    "That maybe I was wrong about you."


    "You don''t sound very certain about that."


    "Because I''m not." Valerie let out a frustrated sigh. "It''s complicated¡­ I mean, I know you''re a killer ¨C I''ve watched you end the lives of enough people over the past few hours to be certain of that, to say nothing of how you nearly killed me back during initiation¡­ but at the same time, you''ve taken the steps to try and comfort me throughout all of this. You may be a killer, but that''s not all you are. I don''t know what to think of you, okay? Not exactly, at least. I''m still just trying to figure you out."


    "Why?" Pale couldn''t help but ask.


    "Because I''m curious. Do I really need another reason aside from that?"


    Pale shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess."


    "That''s all you have to say?"


    "Well, what do you want me to say?"


    "That''s not-" Valerie let out a tired sigh. "Forget it¡­"


    Pale''s only response was to nod as they continued on their way.


    XXX


    A few more staircases and bandit pairs later, and Sven suddenly stopped, holding up a hand for Pale and Valerie to fall in behind him. They did as he commanded, Pale keeping one hand on her sheathed blade the entire time.


    "What is it?" she asked.


    "I think we''re getting close," Sven replied in a hushed tone. "The floors are widening out here ¨C we must be near the base of the mountain. If this isn''t the final floor, then I don''t know what is."


    Pale nodded. She was about to say something when a sound suddenly hit her ¨C it sounded vaguely like someone gently crying. Judging by the way Sven and Valerie suddenly stood up straighter, they''d heard it, too. Sven brought a finger up to his mouth, silently shushing them; at the same time, he motioned towards Pale''s shotgun, still dangling from its sling across her front. Pale, at least, understood what he was trying to tell her:


    Keep it quiet for now, but don''t be afraid to go loud anymore.


    With that, Sven started walking again, taking care to move as silently as he could. Pale and Valerie followed him, the three of them chasing after the sound of gentle crying as it echoed through the halls. It hadn''t been very far away to begin with, but it only got even louder as they continued to move through the bottom floor of the mountain.


    Finally, they reached a large opening. The interior of the room was darkened, and impossible to see in, but the crying here was the most intense it''d been since their arrival on this floor. In fact, it sounded like several people were crying at once, though Pale wasn''t able to tell who it was, only that they sounded young.


    Someone, either Sven or Valerie, took a step forward to try and get a better look, only to pause when a new voice rang out through the darkness.


    "They''re bleeding out."


    Instantly, alarm bells began blaring in Pale''s head, and they only intensified when the room suddenly lit up, several torches mounted high up on the walls springing to life, finally showing the three of them the macabre scene that awaited them.


    The remaining students and Professor Marick were all there. Marick was lying in a corner, bound and unconscious, though he didn''t seem to have any injuries about him; rather, it seemed as if something magical had put him into a coma, almost. The students, meanwhile, were all suspended upside-down in mid-air, ropes trailing from the ceiling holding them in place. Their arms were bound behind them, but Pale could see trails of blood falling from each of their wrists; true to what the voice had told them, none of them had much longer before the blood loss got to them.


    Sven began to look around, a heavy scowl crossing over his face when he saw that Joel was one of the students hanging from the ceiling.


    "Show yourself, coward," he demanded.


    "As you wish."


    On the other side of the large room, a figure fell from the ceiling; as Pale watched, she saw an elf rising to his feet. He was dressed entirely in black leather, and had several small knives, a crossbow, a few vials of something, and some more of those ceramic bombs attached to his belt. He smirked as he stood tall and crossed his arms, appraising each of them.


    "Call me Rearden," he said. "Now then, I suppose formal introductions for you all are-"


    Pale didn''t wait for him to finish, instead raising her shotgun and firing off a blast of buckshot in his direction. To her dismay, they impacted against a barrier in front of him. The students screamed as the sound of the gunshot echoed through the room like a clap of thunder, though she paid them no mind. Rearden, for his part, seemed unimpressed.


    "Very well," he said, "I suppose we can get right to the part where I kill you all, then."


    Before any of them could do anything, he pulled one of the ceramic bombs from his belt and threw it on the ground, where it exploded and filled the room with smoke. Pale coughed and sputtered, as did Valerie, and she tensed, waiting for an incoming attack, but none ever came.


    Instead, all she got was Rearden''s voice, taunting them.


    "I give each of those students about five minutes before it''s too late to save them," he said, the glee palpable in his voice. "We''ll see if you can get to me before they start dropping like flies."


    "You two, go after the students," Sven announced. "Leave the knife-ears to me."


    "Sven-" Pale went to call out.


    "Don''t argue," he snapped back. "Do what I''m telling you."


    With that, she heard him run off, no doubt searching for Rearden.


    And just like that, her and Valerie were alone, with only the other to rely on.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 37

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    "Pale," Valerie managed to get out, her voice shaking with terror. "Pale, what do we do?"


    Pale wracked her brain, trying desperately to think of something, but nothing came to her immediately.


    "...My weapon is useless against that barrier unless I get in very close to him," she said. "I imagine any projectiles will be the same way. We''ll have to get in close to take him out."


    "But Sven said-"


    "I know what Sven said," Pale interrupted. "But there''s a reason why Rearden pointed out the students to us. He wants us to try and rush in to save them. I don''t know why, but I know it''s ultimately what he wants."


    "My, you are an astute one," Rearden said from somewhere within the smoke. Pale grimaced when she realized that him speaking to them meant that Sven had run off in the completely wrong direction. "But unfortunately for you, it''s not like you have a choice. After all, I''m not about to come to you, and these students aren''t going to start bleeding out any slower than they already are."


    Pale grit her teeth. She thumbed a switch on her shotgun''s attached weapon light, sending a beam out into the smoke. For just a moment, she was able to see clearly, though unfortunately, they''d all gotten so turned around in all the commotion that she found herself staring at a wall. To make matters worse, her weapon light was only on for a brief instant before a throwing knife came flying at it from deep within the smoke; the knife made impact with the flashlight, instantly shattering it beyond repair. Pale could only stare in dismay as the broken pieces of the light fell from the mount, clattering against the floor.


    "Nice light show," Rearden commented from his unseen position. "A shame it was so easily breakable."


    "Pale¡­" Valerie whimpered.


    "I know," Pale hissed. "Okay¡­ he''s right, I hate to say ¨C he isn''t going to come to us, and those students aren''t going to last much longer if we don''t do something."


    "What do you suggest?"


    "I''m thinking, give me a moment."


    A thought suddenly dawned on her as the words left her mouth. Rearden was clearly keen on playing with his food, so to speak ¨C he wanted them to push in and try to save the students, that much was obvious.


    So what would happen if they simply refused to play his game?


    Instantly, Pale turned towards Valerie, who was still just a few inches behind her, close enough that they could just barely see each other through the smoke. Silently, Pale mouthed something to her.


    Play along.


    Valerie blinked, then nodded slowly. Pale took a breath to steel herself, then made a show out of shaking her head exaggeratedly.


    "Forget this," she loudly announced. "I don''t even know any of those people. I''m not about to risk my life for theirs; I''m only here because Sven dragged me down here."


    "Pale!" Valerie protested, her voice equally as exaggerated.


    Pale rolled her eyes. "Don''t pretend like you care about them, either. We both know what this is going to lead to ¨C we go in after them, and he''ll just kill us. Well, I say there''s no point to it."


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    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, in as little words, screw this," Pale declared. "I''m going to go find Sven, see if he can''t lead us out of here or otherwise do the fighting for us."


    With that, she turned and began to march out of the room, one arm outstretched as she felt for the wall, following it back to the opening they''d come through. Valerie followed after her, the two of them leaving the room completely.


    And sure enough, Rearden took their bait.


    "And where do you think you''re going?" he challenged from somewhere in the room. "I''ll start killing them, one by one."


    "Go ahead," Pale replied without looking back. "Like I said, I''m not friends with any of them, and thanks to you cutting their wrists, they''re already dead anyway. As far as I''m concerned, you''ll just be expediting the process. If your goal was to try and goad us into a fight, then consider it as having failed."


    Pale and Valerie succeeded in exiting the room just as he let out a shout of rage. Balls of fire suddenly exploded in the room; Pale hurriedly grabbed Valerie and pressed her up against the wall just outside the room, then brought a finger up to her lips as she silently drew her knife from its sheath. Valerie stared at her with wide eyes, but didn''t argue even as Pale took up a position next to the door.


    A few seconds passed with nothing but silence coming to greet them. Eventually, though, Pale heard footsteps approaching the doorway from inside the room. She tensed, and as the figure rounded the corner, Pale lunged forwards, leading with the point of her blade. Rearden screamed as the knife made impact with his torso, unimpeded by his barrier. He lashed out with a knife of his own, and Pale grimaced when she felt it bite deeply into her arm.


    The two of them separated, Rearden doubling back as he clutched at his wound, and Pale breathing heavily as she eyed the stab to her arm. With alarm, she noted that there was some kind of green fluid mixed in with her blood; as if on cue, her arm suddenly began to burn, and she sank down to one knee, wincing as she did so.


    "Do you like it?" Rearden breathed. "It''s a toxin I cooked up myself. Soon enough, you''ll be feeling no pain¡­ but before that? Oh, you''d best believe you''ll feel every bit of it."


    Pale shook her head as her vision blurred, waves of agony radiating out from her fresh stab wound and rippling out across her entire arm. Her whole body was trembling as the toxin went to work; already, she could feel it working its way through her bloodstream. At this point, her only hope was getting to her IFAK and hoping the medicine she had with her would be enough to neutralize it.


    Without warning, Rearden suddenly took a step forward, switching his knife to a reverse grip. A wicked-looking grin split his face as he continued to approach her.


    "Oh, I''m going to enjoy this," he said. "Carving you up just before the toxin truly takes hold will be the highlight of my-"


    A large pillar of earth suddenly sprouted up from underfoot, right where he was about to step. Rearden deftly avoided it, stepping back just in time for the pillar of stone to do little more than graze his chin. His eyes widened in surprise, and so did Pale''s when she saw Valerie step forward.


    "Valerie¡­?" Pale managed to breathe out, her head swimming already. "What are you-"


    "I''ll handle this," Valerie declared. "If you''ve got something you can use, now is the time to use it. I''ll keep him busy."


    Slowly, Pale nodded. Rearden, meanwhile, grinned even wider than he had before.


    "Oh, this will be fun," he mused. "Alright, then ¨C bring it, girl. Let''s see what you''re capable of."


    Valerie, for her part, merely stood there, her arms crossed. Rearden went to step towards her again, and the moment he did, several large chunks of stone tore themselves from the walls and hurled themselves towards him. They impacted harmlessly against his barrier, but Valerie was unperturbed; she continued to mix in thrown stones along with those pillars spouting up from the ground underneath him, constantly keeping him on the backfoot and away from Pale. Rearden, meanwhile, continued to open up with throwing knives and fire, but Valerie was quick to encase herself in stone armor, keeping her guarded against his attacks.


    As all of this was unfolding, Pale reached into her IFAK with shaking hands, searching for a syringe. She found one and pulled it out, uncapping it with her teeth before plunging the needle into her arm and depressing the plunger. Instantly, a wave of relief passed over her as the worst of the toxin''s effects began to dissipate. The pain remained, but the worst of it was receding. Pale tossed the used syringe away and rose to her feet, her body still shaking, and her eyes narrowed when she saw Rearden was steadily closing the gap between himself and Valerie.


    As he artfully dodged yet another pillar of stone, Pale decided she''d seen enough. Without warning, she rushed him down once more, her bloody knife still held tightly in her hands. Rearden turned at the last moment, but it was too late ¨C the knife slipped in-between two of his lower ribs, and Pale disengaged before he could realize what was happening and retaliate. Rearden screamed, and it only grew in intensity when Valerie raised another pillar, striking him underneath the chin with it. He fell to his knees, blood leaking from his mouth and a look of sheer discombobulation on his face. Rearden shook his head, no doubt to clear his vision.


    And when he did, the first thing he saw was Pale pushing the barrel of her shotgun flush with his head.


    Pale pulled the trigger, and Rearden''s head exploded in a shower of gore. Blood, bone, and gray matter spattered against the nearby wall as the gunshot echoed through the hallways.


    And just like that, it was over. Pale stood there for a moment, huffing and puffing, doing her best to ignore the small bits of gore that were now clinging to her front. With the fight now concluded, she put her shotgun on safe and let it hang, then retrieved her knife from between Rearden''s ribs and sheathed it.


    Through the ringing in her ears, she was vaguely aware of Valerie calling out to her, though she couldn''t tell what was being said. Instead of trying to parse out what she was saying, Pale stepped back into the room where the students were being held. The smoke had started to clear by now, giving her a clear view of them all. They looked to still be alive, though their struggles had grown weaker; without another moment wasted, Pale stepped over to them and began to cut them down using her knife. ''


    Once the last one was down, she reached back into her first-aid kit, retrieving a roll of bandages which she used to dress the wounds on everyone''s wrists. Her vision again began to blur as she did this, but she did her best to shake it away, knowing that these students still needed her help.


    The moment she''d finished bandaging the last student''s wrists, Pale finally sank to the floor and passed out.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 38

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    "Pale. Pale, wake up."


    Groggily, Pale cracked both eyes open, a low moan escaping from her. She looked around, suddenly surprised to find herself in the back of a wagon. Students surrounded her, all of them eyeing her with concern, though she was quick to focus on two people in particular, those being Professor Marick and Valerie. Joel and Sven were nowhere to be found, which didn''t surprise her; no doubt they''d both gone off on their own.


    Pale sat up, bringing a hand up to rub at her forehead as she did so. All of her gear was still in place, including her shotgun; Virux was probably going to want to confiscate that from her once she made it back to the school. But that was something to worry about later. For now, she needed to get some answers.


    Pale turned towards Valerie. "What happened after I passed out?"


    "Professor Marick woke up not long after," she said. "Him and Sven cared for the students, making sure their wounds were properly treated, as well as making sure that poison was out of your system. I don''t know what you did to cure yourself of it, but whatever it was, it seems to have worked. You aren''t feeling any residual effects, are you?"


    Pale shook her head. "Just a bad headache. Did anything else happen? Where are Sven and Joel?"


    "Sven took one of the bandit wagons for the two of them," Professor Marick informed her. "Frankly, I didn''t care enough to stop him, so long as he sticks close to us."


    Pale nodded in understanding. A few of the surviving students must have been the ones in charge of controlling the wagon, which made sense, given that Professor Marick was clearly still feeling the effects of whatever had been used to knock him unconscious. He was swaying side-to-side unsteadily, and he kept rapidly blinking as if trying to clear his vision. He was certainly in no shape to be at the helm, let alone to help them fight if the bandits sent reinforcements after them.


    That was probably very unlikely, all things considered, but at the same time, it was within the realm of possibility. Perhaps that was why they''d opted to let her keep control of her shotgun for the time being.


    "How far out are we?" Pale asked.


    "Not much longer now," Professor Marick answered. "You''ve been asleep for some time now. It''ll be night by the time we make it back to the school. You can go back to sleep if you''d like, I don''t think anyone would disparage you for it after everything you''ve done."


    Pale simply shook her head. "Respectfully, professor, I''d prefer to stay awake for now, in case the bandits chase after us. None of you look like you''re in any shape to fight them."


    "I don''t think it''s likely of them to send reinforcements after us, but I won''t try to stop you if that''s what you want."


    Pale nodded, then moved over to the rear of the wagon. She turned to look out over the road, keeping her shotgun in her lap the entire time.


    Professor Marick was almost certainly correct, but after what she''d just been through, she wasn''t about to take any chances.


    XXX


    True to Professor Marick''s words, it was nightfall again by the time they all arrived back at the Luminarium. A small crowd was gathered at the gates, made up of men in armor and experienced-looking mages, led by Headmaster Albrecht; as their wagon came into view, everyone turned towards them, and a few men on horseback came riding over. Pale tensed as they approached, only to relax when she saw the surprise etched across their faces.


    "Gods¡­" one of them muttered. "You all actually made it back on your own¡­"


    "Not all of us," Professor Marick lamented, lowering his head. "You can tell the headmaster that I''ll be ready to speak to him once we make it back to the front gates. Frankly, everyone else needs a hot meal and to get some sleep. Believe me, they''ve all been through enough already."


    The soldier nodded. "You''ve got it. I''ll let him know now."


    With that, the men on horseback turned around and rode back to the front gates. Pale saw them speaking with the headmaster, who merely nodded along with their words. It was a small relief to her; Professor Marick had been right when he''d said that they all needed some good food and a bed to rest in more than anything.


    Eventually, they stopped at the front gate, and those of them who''d survived stepped out of the wagon. Pale stood there for all of a few seconds before a familiar voice reached her, even through the mutterings of the crowd.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "Pale!"


    She turned and nearly found herself bowled over by Kayla, who came rushing out from the crowd and leaped at her, throwing her arms around her. Pale paused, only to reciprocate the hug a moment later.


    "It''s okay," she said, feeling Kayla tremble in her grasp. "I''m alright, Kayla."


    Kayla broke the hug enough to glare at her. "It''s not alright!" she said. "What happened? That was supposed to be a simple day trip."


    "Bandits," Pale answered. "Believe me, those of us who made it back are lucky to be alive. But it''s over now; we''re here. I''m still in one piece."


    "And the bandits?"


    "Neutralized."


    The rest of the crowd''s mutterings grew louder as soon as they all realized Pale and her group had been attacked. Eventually, though, the headmaster cleared his throat.


    "Quiet, please," he said. "Now, I understand that this no doubt has you all worried. However, I think it would be best if we brought these students inside and gave them time to adjust. Don''t go bombarding them with questions; I will speak with Professor Marick and make a statement to you all in the morning. We will get to the bottom of what happened and why, count on it. But until then, give the survivors some space."


    Thankfully, the students seemed to agree with his sentiment. They all stepped aside, clearing a path for the survivors to head back into the school. Pale shared a glance with Kayla, then motioned for her to follow.


    "Come on," she said, beginning to walk towards the Luminarium. "I''m tired, hungry, and need a bath. I''d prefer not to spend any more time outside the school''s walls than I have to right now."


    Kayla offered no arguments, and together, the two of them continued on towards the school.


    XXX


    About an hour later, Pale came striding out of their shared bathroom, dressed in her nightclothes with her hair still slightly damp. Her gear had already been set aside; her knife was lying next to her bed, and the shotgun had been propped up against it along with her plate carrier and spare ammo. From her position on the edge of her bed, Kayla watched her come out of the bathroom, eyeing her with anticipation as Pale sat down opposite her.


    "Do you want to talk about it?" Kayla asked.


    Pale shook her head. "Not particularly, but you deserve to know. Frankly, I don''t know the specifics; it was supposed to just be a routine trip, but bandits had set up inside the mountain. They set traps and used them to ambush us; we were caught completely by surprise, there was nothing we could do."


    "How did you manage to get out?"


    "Luck, mainly," Pale replied. "The trap they set blew me off the mountain along with Sven and Valerie. That ended up being what saved us ¨C if we hadn''t been thrown from the mountain, the bandits would have executed us all, the same way they did to most of the others."


    Kayla shuddered at that. "What happened then?"


    "I linked up with Sven and Valerie and we got to work clearing out the bandits."


    "Yeah, that''s what I-" Kayla paused, her eyes widening. "Wait, you fought side-by-side with Sven?"


    "I did," Pale admitted. "Believe me, I''m still just as in shock about it as you are, and I guarantee he feels the same way we do. But it wasn''t like we had a choice ¨C he wouldn''t have been able to safely clear the entire mountain on his own, and Valerie wouldn''t have been much help to him. I think he realized that, which is why he opted to have me assist him rather than just try to kill me when he had the chance."


    Again, Kayla shuddered. "Gods¡­ that''s crazy."


    "I know. But it''s over now, thankfully." Pale laid down on her bed, her hands behind her head as a small sigh escaped her. On the other side of the room, Kayla suddenly fidgeted, much to her confusion.


    "Are you sure you''re okay?" Kayla blurted out.


    "I''m not injured," Pale answered.


    "Not what I meant. Do you feel okay, Pale? I mean¡­ everything you''ve been through¡­ that would take a lot out of most people."


    "I am not most people," Pale pointed out. "You know this already. I''m a machine, Kayla ¨C this is part of what I was designed to do."


    "That doesn''t mean you don''t feel it¡­" Kayla muttered, her ears flattening against her head.


    Pale frowned, but didn''t get a chance to respond before there was a gentle knock at the door. They both paused, staring at each other, before Kayla went to stand up; Pale immediately held out a hand to stop her.


    "I''ll get it," she said. "Sounds like it was Cynthia, anyway. Her and Cal are probably as worried as you are."


    "Not possible¡­" Kayla muttered.


    Pale didn''t respond to her, instead stepping over to the door and throwing it open. To her surprise, it wasn''t anyone she''d actually expected to see. Rather, it was Valerie, standing there and looking uncertain.


    "Hey," she greeted.


    Pale blinked. "Hey."


    Valerie bit her lip. "...Can I come in?"


    Pale hesitated for a moment, but a moment later, she relented and stepped aside. Valerie gave her a grateful nod as she entered the room and Pale shut the door behind her.


    "So, what''s this about, if you don''t mind me asking?" Pale asked.


    Again, Valerie didn''t answer immediately, instead directing her gaze to the floor. "...I''m sorry," she finally said.


    Pale blinked again. "...Sorry for what?"


    "For the things I said earlier. I was wrong about you, okay? I thought you were just a heartless killer, and you scared me¡­ hells, you still kinda do, I have to admit¡­ but you''re not heartless. You put yourself in harm''s way to save those students¡­ and to save me. So I just wanted to stop by and say that I was sorry, and also to thank you."


    "You don''t have to thank me," Pale said, confused. "You were right there alongside me."


    Valerie shook her head. "...You brought me back from the brink, after we found my friend''s body. I wouldn''t have been able to keep going if it wasn''t for you. You may not realize how important that was, but I do. And so that''s why I''m here."


    And then, before Pale could do anything, Valerie suddenly pulled her into a big hug. Pale tensed, looking over Valerie''s shoulder towards Kayla for a sign of what to do. To her dismay, Kayla was just smiling widely; Pale frowned, but eventually decided the only appropriate move was to return the hug.


    And so she did.


    It only lasted for a few seconds, but that seemed to be enough to placate Valerie, who gently wiped at her eyes as the two of them separated. Again, Pale tilted her head out of confusion, but said nothing.


    "...Thanks," Valerie muttered.


    "Don''t mention it," Pale replied. "Was there something else?"


    "Actually, there was. Maybe this is a little presumptuous of me, but¡­ do you think we could hang out? I-I mean, I''ve seen your group, so I just figured-"


    "Yes, of course," Kayla said before Pale could answer. "We''d both love that."


    Valerie breathed a sigh of relief before giving her a nod. "Thanks¡­ Well, I guess I''ll see you both tomorrow morning."


    "Sure," Kayla said, giving her a big smile. "See you then."


    With that, Valerie left the room, closing the door behind her. Pale watched her go before turning back to Kayla, still just as confused as she had been the whole time.


    "What just happened?" she asked.


    "I think you just made another friend, Pale," Kayla pointed out.


    Again, Pale blinked. In the past, that would have been unthinkable for her. And yet somehow, the thought of adding Valerie to her list of trusted associates didn''t feel completely wrong anymore.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 39

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    It was a gentle knock on the door that awoke Pale and Kayla early the next morning. Pale immediately sat up straight in bed, one hand reaching for her knife, while across from her, Kayla let out a wide yawn as she turned over onto her side.


    "What time is it?" she asked groggily. "Trick question¡­ whatever time it is, it''s too early¡­"


    "It''s about eight in the morning," Pale informed her. "And we should be getting up, considering we have class today."


    "Do I have to¡­?"


    "Yes, Kayla."


    Kayla let out a disappointed grumble even as she finally sat up in bed and stretched her arms out, another yawn escaping her as she did so. Pale rolled her eyes at the sight of it, but threw the covers off herself all the same and made her way to the door, one hand keeping her knife held behind her back. Truthfully, she didn''t want anyone ¨C or Sven, rather ¨C to be dumb enough to try and attack the two of them at this point, but she also wouldn''t entirely put it past him, either.


    She was relieved when she threw open the door and found Professor Virux standing there instead.


    "Good morning," he greeted the two of them.


    "Good morning, Professor," Pale replied. "What brings you here?"


    "Two things, as a matter of fact," Virux answered. "First, I understand you have another of those weapons. I''m not going to ask where you got it from, both because I don''t want to anger you and because I suspect I wouldn''t like the answer. Instead, I''m just going to request that you kindly turn it over to me for safekeeping, same as the other two."


    Pale frowned, but didn''t argue, instead giving him a nod. "Very well. Wait here."


    With that, she turned and stepped back into her room, placing her knife on the table and reaching for her shotgun. She worked the action a few times, unloading the shells that had been loaded into it already, then inspected the chamber and magazine tube. After confirming the gun was now empty, she headed for the door again, opening it and offering Virux the weapon stock-first.


    "Here," she said.


    "Thanks," Virux replied, taking possession of the gun. He went to tuck it under his arm, only for Pale to suddenly hold out a hand.


    "Stop," she said, causing him to freeze. "Point the front part skyward and carry it like that."


    "Uh, okay," he awkwardly replied as he re-positioned the gun the way she''d requested. "Is there a particular reason for-"


    "Peace of mind," Pale specified. "It is currently inert and not capable of firing ¨C I just saw to that myself, in fact ¨C but it''s good practice not to go pointing it at anything you don''t intend to destroy, even if it''s inert."


    Virux nodded along with her words. "I''ll keep that in mind."


    "Good." Pale breathed a sigh of relief. "What was the second thing you came here for?"


    "The headmaster wanted me to inform you that he''s granting you and the other survivors the next few days off class," Virux said to her.


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "I appreciate the gesture, but I don''t need-"


    "He was adamant that you accept," Virux specified. "Pale, you''ve been through a lot these past few days. All of you have. This is for your own good."The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Hm. I take it this isn''t a request, then?"


    "No. In fact, if I catch you or any of the others in my class over the next few days, I will recommend disciplinary action be taken, as will the other teachers." Virux''s gaze softened. "I understand that you''re trying to move forward, but everyone has a breaking point, even if it takes a while to reach for some people. Consider this the school intervening before it gets that bad."


    "Again, I appreciate the gesture, but if I fall behind because of this-"


    "You won''t. If you or the other survivors need additional help as a result of skipping classes, we are happy to accommodate you. The important thing now is that you all get some rest and relax. Do you understand?"


    Pale let out a tired sigh, but nodded nonetheless. "I understand. I''ll take the rest of the week off."


    "Good." Virux breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that''s all I came here for, really. If you''ll excuse me, I have to go prepare for the other students." He peered past Pale into her room. "Kayla, I take it you''ll be there?"


    Kayla didn''t respond. Pale turned around and found that she''d fallen asleep again, her legs stretched off her bed and touching the floor. Pale gave her an un-amused look before turning back to Professor Virux.


    "She''ll be there," she promised. "I''ll make sure of it."


    "I know you will," Virux told her. "I must be going, then. I hope you''ll take my words to heart and give yourself time to relax, Pale. Gods know you all need it after the nightmare you just went through."


    "I will. Thanks, Professor."


    Virux merely gave her a nod, then turned and began to walk down the hall, no doubt heading for his own classroom. Pale didn''t bother to watch him go, instead shutting the door behind her as she marched over to Kayla''s bed, took hold of the sheets, and pulled as hard as she could. Kayla fell to the ground a few inches below, where she woke with a yelp.


    "Hey!" She fixed Pale with a harsh glare. "That was a good dream, Pale!"


    "Another hour or so and it would have turned into a nightmare when you accidentally skipped class," Pale informed her.


    Kayla gave her a low grumble as she picked herself up off the floor. "What did Virux want, anyway? I remember he stopped by just before I passed out again."


    "He came to collect my weapon and force me to take the rest of the week off school." Pale let out a tired sigh. "I tried to tell him I didn''t need it, but he wouldn''t take no for an answer. So I guess now I have nothing to do during the day for the rest of the week."


    "Well, he''s not wrong," Kayla pointed out. "Taking it easy for the next few days is probably warranted after what happened."


    "You and I both know I''ve been through way worse than that."


    "I know, but still, it''s worth heeding his advice. When was the last time you really sat down and tried to relax, anyway? Actually, don''t answer that ¨C I know the answer is never." Pale gave her a pointed look, and Kayla rolled her eyes. "Come on, you know I''m right."


    "...Okay, maybe so," Pale reluctantly conceded after a moment''s pause. "But that leaves me at a loss for things to do in the absence of school. Especially since you won''t be around during that time."


    "There''s plenty to do around here," Kayla pointed out. "You could read through some of the books in the library, or work out, or go out on the town¡­" A thought occurred to her, and her face lit up. "Wait, wouldn''t Valerie have the rest of the week off, too? You and her could do something together. You know, as friends."


    Again, Pale hesitated. "...Perhaps."


    "See? You don''t hate the idea."


    "How do you know?"


    "Because six months ago you would have dismissed it outright, but instead, you just implied you''d be open to it." Kayla flashed her a smile. "You''re making progress. Not sure towards what, exactly, but hey, progress is progress."


    "I suppose," Pale offered. "You should probably get in the bath and grab some breakfast, Kayla. You don''t have much time before class."


    "Shoot, you''re right. Okay, fine, you''ve weaseled your way out of this one. But just know that I''m proud of you for being less of a grump than usual."


    "A grump¡­?" Pale echoed, though she didn''t get a chance to get Kayla to elaborate before her friend stepped into the attached bathroom and shut the door behind her. Pale exhaled through her nose, then laid back down on her bed, placing her hands behind her head as she did so.


    A lot had happened over the past few days, and she was still trying to make sense of it all, but at the very least, Valerie wasn''t going to be her enemy anymore. That was a small victory, she supposed.


    Of course, it also meant that she was going to have to actually socialize with her, which despite not being completely unappealing, was still not something she was necessarily looking forward to. But if that was the price to pay for having a new confidant, then so be it.


    "What are you doing?" Pale asked herself under her breath. "You know this is just going to make leaving even harder. So why keep doing it?"


    Somehow, she couldn''t come up with an answer either way.


    XXX


    The rest of their morning played out the way it normally would ¨C Kayla finished up in the shower not long after, and together, her and Pale met Cal and Cynthia in the mess hall for a quick breakfast before the three of them left for class. Pale, meanwhile, stepped out of the cafeteria, and was immediately struck by a feeling of unease.


    It didn''t take her long to realize what it was.


    "Huh. So that''s what boredom feels like."


    She''d never been familiar with the feeling before now. There''d always been a mission or a training exercise to run through during her time serving the military, and even when she was spending several decades floating through space, she''d been able to put herself into hibernation. Then she''d arrived planetside, and her mission had continued.


    She wasn''t used to having this much downtime, and for the first time in her life, Pale didn''t know what to think or do.


    Kayla had given her some suggestions to help fill the gaps, but somehow, none of them felt right to her. For some reason, the last thing she wanted was to be alone right now, even if she couldn''t place the exact reason why at first. Eventually, it dawned on her ¨C she''d grown used to having Kayla there with her almost all the time, and now that she was doing her own thing, and without a mission to fill the newfound void, Pale suddenly felt very empty.


    That meant there was only one thing to do.


    Pale turned and began to walk down the hall, intent on getting to her destination as fast as she could. With any luck, Valerie would already be awake, and she wouldn''t have to worry about interrupting her sleep.


    She didn''t know much about her so-called new friend, but in the absence of anything else to do, perhaps it was time she changed that.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 40

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    A few minutes later, and Pale found herself standing outside the door to Valerie''s room. She had one hand raised to knock, but couldn''t bring herself to actually do it, for some reason. She wasn''t sure why; her and Valerie were apparently friends now, the same way she already was with Kayla and Evie, but, and yet for some reason, Pale found herself completely paralyzed by indecision.


    Of course, Valerie ended up making the choice for her when the door abruptly opened, and she nearly walked right into Pale. Valerie caught herself, and the two girls stood there, staring at each other for a moment before Pale slowly lowered her hand. At the sight of it, Valerie cleared her throat.


    "Hey," she said.


    "Hey," Pale replied.


    And just like that, silence settled over the two of them once again. Valerie shifted, clearly uncomfortable with how the conversation had started, and she eventually let out a small sigh.


    "So," she began, "not that I''m unhappy to see you, but¡­ what brings you here?"


    Pale hesitated. "I just¡­ do you want to do something?"


    Valerie blinked. "Like what?"


    "I don''t know. What do people usually do together, aside from study and eat at the same table?"


    Valerie bit her lip. "Well, we could always try going out on the town¡­ I mean, I don''t think either of us has had the chance to really explore outside the Luminarium''s walls just yet, and in the absence of anything else to do¡­"


    She trailed off, but that was all Pale needed. Slowly, she nodded. "Very well. When did you want to leave?"


    "Um¡­ can you give me a moment? I need to get something."


    Pale nodded again. "Sure."


    Valerie gave her a grateful look, then stepped back into her room, leaving Pale standing in the threshold.


    "You can come in if you''d like," Valerie offered without looking back as she moved towards a large trunk at the foot of her bed.


    Pale accepted her invitation, stepping into the room and looking around. It looked remarkably similar to her and Kayla''s room, as expected, though there were a few more decorations and personal effects scattered about, giving it a slightly more lived-in feel. The one oddity was the nearly perfectly-maintained bed opposite of Valerie''s, which looked to have been freshly made that morning, whereas Valerie''s own bed was still a complete mess, with sheets and pillows strewn across it.


    It didn''t take much for Pale to realize what was going on.


    "I''m sorry," Pale offered.


    Valerie paused, but didn''t look back, instead keeping her attention focused on the trunk she''d been digging through. "About what?"


    "Your friend. I''m sorry she didn''t make it."


    Valerie stayed frozen in place for a moment before shaking her head. "Yeah¡­ my friend¡­ thanks for the condolences, Pale. It actually means a lot. I just¡­ wish we could''ve gotten her body out of there, at least."


    "I know. But we didn''t have a choice, as painful as it may be to admit that."


    Valerie sucked in a breath. "...You''re right," she admitted. "I''ll keep that in mind."


    At that moment, she apparently found what she''d been looking for, as she turned around to face Pale, a sheathed knife held in her hands. Pale blinked in surprise at the sight of it, but relaxed when Valerie merely clipped it onto her belt, then threw her purple cloak on over it.


    "You feel the need to take a weapon with you?" Pale couldn''t help but ask.


    "I do now," Valerie said with a grimace. "I get that it probably wouldn''t do me much good, but¡­ well¡­ I''d rather have something on me at this point, just in case."


    "No, I think that''s a smart move," Pale said, causing Valerie to give her a look of confusion. "Too many mages rely solely on their magic," she specified. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Having a martial weapon as a tool of last resort just in case you run out of mana or otherwise can''t cast magic is a good thing, in my eyes. I mean, I''ve started forcing Kayla to carry a blade with her as well for that exact reason."


    "About that¡­" Valerie ventured. "What did you say you and Kayla did before you came here?"


    "It''s a long story," Pale answered as Valerie stepped over to her, and the two began walking together.


    "We''ve got nothing but time," Valerie said. "And I''m all ears¡­ not to mention curious as well."


    "I''ll tell you what," Pale said to her as they both began walking through the school''s halls. "I''ll trade you ¨C a story for a story."


    Valerie bit her lip. "...I don''t really have anything interesting-"


    "You''d be surprised at what I find to be interesting."


    "Hm. Well, with an offer like that, how can I refuse?"


    "Then I''ll start first," Pale said, as they both turned a corner.


    "It all started when I stumbled upon a burning village¡­"


    XXX


    The walk to the village was just barely long enough that Pale could fill Valerie in on the abridged version of her and Kayla''s travels together. She''d been careful to leave out a few key points, namely about her coming from a different solar system entirely, but for the most part, it was an accurate, albeit short, retelling of what they''d been up to over the first few weeks of Pale''s arrival on this planet.


    "...And so that was when we parted ways with Evie temporarily," Pale finished. "From there, Kayla and I decided that it would be best to head for the Luminarium, given we had nowhere else to go and wanted some form of stability in our lives, at least temporarily."


    Valerie was silent for the time being, a look of fear etched across her face. Pale blinked at the sight of it, then tilted her head, confused. "Valerie? Are you okay?"


    "Y-yes," Valerie said, snapping out of whatever trance she''d found herself in. "Sorry¡­ that stuff with the vampire, and the undead¡­ that actually happened the way you said?"


    Pale nodded. "It did. If anything, that''s the only point in time where I truly thought I was going to die. Why do you ask?"


    "Because that''s terrifying!" Valerie exclaimed. "I mean¡­ I thought the undead as a whole had been wiped out hundreds of years ago. But to learn that there may still be some out there, just lurking and waiting for their chance to strike¡­" She shuddered. "...Yes, I''d rather not think about that¡­"


    "If it''s any consolation, the vampire we killed was very specifically an elder vampire," Pale explained. "A standard fledgling or even full-fledged vampire probably would not have been able to cause nearly that much destruction. And in any case, we now know how to kill them if the situation ever arises."


    "Still, that''s not exactly reassuring to hear¡­" Valerie muttered. After a moment, she shook her head. "Anyway, was that your entire story?"


    "More or less," Pale said. "Did you want to begin with yours?"


    "Yeah, let''s just find a place to sit down first."


    Pale nodded. Currently, the two of them were pushing their way through a large crowd of people in what appeared to be a bazaar of some kind. All around them, merchants peddled their various wares, their shouts blurring together into one giant cacophony of noise that drowned out nearly everything else. At this point, the only reason Pale and Valerie were able to understand each other at all was because they were walking so closely together.


    Eventually, however, they managed to get out of the bazaar and found themselves in a plaza of some kind. It was a nice enough reprieve, Pale figured; the cries of the merchants were still audible in the background, but they were no longer deafening like they had been. The plaza itself looked nice, too ¨C it was set up in a circular pattern, with a ring of stone benches surrounding a small garden filled with multicolored flowers. All around them, tall buildings loomed, casting the area nearby in shadow, with only the occasional ray of sunlight through the clouds above serving to cut through the shade.


    Valerie took a seat close to the garden, and Pale sat down next to her. Valerie took a breath, then turned to her.


    "I guess I should start with my full name," she said. "My last name is Tempest. Does that mean anything to you?"


    Pale shook her head. "Sorry."


    "No, it''s fine. Honestly, I figured it wouldn''t, what with you being from a far-away land and what not. Anyway, my father is a high-up noble in a kingdom to the west. He''s not quite a duke, but he''s pretty far up there, enough that his name gets recognized by basically everyone in the kingdom."


    "He sounds important," Pale offered.


    Valerie scoffed. "He certainly likes to think so."


    "You don''t like him?"


    "I don''t. In fact, he''s the reason I''m here."


    "He is?"


    Valerie nodded. "He wanted to get rid of me and gave me the option of either joining the military or trying out for the Luminarium. The last thing I wanted to do was be a grunt, so I decided to come here. I don''t regret it entirely, despite all the shit I''ve been through since arriving here, but¡­ yeah. I do wish he hadn''t forced it on me."


    "Why would he force that decision on you?" Pale couldn''t help but ask.


    "Because there are aspects about me he doesn''t like," Valerie explained. "I''m different compared to most other women."


    "How so? Because you''re very outspoken?"


    Valerie gave a small snort of amusement. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, it doesn''t really matter ¨C the point is, he doesn''t like me, and the feeling is mutual. So now I''m here, trying to make the most of it."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "That isn''t right."


    "Yeah, well, it is what it is." Valerie stretched her arms out, groaning as she did so, then interlocked her fingers behind her head as she sat back on the bench and stared up at the clouds. "The old man wanted to get rid of me, at least temporarily, and I''ll be damned if he didn''t succeed at it so far. But the joke''s on him, because one day I''m going to come back home, and with the things I''ve learned from the Luminarium? I''ll be able to usurp him."


    "You want to take over his position?" Pale asked, surprised.


    "Yeah, I do."


    "Why?"


    "Because fuck him, that''s why," Valerie declared. "All he''s ever cared about is the stupid title next to his name. Even my mother was just a means to an end for him ¨C he needed to produce an heir, so he found someone of good breeding stock and married her. Unfortunately for him, he had me first, so they had to go one more time in order to get my younger brother."


    "I didn''t know you had a younger brother," Pale said, tilting her head. "Do you two get along?"


    "More or less," Valerie admitted. "My father wants him to follow in his footsteps, which makes interacting with him hard at times, but we still care about each other, and he doesn''t treat me the same way my father does. Hells, on the day I left home to start the journey here¡­ well, I''ll say he put on a brave face in public, but in private? Bawling like a baby." She cracked a small grin at the memory. "Yeah¡­ he can be a little difficult at times, but I love him. I kind of have to, since I''m the big sister and all."


    "And your mother?" Pale asked. "What about her?"


    "Ah¡­ well, she''s not as bad as my father," Valerie offered. "But she doesn''t exactly do anything to rein in his worst tendencies, either. Honestly, I don''t think that''s due to lack of trying on her part, I think it''s more because there just isn''t any leverage over the man that she can actually use, so she''s basically stuck."


    "Really?" Pale asked, genuinely curious. "No leverage at all?"


    Valerie shook her head. "I meant it when I said that he only cares about the title next to his name. The rest of the world could burn and he''d be perfectly content as long as he was still considered a member of the king''s court at the end of it all."


    Valerie unlocked her fingers from behind her head, then searched around the sky for the sun, trying to gauge what time it was, something which didn''t go unnoticed by Pale.


    "It''s just after twelve," she said.


    "Really?" Valerie asked, surprised. "Huh. You''re really good at that¡­" She shook her head. "Anyway, we''ve still got a few hours left before we have to head back. You want to look around for a place to get food?"


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "I don''t exactly have money to spare-"


    "Don''t worry about it, this is my treat. Consider it thanks for saving me from the bandits."


    "That''s not necessary-"


    "Pale," Valerie interrupted. "I insist."


    Pale blinked in surprise, but eventually gave in with a nod. "Okay. Lead the way, then."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 41

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    Lunch between the two of them was mostly quiet and subdued. They exchanged some small talk between each other, but for the most part, they were both content simply to eat in peace. At the end of it, Valerie paid for the both of them, and they both left, intending to wander around town some more. As they walked, however, a thought suddenly occurred to Pale, and her eyes widened.


    "Hey," she said, getting Valerie''s attention.


    "Hm?" Valerie asked. "What is it?"


    "I just realized¡­ I never asked about your wounds."


    Valerie blinked, confused. "My wounds?"


    "Yes. From initiation."


    At that, Valerie''s eyes widened. "Oh¡­ yeah, uh, they''re all fine. Just like you told me, they healed up almost perfectly within the hour, with just a few traces of scar tissue left behind." Her brow suddenly furrowed. "It did really hurt, though."


    Pale hesitated for a moment. "...Sorry," she offered. "I¡­ probably should have said that sooner."


    "No, it''s okay," Valerie insisted. "Believe me, after everything with the bandits, you''ve more than earned my forgiveness. I mean, if it weren''t for you, I would have died back there. So would everyone else. We all owe you our lives, Pale."


    "Still, that doesn''t justify what I did to you." Pale let out a tired sigh. "...I really am sorry, Valerie."


    "I understand," Valerie said. She suddenly reached out and put a hand on Pale''s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "But I''m okay now. Alright? No need to dwell on it like you are. I''m over it at this point, and you should be, too."


    Valerie flashed her a reassuring grin before letting her hand fall off Pale''s shoulder. Once they''d separated, she motioned with her head for Pale to follow after her.


    "Come on," she said, "I saw a place selling books just down the street I''d like to check out."


    With that, she turned and began to walk down the nearby street. Pale watched her go for a moment before following after her.


    The entire time, it felt like a weight had somehow been lifted off her shoulders.


    XXX


    A few hours later, and they both stepped through the front gates to the Luminarium together. Neither one had brought anything back with them, but that didn''t matter ¨C for the first time, Pale had actually had an enjoyable time out on the town with someone. There hadn''t been any danger, nobody had tried to attack or kill them¡­ it had been nice, she had to admit.


    "Valerie," Pale said as they both walked through the halls together. "Thanks for taking me out."


    "Of course," Valerie told her. "Any time, you know. I''ve found that staring at the same walls gets pretty stifling sometimes, so it''d probably be good to go out on the town together more often. That is, if you''d like."


    "Sure," Pale said with a nod. "And I can see if Kayla wants to come along, too."


    For some reason, Valerie hesitated at that. It didn''t last very long, but it was just enough to be noticeable. Pale turned to her just as a thin smile crossed her face.


    "That''d be good," Valerie said. "The more the merrier, right?"


    Pale blinked. "...Is everything-"


    "Say, why don''t we go meet your friend?" Valerie asked. "I mean, she''s the one who insisted we do this. Might as well try getting to know her better, too."


    Again, Pale blinked. Eventually, though, she nodded. "My thoughts exactly."


    A few minutes later, the two of them were at Pale''s dorm room. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, and was not surprised to see Kayla sitting on her bed, hunched over her books.


    "Hey, Pale," Kayla said without looking up from her study materials. She motioned over to Pale''s side of the room. "I brought you your assignments for today."


    "Thanks," Pale told her. "By the way, Valerie is here."


    That got Kayla''s attention. She looked up, a surprised look crossing her face when she saw Valerie standing in the threshold. "Oh, hello," she greeted.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Hello," Valerie said in return, giving her a small wave. "May I come in?"


    "Yes, of course. Make yourself at home."


    Valerie nodded, then stepped inside just behind Pale. Both girls took a seat on Pale''s bed, with Pale unstrapping the knife from her belt and placing it on a nearby bedside table. Once that was done, she stretched her arms out, feeling her joints pop as she did so, a small sigh escaping from her throat as she settled down.


    "How was class today, Kayla?" Pale asked.


    "Slow, to be honest," Kayla said, still not looking up from her books. "We''re still working on the same old stuff for now. Makes sense, since it hasn''t been that long; I figure we''ll be on the introductory side of things until midterms."


    "Midterms?"


    Next to her, Valerie nodded. "Yeah. We have a series of big tests around the middle of the year. Fail them and they''ll put you on academic probation. If you still aren''t up to par after a few weeks of that, they''ll kick you out."


    Pale couldn''t help but frown. "And I take it that being able to actually cast magic is part of the requirement for passing?"


    "Probably," Kayla said, finally looking up from her book for the first time. "But given your circumstances, I''m sure they''ll give you an exemption, at least for now. But sooner rather than later, we''ll have to figure something out."


    "That''s going to be easier said than done," Pale said with a grunt as she crossed her arms. "Since I don''t have a sjel."


    "What are you talking about?" Valerie interjected, concern creeping into her voice. "Every living thing has a sjel. Just because yours isn''t unlocked yet, that doesn''t mean you don''t have one and won''t be able to cast magic ever."


    "It''s complicated," Pale replied.


    "Well, no offense, but it can''t be that complicated. Like I said, everyone has one-"


    "I have reason to believe that I do not," Pale insisted, cutting her off. She gave a tired sigh. "Look¡­ I''m currently working with Professor Tomas to see if there''s some way I can cast magic. I appreciate your concern, both of you, but for the time being, it''s out of our control."


    Valerie stared at her in shock for a moment. "But¡­ if you can''t cast magic, and you get kicked out for it¡­ what will you do?"


    "I don''t know," Pale said to her. "Hopefully, I''ll have what I came for by then."


    "And what would that be?"


    "Dragonsteel, and a lot of it."


    "Dragon-" Valerie suddenly paused, her eyes going wide. "...That''s why you''re here? You''re trying to get a bunch of Dragonsteel?"


    "Yes. Why? Do you know where I can get some?"


    Valerie shook her head. "No, just¡­ I''m surprised. I thought you were here because you had nowhere else to go."


    "It''s a mixture of both," Pale confessed. "I truly don''t have anywhere else to go, and I also truly need a lot of Dragonsteel. Don''t ask why; I assure, it''s not for anything dangerous. I need it for a different project of mine."


    Valerie stared at her again. "...No offense, but was that meant to be reassuring?"


    "On a certain level, yes. I take it that you aren''t reassured in the slightest?"


    "Uh, no."


    Pale stared at her for a moment, then turned back towards Kayla. "Well, aside from those two reasons, I also didn''t want to part ways with Kayla, for personal reasons."


    "You can just say I''m your friend, Pale," Kayla told her. She paused for a moment, a hand going to her chin as she thought of something, her tail lashing behind her. "...Actually, I''m technically your sister, now that I think about it."


    "Whoa, what?" Valerie asked.


    "Long story," Pale said with a grunt. "We have another friend of ours ¨C a traveling merchant elf named Evie. We saved her from a pack of northern berserkers, and she ended up basically adopting us both into her family."


    "So technically, she''s also our sister," Kayla finished.


    Valerie didn''t seem to know what to say. After a moment, she cleared her throat. "...Well, you two have had some interesting travels. Pale told me about a lot of them, but apparently she left out some of the gems."


    "Oh?" Kayla asked. "What else did she tell you?"


    "Well¡­ I guess the standout was the elder vampire. But past that, I guess the part where you traveled across the sea was also very interesting¡­ though obviously, I wish it had been under better circumstances. You have my condolences, Kayla."


    Kayla''s expression softened. "Thanks," she said quietly. "Honestly, I''m¡­ still not quite over it. Not yet, at least. But I''ve made my peace with it as best as I can. And besides, my father would have wanted me to carry on, with or without him here."


    "That''s a good mindset to have," Valerie replied, equally as quietly. "I''ll have to emulate that myself¡­" She shook her head. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you both something."


    "Sure, what is it?" Pale asked.


    "Have you had a chance to really poke around the school yet? Because there''s a lot of interesting stuff here that they haven''t really told us about. Did you know there''s a sauna off in one of the corners of the school?"


    "A sauna?" Kayla asked.


    Valerie nodded. "Yeah, I guess one of the former graduates of the school a while back was from the far north. He contributed a bunch of money to the school and requested they use it to build a sauna. Anyway, that was just an example; the whole school is full of little rooms and buildings like that. We should definitely poke around once we get the chance to explore a little bit."


    "Sounds like it''d be fun," Kayla replied. "What about you, Pale?"


    "Sure," Pale answered. She turned back to Valerie. "Anyway, I don''t mean to kick you out, but we should both probably get started on our schoolwork."


    "Of course," Valerie replied as she stood up. "Though, I have to ask¡­ do you want to start getting breakfast together? I could use someone to talk to early in the mornings."


    "Yes," Pale answered without hesitation. "Kayla?"


    To her surprise, Kayla hesitated. After a moment, she let out a soft exhale. "...Sorry, but I''m still eating with Cal and Cynthia," she explained.


    Valerie shrugged. "Alright," she said. "That''s no problem. Pale, I''ll see you in the morning."


    "Sure," Pale told her as they both stood up and went for the door. "Have a good night, Valerie."


    Valerie gave her a small wave goodbye, and Pale gently closed the door behind her. Once it was shut, she turned towards Kayla.


    "What was that about?" she couldn''t help but ask.


    "What was what about?" Kayla replied.


    "Don''t act like you don''t know. Kayla, I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you, and something is currently definitely bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"


    Kayla hesitated for a moment. "...It''s nothing. In fact, you''ll probably think it''s stupid."


    "Try me."


    "Okay, fine. The fact is¡­ she''s an Earth Mage, and I''m a Fire Mage."


    Pale stared at her, unsure of what to think. "Okay," she finally said. "And this is significant because¡­?"


    Kayla let out a small sigh. "I told you, it''s stupid¡­ basically, there''s a long-held superstition that mages of opposite elements tend to not get along. We may not necessarily be unfriendly towards each other, but we''re more¡­ acquaintances than anything."


    Pale blinked. "...That''s it?"


    "It''s hard to explain," Kayla offered. "I know I said it''s a superstition, but at the same time, something about her just¡­ repels me, somehow. And I know she feels the same about me, even if she doesn''t directly show it."


    "How major is this?"


    "Not very. We don''t hate each other or anything, it''s more like¡­ a small feeling of unease between the two of us. I have no issues with you two being friends, in fact I want nothing more, but at the same time-"


    "You''d rather stay separate from her for now."


    Kayla nodded. "Yeah. At least until that uneasy feeling goes away. Luckily, I have Cal and Cynthia."


    Pale hesitated. "...Still, this is a bit concerning to me, Kayla. Are you sure this is-"


    "Pale," Kayla said, interrupting her. "This is fine. You need friends of your own ¨C actually, we both do. You can''t go through life relying on just me and Evie all the time. Okay?"


    Pale said nothing. Kayla pursed her lips, then turned her attention back to her schoolwork.


    "Ask me, I think you should hang out with her for a while," Kayla said. "I''ll never stop being your friend, but you need to branch out more. Who knows, maybe Valerie will be able to help you in your quest."


    Pale remained silent, instead sitting down on her bed once more. Her mind was racing, and in an attempt to quiet it, she reached for a nearby book; unfortunately, it didn''t help. After a moment, she let out a tired sigh.


    "...I''ll do this stuff tomorrow," she said. "For now, I just want to get some rest."


    "Okay," Kayla said with a nod. "I''ll be quiet. Goodnight, Pale."


    Pale nodded, then carefully cleared the books and study materials off her bed before climbing under the covers and closing her eyes.


    Sleep came quickly for her, and thankfully, it was dreamless again.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 42

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    "Give it one more try. See what happens then."


    Pale had to resist the urge to let out an irritated huff, even as she shook her head in dismay. "Professor, seriously. I appreciate you trying to help me figure this out, but I really do think we''re going to keep coming up empty."


    Across from her, Professor Tomas'' brow furrowed. Currently, it was after the usual school hours; he''d told Kayla to let Pale know he wanted to see her after classes for the day were done. It hadn''t taken much thought for Pale to realize what he wanted ¨C he was intent on trying to unlock her sjel once more, for all the good that would do.


    Technically, she was still exempt from classes for another few days, but this was more extracurricular than anything. Especially because nothing had come of the few meetings they''d already had together. Really, at this point, Pale saw these sessions as little more than roundabout ways to burn an hour or two.


    "I simply don''t understand," Professor Tomas said after a moment of thought. "Everyone has a sjel. It makes no sense that you cannot seem to unlock yours."


    "It makes perfect sense to me," Pale emphasized. "For one, I''m not of this world, Professor. Perhaps one of the requirements for unlocking someone''s sjel is being born here, or otherwise being exposed to the atmosphere for a certain amount of time, or something along those lines. Even if that isn''t the case¡­ I am artificial, as you know. I''m not a real person."


    "You are as real as the other students in my class," Tomas retorted. "And I will hear no words to the contrary."


    This time, Pale did let out an irritated huff. "Kayla says the exact same things¡­"


    "And she''s correct to do so. Why would you even insist that you aren''t a person, anyway? That''s a terrible thing to say about yourself."


    "Yeah, well, it''s also true," Pale told him. "I was designed to be a weapon, first and foremost. My creators needed something that could turn the tide of the war they were losing, and that ended up being me."


    "And that''s enough of a reason for you to continue on as an unthinking, unfeeling machine?" Professor Tomas questioned. He crossed his arms, then shook his head. "If all they wanted was a weapon, then they should have made you incapable of thinking for yourself. But they didn''t. That never struck you as odd?"


    Pale paused for a moment, considering his words. "...I needed to be able to make decisions for myself," she insisted.


    "But at the same time, creating a living creature capable of thinking for itself had to be orders of magnitude more complex than making one that could simply follow orders," Tomas said. "Or am I wrong?"


    "No," Pale replied.


    "So if all it came down to was creating effective weapons, then why not simply create several people like you, but who were only capable of following orders?" Tomas asked. "After all, a weapon like that doesn''t need to think for itself, it simply needs to be pointed at the enemy and commanded to do what it does best. But they deliberately didn''t do that. Have you ever wondered why?"


    "No," Pale answered.


    "Call me crazy, but I think it''s because they didn''t want a machine that was purely unthinking and unfeeling," Professor Tomas insisted. "If that''s what they wanted, then that''s what they would have created in the first place. But instead, they created you."


    Pale fell silent at that, his words turning around in her head. She wanted to disagree with him, but the more she thought about what he was saying, the more sense it made. She didn''t know what, exactly, her creators had in mind when they''d made her, but Tomas was correct in saying that if all they wanted was a machine capable of cold rationality and inflicting the most damage possible, then that was what they would have created. But instead, they deliberately made her capable of rational thought. Sure, they''d tried to dissuade her from feeling her emotions, but perhaps that had been short-sighted of them. She''d been created from the mapping of a human brain, after all, and humans were nothing if not emotional creatures.


    Was this all inevitable, then? Had they simply thought she''d have been destroyed before her mind could progress to this point? Or perhaps, on some level, her creators had always imagined this would happen, and had simply tried to delay it for as long as they could? She didn''t know.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    At this point, the one thing she was sure of was that Tomas was making sense. And if that was the case, then perhaps he was right.


    Maybe there was something inside her, lurking beneath the surface, dormant and simply waiting to be awakened.


    Pale blinked, which was enough to snap her out of her thoughts. She turned towards Professor Tomas, newfound curiosity bubbling up to the forefront of her mind.


    "...Perhaps we''re going about this the wrong way," she realized.


    "Oh?" Tomas asked. "Do tell."


    Pale bit her lip, uncertain. "...I''ve mentioned to you before that this body is not my true form, it is merely an avatar for my actual body, which is currently floating in the planet''s orbit, several thousand miles up above the surface. So¡­ what if, the issue is that my true form is too far away? After all, if this body is simply a vessel¡­"


    She trailed off, but Tomas seemed to understand what she was saying. His eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded, even as he ran a hand through his beard in thought.


    "...It''s worth a try," he acknowledged. "Okay. Is it possible for you to move yourself closer to the planet?"


    Pale ran a quick diagnostic scan of systems to confirm. Her engines were still heavily damaged, but from what she could see, they could survive a quick burn, so long as she didn''t push them too hard. She pushed her HUD away, then looked back to Professor Tomas and gave him a nod.


    "...I believe I can," she offered.


    "Okay. Go ahead and do that. Let me know when you''re ready."


    Pale nodded, then sucked in a breath. With a quick thought, she commanded her true body to push energy to the engines. She felt the ship begin to move under its own power for the first time in ages, the quick burn pushing it closer and closer to the planet. It took a few minutes, but eventually, something in her mind seemed to almost click into place. Her eyes flew open when she felt it, a small gasp escaping from her.


    "What is it?" Tomas asked, instantly rushing to her side. "Is something wrong?"


    "No," Pale insisted. "Just¡­ something has changed. I don''t know what it is, but I can feel it. I feel¡­ honestly, it''s hard to describe. Energized, maybe? Motivated? Something along those lines¡­"


    "Good," Tomas said with a nod. "That''s good. Do you want to try this again?"


    Pale nodded. Tomas took a step back, and as he did so, Pale sank back into her seat, a deep exhale escaping from her in the process. She closed her eyes, then did her best to focus as Tomas spoke to her.


    "Look within yourself," he urged. "Deep within your mind, beyond any kind of higher thought. You''re searching for something primal ¨C that innate drive that all people have; that spark that makes us who we are."


    Pale did as he said, her face scrunching up as she tried to follow along with him. In the past, she''d thought this whole exercise to be a complete waste of time, but not anymore.


    Now, she could actually feel something. It wasn''t much, but it was more than she''d ever had before now. Her eyes almost flew open in shock when a picture entered into her mind ¨C it was of a small light, just barely bright enough to cast light on the darkness a few meters around it. The light seemed to almost pulsate in the darkness; at first, she wasn''t sure what to do with it, but then a thought entered into her mind.


    Something told her to reach out and take it.


    And so she did. Pale pictured herself reaching for the light, her hands tentatively curling around it. It was warm, as expected, but somehow incorporeal at the same time. She was holding something, and at the same time, she wasn''t ¨C she could sense its presence, weightless and free of mass in her hands as it was.


    "Do you have it?" Tomas asked.


    "Yes," Pale said without hesitation. "I have it."


    "Good. Now, take it within yourself. Carefully, though ¨C you are dealing with the very essence of yourself, the thing that makes you who you are. Do you understand?"


    "I understand."


    "Okay. Then do it."


    Pale gave him a small nod, then sucked in another breath. The light flickered as she did so, and yet somehow, that didn''t unnerve her in the slightest. If anything, it only made her more eager to do this.


    Something in her mind told her exactly what she needed to do. Slowly, carefully, methodically, she took the light and held it to her breast, right over her heart. And then, she pushed.


    The light instantly melded with her, seeming to disappear into her body. For a moment, nothing happened, but then Pale gasped as a great warmth began to spread through her. It began with her heart, but then started to fan out through every artery. And yet, despite that, nothing about it felt unnatural; rather, it was comforting to her. She let out a small, content sigh as the warmth washed over her.


    And then, just a few seconds later, it was over. The warmth began to fade, and she opened her eyes, her hands still held up to her breast.


    She stretched her hands out and opened them, and was stunned to see a small light held within.


    "Congratulations," Tomas said, causing her to face him. He greeted her with a warm smile. "You seem to have succeeded in unlocking your sjel."


    Pale blinked, surprised. "Then¡­ I can use magic now?"


    "Not quite," Tomas answered. "We still need to determine your affinity. But for the time being, this is an excellent start."


    "How would we determine my affinity?" Pale asked, a small tinge of excitement creeping into her voice.


    Tomas held up a hand, stopping her. "Easy," he urged. "You just unlocked your sjel, you''re going to need to give it a little time to rest before we delve deeper into it. Most people learn their affinity at the same time it''s unlocked, of course, but most people have also spent years practicing very basic mana control before then. You have not. I do not want you to risk exhausting or otherwise hurting yourself. Working with mana is a lot like working out a muscle ¨C overexertion is a very bad thing. Does that make sense?"


    Pale reluctantly nodded. "I suppose so," she conceded.


    Tomas let out a small exhale, then gave her another warm smile. "Come back tomorrow," he told her. "We will determine your affinity at that time. But until then, you should get some rest¡­ and probably also celebrate, too. After all, this was something you thought to be impossible."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "Yes¡­ what do you think changed, by the way? It can''t have been so simple as moving closer to the planet."


    "Perhaps a combination of that and a change in your mindset," Tomas offered. "Honestly, there are some truths about the sjel that continue to elude even us. Perhaps this is one of those things we may never know the true answer to. Whatever the case, though, this is a joyous occasion for you, and you should celebrate accordingly."


    "I will," Pale promised. "Thank you, Professor."


    Tomas simply waved her off. "Just doing my job as an educator. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn''t pass my experience on to the youth, after all?" He shook his head, then motioned for her to leave. "Go and celebrate, then. I will see you tomorrow."


    Pale gave him a nod, then turned and left the room. A new feeling pulsed through her with every step ¨C it didn''t take long for her to realize that it was excitement.


    She couldn''t wait to tell Kayla about this.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 43

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    "Kayla!" Pale announced as she came bursting through the door to their dorm room.


    "Ah!" Kayla exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her bed, the book she''d been reading crashing to the floor below. She took a moment to recover, then gave Pale a glare. "Pale, come on¡­"


    "Sorry," Pale told her. "I''m just excited."


    "Yes, I can see-" Kayla paused. "Hang on¡­ you''re excited? You''re excited?"


    Pale rolled her eyes. "Try not to sound so surprised about it."


    "I mean, that''s pretty hard, Pale," Kayla admitted. "I''ve never known you to be excited. So, what happened to get you like this?"


    "I unlocked my sjel."


    Immediately, Kayla eyes went wide. Recognition flashed across her face for a moment, and then she grinned widely and jumped up from her bed, rushing over to Pale to embrace her.


    "That''s fantastic!" she cried out. "Oh, I''m so happy for you!" That''s-" She suddenly paused again, confusion crossing her face. "...I mean, yes, I''m happy for you, but¡­ how, exactly, did you manage to do this? Especially since you kept insisting that it was impossible before now.''


    "Truthfully? I don''t know," Pale replied. "Professor Tomas thinks it''s some combination of moving the ship closer to the planet as well as my mindset changing to be more open about the possibility, but we still aren''t sure. We''re also not sure about the full capabilities of it just yet; I don''t even have my affinity at the moment. We''re going to try and figure that out tomorrow night.''


    Kayla gave her a nod, the smile returning to her face. "Well, whatever the case may be, I''m glad to hear about this, Pale. More than glad, in fact ¨C I''m absolutely overjoyed! I mean, this is a huge development, and not just in terms of magic."


    Pale couldn''t help but tilt her head. "What do you mean?''


    "Well¡­ this proves you were wrong, doesn''t it? You kept insisting that you were just a machine, but if that were true, you wouldn''t have a sjel," Kayla pointed out.


    Pale blinked. Kayla certainly had a point, but at the same time, that was much more than what she was willing to consider right now.


    At the moment, all she really wanted to focus on was learning more about magic in-general, its philosophical underpinnings be damned.


    Pale broke the hug, pulling away from Kayla. This earned her a questioning look, one which she didn''t let go unnoticed. Pale let out a small sigh.


    "...Truthfully, that''s something I''m not willing to consider at the moment," she said softly. "Though I suppose I''ll have to confront it eventually."


    "That''s okay," Kayla insisted. "Think about it when you''re ready. Like I said, this is a huge development for you ¨C it''s going to take some adjustment, for sure. I won''t press the issue if you''re not comfortable with it."


    Pale gave her a thankful nod. "I appreciate that, Kayla. Thank you.''


    Kayla gave her a reassuring grin. "Of course. Now, then¡­ I suppose you''re going to have to learn some of the basic points of magic control, aren''t you?"


    "I suppose so," Pale said. "Why? Do you want to show me a thing or two?''


    "Absolutely, I do," Kayla said emphatically. "Here, come sit on my bed with me. I''ll teach you some of the very basics. You don''t need an affinity for any of this, it''s pretty rudimentary, all things considered. But it will really help you out later if you can start doing some basic control exercises."


    Pale nodded, then the two of them made their way over to Kayla''s bed.


    "Okay," Kayla told her once they were both seated. "Lesson one is simple ¨C it''s going to teach you how to call upon the force inherent to your sjel. You won''t be doing anything with it, but you will be learning how to summon it."


    "You make it sound like this is difficult," Pale noted. "Is it?"


    Kayla''s brow furrowed in thought. "Kind of?" she ventured. "It''s like¡­ if you know how to focus on it, then it isn''t hard. But it''ll likely take you a few seconds to do it each time, at least when you start. When you''ve seen me cast magic, it''s been almost instant, right?" Pale nodded. "That''s because I''ve practiced it to the point where calling upon my sjel is second-nature," Kayla emphasized. "I can do it almost as easily as I breathe at this point."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Sounds impressive," Pale said.


    "Ah¡­ it really isn''t," Kayla assured her. "It''s one of the most basic things a mage can learn, really. Think of it as learning to speak a language."


    "I learn most languages almost instantly."


    "Okay, then consider how most other people learn a language," Kayla amended. "When we''re young, we often stumble over our words, and have to take a moment to collect our thoughts before speaking. We need to take time to understand what we''re trying to say before we say it. Calling upon your sjel is the same way ¨C in the beginning, you''ll need to focus on it, but as time goes on and you practice with it, it will come as naturally to you as learning to speak comes to most people. Does that make sense?"


    Pale gave her a nod. "Yes, it does."


    "Okay, then. What I want you to do is, basically, recall the feeling you felt when you first unlocked your sjel. Envision it in your mind''s eye, if you can. You should feel something, deep in your core."


    Pale did as she was told, thinking back to the feeling from earlier. She wasn''t surprised to feel the same pleasant warmth emanating out from her heart once more.


    "Do you have it?" Kayla asked.


    "I do," Pale confirmed.


    "Great. Then I want you to picture that energy flowing out from your core to your hands."


    "Why my hands?"


    "Because almost all spells are cast through the hands, or through a catalyst of some kind," Kayla explained. "Neither of us has a catalyst yet, so our hands will suffice for now."


    "Is that always the case?" Pale questioned.


    "Well¡­ it doesn''t have to be, I guess? You can technically cast magic out of anywhere you can channel the flow through. I''ve heard of some people who have lost limbs channeling it through somewhere else, such as through their mouth or something. But that''s pretty rare; most people use their hands or a catalyst." Kayla shook her head. "Whatever the case, we''re getting off-topic. Can you go ahead and-"


    She didn''t get to finish her sentence, as a bright light suddenly filled Pale''s hands. Kayla squinted, bringing a hand up to shield her eyes as the light filled the room. She stared at Pale''s hands for a moment in surprise before looking back to her.


    "...Gods above," she muttered. "You really did do it¡­ I mean, I always thought you did, but to actually have confirmation is something else¡­"


    "What next?" Pale asked.


    Kayla shook herself out of her stupor. "Next, let the feeling dissipate, then call upon it again. Your goal is to do this over and over again until it''s second nature to you ¨C you''ll know you''re successful when you can do it without even thinking about it, and when the effect is almost instantaneous."


    Pale nodded along with her words. "And how long do you think that will take?"


    "Truthfully? I don''t know. We generally spend a while teaching children this exercise. You probably won''t be able to do it endlessly, over and over again throughout the day. Think of it like exercising a muscle ¨C you can only work it out so much before you''re utterly exhausted. This is no different."


    "Why is that?" Pale asked. "I''m just calling upon it, aren''t I?''


    "You are, but there''s a cost associated with everything magic-related," Kayla emphasized. "Each time you get that light to flare in your hands, it''s costing you a bit of your mana. You''ve just had your magic unlocked, so you probably don''t have much mana to work with right now, and you''re spending a little bit to get that light to appear each time."


    "Then why not cut out the light entirely?" Pale wondered. "Is that possible?"


    "I mean, yeah, it is," Kayla said. "But really, the light is only there to serve as a visual indicator that you''re doing it right. I mean, how else would you know for sure that you''re doing the exercise correctly?"


    Pale thought for a moment. "Could I not simply tell from recognizing the feeling each time?"


    Again, Kayla blinked. "...I mean, yes, that''s possible as well. But we generally like to have the visual indicator because it''s easier to track a child''s progress that way."


    "I''m not a child," Pale pointed out. "And I have a perfect memory. I can distinctly recall how it felt to unlock my sjel exactly the same each time. So in that case, why wouldn''t I cut out the visual aspect of the exercise, which would enable me to save some mana and add extra repetitions to it every day?"


    Kayla stared at her for a moment, and Pale initially thought she''d said something very wrong, or otherwise committed a faux pas of some kind. Her fears dissipated when Kayla cracked a grin and shook her head, though.


    "Just got it unlocked and already thinking of ways to game the system¡­" she muttered. "But to answer your question¡­ yes, in that case, I suppose you could do exactly that. Give it a few tries and see what happens.''


    Pale nodded, then proceeded to do as Kayla asked. Sure enough, she was able to do it perfectly every time, the exact way she figured she''d be able to. The corner of her mouth quirked upward slightly as she realized she''d just made a big breakthrough.


    If she was able to save her mana this way, then it''d maximize how many times she could do the exercise per day. And that meant a much faster progression than most people had, at least from her understanding.


    "Kayla," she said, getting her friend''s attention.


    "Hm?" Kayla asked, her wolf ears perking up. "Yes?"


    "How long do children typically do this exercise for before they move on to something more difficult?''


    "Until it''s second-nature to them, and no sooner," Kayla replied. "Why is that?''


    "Okay. What''s the fastest anyone''s ever been able to accomplish that?''


    "Ah. Well, most children take about a month before they''re ready to move on to another exercise."


    Pale thought for a moment, running some numbers through her mind. Essentially, she had started charting her own reaction times ¨C the few repetitions she''d done so far were already showing a marked improvement from each previous iteration. It wasn''t much, really just fractions of a second each time, but the important part to her was that her time was improving slightly each and every time. Granted, part of that was because she was so new at it, she was sure, but if the statistics were any indication, then what she was thinking of was entirely possible.


    "Kayla."


    "Hm?" Kayla asked, again facing her, her tail lashing back and forth behind her. "Need something else?"


    "Give me the rest of the week with this one. I''ll have it down by then."


    Kayla''s eyes widened. "...The rest of the week? But that''s only a few days! How can you be sure that-" She froze when she saw the look on Pale''s face, and a moment later, let out a heavy exhale. "You know what? Never mind. I''m sure you have some kind of answer involving technology that I won''t understand."


    "Statistics, actually," Pale replied.


    "Yeah, so I was right." Kayla let out an irritated sigh, then made an exaggerated move of waving her off. "You just go and keep practicing that, will you? I need to finish my homework and then get back to studying."


    Pale gave her the thinnest of smirks, but did as she said, climbing out of Kayla''s bed and making her way back to her own.


    "Kayla," Pale said as she took a seat on the edge of her bed.


    "Yes?" Kayla said, turning her attention back to her discarded book.


    "Thanks."


    "Yeah, don''t mention it. All I ask in return is that, once you''re flinging spells around like they''re going out of style, you''ll remember who showed you the ropes."


    "Like I could ever forget you," Pale said as she laid down and stared up at the ceiling.


    Kayla froze at that, turning to face her. "...Was that a compliment?"


    "Make of it what you want."


    Kayla gave her an exaggerated pout, then turned her attention back to her book. Pale, meanwhile, continued to practice the exercise she''d been shown in silence.


    She wanted to be prepared for the next day, after all.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 44

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    "Ah, there you are," Professor Tomas greeted with a thin smile. "Come in, come in. I''ve been looking forward to this."


    "Have you, now?" Pale asked as she stepped inside his classroom. As per usual, it was empty, save for the two of them. She strode over to his desk and took a seat across from it, while Tomas himself settled in behind the desk.


    "Indeed, I have," Tomas confirmed with a nod. "I have long since progressed past the point where I get to witness students discover their Affinity for the first time. I assume Kayla told you how that usually works?"


    "She did," Pale confirmed. "She told me it generally happens when the mage is a teenager."


    "That''s correct. And as you can imagine, we seldom get any teenagers walking through the halls of the Luminarium. Why, if memory serves me correctly, our very own Headmaster Albrecht was the last one, and that was almost a century ago."


    "I didn''t think you were that old."


    "Oh, make no mistake, I''m not. But the headmaster''s reputation precedes him, as you can probably imagine ¨C everyone knows the story of the young prodigy who graduated from here before even officially becoming an adult, and who went on to master three Affinities rather than one or two."


    "I''ve been meaning to ask about that," Pale ventured. "What does it mean to have an Affinity for a certain type of magic? Initially, I thought it meant that you were limited to only casting magic of that type, but I suspect that isn''t actually the case."


    "It isn''t," Professor Tomas explained. "Your Affinity is simply the magic you will learn the fastest. Everyone has a natural aptitude for a certain kind of magic. Your Affinity is meant to help you realize where you will progress the quickest, but you are by no means limited to magic of that specific type. In fact, at the Luminarium, we strive to teach our students basic useful spells no matter which kind of magic they may belong to. After all, things such as learning how to project a magical barrier or how to heal minor wounds are useful no matter who you are. In time, you will learn how to do the exact same as the others."


    Pale nodded along in understanding. "What about someone like Kayla? I''ve seen her use fire and lightning, and yet she''s only ever referred to herself as a Fire Mage. Is lightning not a type of Affinity?"


    "It''s a subclass of fire magic," Tomas said to her. "The same way ice is a subclass of water magic. People have tried to explore lightning more in-depth, but it is inherently volatile. It takes a talented Fire Mage to be able to cast lightning magic in the first place; frankly, I am surprised Kayla managed it at such a young age. But then again, she has proven to be quite skilled already."


    "I suppose that makes sense," Pale conceded.


    Tomas suddenly brought a hand up and ran it through his beard. "Well, I suppose that''s enough beating around the bush," he determined. "Shall we begin?''


    "Yes," Pale replied. "Just tell me what I need to do."


    "Okay. Do the same thing as when you first unlocked your sjel. Do you recall how to-"


    "I do."


    "Very good. Okay, do that. Once you''ve got it, I will add a bit of mana of my own. This will require I place my hand upon your head in order to provide you with some of my mana. Are you okay with that?"


    "Do it," Pale said.


    Tomas nodded. "Okay. Let''s begin, then. Let me know when you have your sjel."


    Pale took in a breath, then began to call upon her sjel. She''d been practicing with it the way Kayla had taught her the day before, and so it came much more naturally to her this time.


    "I have it," she said after just a few seconds.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Tomas blinked, surprised. "Do you? I don''t see your hands lit up¡­"


    "I figured out how to call upon it without the visual indicator using a method Kayla taught me, plus a bit of reasoning of my own."


    That earned her another surprised blink. "...Well, you''re certainly full of promise already. Still, if you insist you have it, then I have no reason to doubt you. Hold still; you may feel a small jolt."


    Pale offered no resistance as Tomas stepped over to her, then gently placed a hand on top of her head. For a moment, she felt nothing, but then a surprised gasp escaped her as she felt some of his mana flow into her body. Part of her suspected it would feel invasive or unnatural in some way, but to her surprise, it didn''t ¨C rather, in her mind''s eyes, she saw another source of mana approaching the light she''d come to recognize as her sjel. Then, before she knew it, the two mana sources coalesced into one; a second gasp escaped her as light suddenly filled the room, spilling out from her hands involuntarily.


    Tomas suddenly pulled away from her at that moment, then motioned towards her.


    "Try to cast a spell," he said. "Be careful how much mana you put into it; the last thing we want is for you to cast fire, or Gods forbid, lightning, and destroy the room."


    Pale nodded, biting her lip. "How do I cast something?"


    "Take the mana source in your hands and project it outwards. The kind of spell doesn''t matter at this point, so long as you don''t pour everything you have into it. We''ll know soon enough what kind of Affinity you have, so-"


    Pale did as he asked, focusing on the raw mana in her hands and using her mind to push it outwards. She couldn''t help but jump a little bit as a loud pop suddenly filled the room. The moment she heard it, Pale cut the connection to the mana in her hands, allowing it to fizzle out, lest she end up casting something incredibly destructive by mistake.


    "What happened?" she instantly asked. "Did I do something wrong?"


    She didn''t receive a response from Professor Tomas, which instantly sent chills down her spine. She turned towards him, a worried look crossing her face.


    "Professor?" she asked.


    Tomas blinked, which seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in enough that he was able to start moving. He began to walk over to a nearby desk, saying the entire time, a stunned look on his face the entire time. For a moment, Pale was worried she''d accidentally done something to his brain, though her fears were alleviated somewhat when he bent down to pick something up off the floor and show it to her.


    To her surprise, it was a quill that had somehow been knocked off a nearby table¡­ or at least, it had the vague shape of a quill. It looked to have been one at some point, but no longer.


    Instead, it was a solid piece of lead now.


    "...Gods above," Tomas finally breathed. "You''re an Alteration Mage¡­"


    Pale''s heart skipped a beat. "Is that bad, Professor?"


    Tomas set the lead quill down on a nearby table, then took a seat at the edge of it, that dazed look still etched across his face. After a moment, he shook his head.


    "No," he assured her. "No, it''s not a bad thing at all. Like I told Nasir earlier, I don''t believe there''s such a thing as bad magic, only bad people who use magic for evil purposes. No, this isn''t bad¡­ just complicated."


    "Complicated how?" Pale asked, rising from her seat and stepping over to him. "You make it sound like this is unprecedented."


    "Because it is. We haven''t had an Alteration Mage student walk through the doors of this school in almost a century."


    Again, Pale''s heart skipped a beat. "...Oh."


    "Yes, indeed." Tomas sucked in a breath. "...Alteration magic is very strange, even compared to something like Blood Magic. Are you familiar with the concept of alchemy?"


    "I am."


    "Good. Because as an Alteration Mage, you''ll need to get even more familiar with it."


    Pale blinked, then tilted her head, confused. "...Are you telling me that this kind of magic is essentially just alchemy? As in, I can turn lead into gold?"


    "Skilled Alteration Mages have been known to do that," Tomas replied dryly. "They''ve also been known to be hunted down specifically because of it. You don''t seem to understand, Pale ¨C what an Alteration Mage does is, essentially, use their mana as fuel to alter the chemical composition of something and change it to something else entirely. We don''t know how it works, exactly; Alteration Mages are few and far between, and there hasn''t been much study on them because of that. Most of them tend to keep their Affinity a secret, and instead pass themselves off as Healing Mages."


    "Why is that?" Pale couldn''t help but ask.


    "Because it''s like I just said ¨C people hunt them down for their powers, hoping to enslave the mage so they can get rich off of having them turn lead and rocks into gold or other precious metals," Tomas specified. "Ultimately, Healing and Alteration are two sides of the same coin ¨C you''re both using your mana to change the structure of something. It''s just that Healing Mages specifically use it to affect people and other living things, while Alteration Mages use it to affect the world around them. Does that make sense?"


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "I suppose so¡­"


    "And unfortunately, that''s not the only bit of bad news, I''m sorry to say," Tomas said, his voice apologetic. "Because your Affinity is so rare, we don''t have much information on it. That makes it incredibly difficult, almost impossible to teach. Short of teaching students how to project a magical barrier, we are not capable of delving deeper into the theory behind Alteration magic."


    "So anything I want to learn, I''ll have to learn on my own," Pale finished.


    Tomas gave her a nod. "Yes. I''m sorry."


    "Don''t be; it''s not your fault." Pale let out a tired sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Do you have any resources in the library I can use? I''d like to learn more about this."


    "You should ask Virux about that," Tomas told her. "It''s up to you whether you want to tell him your Affinity while you do it. I doubt you''ll have anything to worry about with regards to any of the teachers here trying to use you for their own ends if they know, but still. Letting people in on the secret means you''re potentially putting a target on your back. You should consider whether you''re ready to handle the consequences of that before you start telling people about it, at least in my opinion. Unless it''s something you really trust, that is."


    Pale gave him a nod. "I''ll take that into consideration. Thanks, Professor."


    He waved her off. "Anything to assist a promising young student in her pursuit of magical knowledge. Now, then, I''d suggest you go talk to Virux before it gets too late and the library closes. I don''t know what, exactly, we have in the library with regards to your Affinity, but there has to be something there for you to use."


    "I''ll go right away," Pale promised. "Thanks again."


    Tomas waved her off once more, and Pale turned and marched out of the room, her heart going a mile a minute. To say she was excited was an understatement. If what Tomas had just told her was true, then this had the potential to change everything. Even if Virux couldn''t help her, she already had a good idea of where to start on her own.


    Whatever happened, she was going to be brushing up on her chemistry over the coming weeks, that much was certain.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 45

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    "Alteration Magic?" Kayla asked.


    Pale nodded. "Yes."


    Kayla bit her lip. "...You''re sure? Because that could be bad¡­"


    "Professor Tomas already explained that part to me ¨C how it could make me a target, I mean. But that being said, I think the benefits far outweigh the costs in this case."


    "How so?"


    "Think about it," Pale said as she took a seat on her bed. "This entire time, I''ve been considering how to get Dragonsteel from Nasir. But if I''m able to master Alteration Magic, I should be able to just make my own¡­ or, even better, make the actual materials my ship is made out of. I have no idea how to actually do that yet; I suspect turning that quill into lead was a fluke more than anything, bolstered by Tomas'' mana mixing with my own. But I fully intend to figure this out over time."


    "There''s another problem," Kayla pointed out. "If you intend to keep your affinity a secret¡­ well, we''re in a magic academy. I doubt you''ll be able to keep it under wraps for very long, all things considered."


    "Unfortunately," Pale replied with a small sigh. "Hopefully, the Luminarium is able to keep out anyone who''d be tempted to come after me. Otherwise, I''ll just have to be extremely careful when I''m wandering around town with you or Valerie." Pale thought for a moment. "Maybe I should try to get Virux to let me carry my handgun around, at the very least. Think he''d let me have it back if I promised to keep it concealed?"


    "I''m doubtful," Kayla replied, flipping through the pages of her book. "He seems pretty intent on not letting you walk around with anything too dangerous."


    "Which is a problem, especially because we still have Sven to deal with." Pale let out a short exhale, then shook her head before standing up. "You know what? I could use something to blow off some steam. I''m going to the gym for a bit. And maybe I''ll take Valerie''s suggestion and try out that sauna afterwards."


    Kayla nodded. "I''m going to keep studying for now. I''ll catch up with you in a bit."


    Pale''s brow furrowed at that. Kayla had been a bit distant lately, likely owing to that bit of knowledge regarding how opposite elemental affinities interacted with each other.


    And unfortunately, Pale wasn''t sure how to react to that.


    "Kayla," she said, getting her attention. "Is everything okay?''


    "Yes," she assured her. "Everything is fine. Why do you ask?"


    "Because the way you''re acting, everything seems to not be fine. Was there anything that you wanted to talk to me about?"


    Kayla hesitated for a moment. "Pale-"


    "You can tell me anything, Kayla. We''ve fought alongside each other enough that there''s nothing you could say to me that would drive me away."


    Kayla bit her lip, then shook her head. "...Thanks, but honestly, it''s nothing ¨C just that thing I told you about, regarding mine and Valerie''s affinities. I''ll get over it in due time."


    Pale stared at her for a moment. "If you''re sure-"


    "I''m sure. Go get your workout in, I''ll be here when you get back."


    Again, Pale just stared at her, but eventually gave her a small nod. "...Alright. I''ll see you in a bit."


    Kayla waved her off, and Pale stepped out of the room, heading for the gym, uncertainty in her mind the entire time.


    XXX


    The next few days passed by relatively slowly. Pale spent a lot of time in the library, trying to dig up any materials she could about her new affinity on her own. She hadn''t approached Virux about it yet; for now, she wanted to keep the fact that she was an Alteration Mage on a need-to-know basis, and that meant keeping it held extremely close to her chest, just in case. For the moment, she was content to try researching on her own, if only to limit the number of people who knew.


    Of course, that was easier said than done, given that she''d spent several days searching through the library, only to come up empty.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Sure, she''d stumbled across some references to her affinity on her own, but nothing in-depth. Apparently, Professor Tomas had been telling the truth when he''d mentioned that Alteration Magic was somewhat rare and hard for other mages to understand, because the only things she''d found had been surface-level information, mostly things explaining how the affinity worked to other mages and why it was so difficult for them to practice Alteration Magic themselves.


    Pale let out a frustrated sigh as she set aside yet another book, then brought a hand up to rub at her forehead. She''d been hoping to avoid reaching out to Virux this early, but apparently, it was going to be unavoidable.


    "Guess it''s time to swallow my pride¡­" she grumbled as she rose from her seat and made her way out of the library, heading for Virux''s office.


    Currently, it was late in the evening. Class was out of session for everyone, and so the halls were packed full of students. Pale stepped past them all without an acknowledgment, pausing only when she realized one of them had been Joel. Curiously, he''d been separated from his usual entourage and Sven, which was interesting to her, if only because she''d never seen him around campus without them.


    Then again, she hadn''t seen Joel at all since the incident at the border. Pale didn''t know why that was, but it was certainly curious enough for her to give him a side-eyed look as she passed by him.


    Joel seemed to realize she was staring at him as she walked past, but to her surprise, he didn''t return her look, or provide his usual biting remarks. Instead, he grimaced, then looked away, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he did so.


    Pale blinked, unsure of how to react to that. Instead, she continued on her way, heading for Virux''s office. She got there within just a few more minutes, but to her surprise, the door was closed. Pale approached and was about to knock when she heard hushed voices from within the room. Curious, she held herself back, instead leaning in close and pressing her ear to the door for a closer listen.


    "-Otrudians said that they consider it an act of aggression," she heard Professor Kara say.


    "What?! They''re the ones who attacked our students!" Virux replied.


    "I know, I know. But that''s what they''re saying."


    "And what do they want?"


    "They''re asking for reparations for the families of each person killed."


    "And do you think the headmaster will give it to them?"


    "Honestly? I have no idea." Kara let out a tired sigh. "This entire saga has just been unbelievable to me. I mean, everything that went on that day¡­ and then they have the nerve to act like we''re the problem."


    "It all goes back to that stupid feud from so long ago. Some people just can''t let history go. I''m just sad it had to involve our students."


    "I know." Kara let out another sigh. "Well, that''s just what I know, anyway. I''m sure the headmaster will tell the rest of you personally when he gets the chance. He''s very busy right now, as you can imagine."


    "Yeah, I get it. Thanks for keeping us posted."


    "No problem."


    At that, Pale heard the two of them rise to their feet, and hurriedly pulled away from the door. She was just in time, as a few seconds later, it opened and Professor Kara came walking out. Her gaze met Pale''s, and she blinked in surprise before giving her a warm smile.


    "Hello, Pale," she said. "How are you doing?"


    "I''m fine, Professor," Pale replied. "Is Virux available?"


    "He is. Why do you ask? Is there something you wanted to discuss?"


    "In a manner of speaking, yes."


    "Ah, I see." Professor Kara''s expression suddenly softened. "If this is about what you went through a few days ago-"


    "It isn''t," Pale assured her.


    Kara paused for a moment, then shook her head. "...Well, if you ever want to discuss that with someone, my door''s always open for it. Consider that a standing offer, too ¨C it''s the least I can do, given how many people you saved that day."


    Pale''s expression darkened. "I couldn''t save them all."


    "No, but you tried, and you managed to get a few of them back to us. And that''s worth a lot to everyone." Kara reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I meant what I said, too. If you need someone, I''m available."


    Pale blinked in surprise, but shook her head. "Thanks, but I think I''ll be okay for now."


    "Sure," Kara replied. "But if that ever changes, I hope you won''t hesitate to come see me."


    With that, she let her hand fall off Pale''s shoulder, then continued on her way. Pale watched her go for a moment before stepping into Virux''s office. Virux greeted her with a small grin.


    "Ah, I thought that was your voice out in the hallway," he said. "Come in, come in."


    Pale obliged, stepping into his office and shutting the door behind her, then pulling up a chair to sit across from him. Virux''s office was in disarray, as usual, but by this point, she was used to it, so it didn''t surprise her in the slightest.


    "So," Virux began, getting her attention. "What brings you here, Pale? Not that I''m unhappy to see you, just curious."


    Pale sucked in a breath. "¡­I need a favor," she said. "This needs to be kept secret for now. I want as few people knowing about it as possible, at least until I literally cannot keep it a secret among the student body anymore."


    Immediately, Virux''s jovial expression fell, replaced with one of concern and determination. He gave her a slow nod. "Yes, of course. You have my word that everything here will remain between us. In fact, if you want to bind it in magic-"


    "I appreciate the offer, but that won''t be necessary; I suspect that the entire school will know about this in due time, so there''s really no point. I just want to put that off for as long as possible, if that makes sense."


    Again, he gave her a nod. "Very well. What seems to be the problem?"


    "I''ll just give it to you straight ¨C I''ve discovered my affinity, thanks to Professor Tomas. I am an Alteration Mage."


    Immediately, Virux''s eyes went wide. "Truly? You''re sure about that?"


    "Positive," Pale answered, giving him a nod. "Upon unlocking my sjel, I loosed a small burst of magic and turned a quill on a nearby desk into lead. Professor Tomas confirmed it."


    Virux brought a hand up to rub his chin in thought. "This¡­ is somewhat unprecedented," he admitted. "I''m guessing Tomas told you how little we know about Alteration as a school of magic?"


    Pale nodded. "He did. That''s why I''m coming to you ¨C I figure that if anyone would have any references about it, it''d be you."


    "Well, you''re not wrong. We have a few books in the library about it, but none are very in-depth. Truthfully, you''d probably be better off studying books on alchemy. As a school of magic, alchemy was never anything more than theoretical, but a lot of the theory can probably carry over to your affinity. Does that make sense?"


    "I think so," Pale confirmed. "Just based on what I was reading, alchemy was the attempt of other mages to apply what Alteration Mages did without needing the affinity for it. Is that about right?"


    "That''s the short version, yes. Again, alchemy never really took off, but I''d be surprised if some of the theory behind it didn''t apply to your affinity. Maybe not enough to be of large-scale practical use, but it could help you get started. Past that¡­ I don''t know, unfortunately."


    "Still, that''s a bigger help than you might think," Pale assured him. "I at least know where to begin now."


    Virux gave her a thin smile. "Good. Was there anything else?"


    "One more thing, yes. Given that I am an Alteration Mage, I don''t think I''ll need to tell you that my safety could be at-risk once word gets out about it. With that in mind, with your permission, I''d like to begin carrying one of my weapons around on my person ¨C the small one of the bunch."


    Again, Virux''s grin faded. He brought a hand up to his chin again, and after a few seconds, looked back to her.


    "...I''ll tell you what," he said, "for now, let''s avoid that. You''re obviously trying to keep this a secret, so carrying around a weapon might make some of the others believe something is amiss. But once you can no longer conceal it, and word starts to spread, then I''ll allow it, since as you said, you could be at risk. Is that agreeable?"


    Pale gave him a nod. "It is. Thank you, Professor."


    "Of course. Oh, and before you go ¨C how is studying coming along?"


    "Easily enough. Why do you ask?"


    Virux''s grin returned, though this time, it was with the barest hint of excitement.


    "Because," he said, "it''s almost time for everyone''s first big examination."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 46

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    The rest of the week passed by slowly and uneventfully. For Pale, it was the same thing she''d come to grow accustomed to, save for the attack at the border ¨C she spent the rest of her time away from class catching up on her assignments, spending time with Kayla and Valerie, and otherwise trying her best to understand her newfound magic. By this point, she''d come to accept that her mindset changing was what ultimately let her unlock her sjel. She didn''t know if that was the reason for sure, but it was the only possible explanation she could think of that made sense.


    And that opened up a whole new line of thinking for her, and not necessarily in a good way.


    She was in class at the moment, listening to Professor Virux drone on about history. She was halfway paying attention, but mostly, she was stuck in her own head. Over the past few days, ever since the initial excitement of unlocking her magic had worn off, she''d suddenly had to face a few uncomfortable realities.


    Namely, the role her creators had planned for her.


    Professor Tomas'' statement continued to echo in her mind as she listened to Virux''s lecture. He''d been right to say that if humanity had wanted an unthinking, unfeeling drone, then they never would have created someone like her in the first place. But at the same time, they''d been so insistent that she stick to her initial orders and serve as a weapon that she couldn''t help but feel conflicted.


    And then there was the issue of returning home, which had also started to weigh on her greatly.


    "Pale?"


    Pale blinked as her thoughts were interrupted. Initially, she thought it was Kayla, only to recall that the two of them had opted to sit away from each other today. She turned and found Valerie sitting there next to her, a concerned look on her face.


    "Is everything okay?" Valerie asked, her voice a whisper.


    Slowly, Pale shook her head. "It''s hard to explain," she offered.


    "Try me."


    Pale hesitated, then let out a sigh. "...Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if you were torn between returning somewhere that needs you and staying with people you''ve come to care about?"


    Valerie blinked, taken by surprise. "...I don''t know," she answered. "Can you be more specific?"


    "Let''s just say that a lot of lives are dependent on me returning from whence I came. But, at the same time¡­ if I left, I probably wouldn''t be coming back, and¡­ I don''t want to leave you and Kayla behind forever like that."


    Slowly, Valerie gave her a nod. "I see. Well, in that case, I hate to say it, but you need to do what''s best for you, Pale."


    "But all those people-"


    "You can''t be expected to shoulder that kind of burden, Pale. Whoever told you that was being unfair."


    Pale couldn''t help herself. She bit her lip. "...What if they weren''t?" she asked. "What if there truly was a way for me to save all those people? In that case, staying behind¡­ that''d be selfish of me, wouldn''t it?"


    Valerie stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "This seems like a pretty heavy conversation to have in hushed tones in the middle of class. We''ll talk about this more in the hall afterwards. Okay?"


    Pale gave her a nod, and both girls went back to focusing on Virux''s lecture.


    The entire time, Pale continued to wrestle with herself, slowly counting down the minutes until she and Valerie could speak again."


    XXX


    The moment class let out, Pale took Valerie by the hand and raced out the classroom door. The two of them ducked into a nearby hallway, one that was only sparsely populated by students, and as they did so, Valerie gave her a concerned look.


    "Talk to me," she said. "What''s going on?"Stolen story; please report.


    Pale hesitated. "It''s¡­ hard to explain, Valerie. Let''s just say¡­ there are certain aspects of myself I don''t like discussing with people. Part of that would be who I really am as a person." Pale paused, her eyes going wide. "And believe me, saying that last sentence was harder than you might think."


    "Okay, hold on," Valerie said to her. "Just¡­ how many lives are at stake, exactly?"


    "A lot."


    "How many?" Valerie insisted. "A hundred? A thousand?"


    Pale bit her lip. "...You wouldn''t believe me if I told you. But rest assured, it''s a lot more than that."


    To her credit, Valerie didn''t even so much as blink or give her an incredulous look. Instead, she took Pale''s statement in stride, slowly nodding her head.


    "Okay," she said quietly. "So a lot of lives are at stake and it''s dependent on you returning home to help defend them?"


    "Yes."


    "Does this have anything to do with those strange weapons you carry?"


    "In a manner of speaking, yes. I''m sorry I can''t explain more-"


    "Don''t be; I get it. But¡­ tell me, at the very least, that Kayla knows the true nature of whatever you''re talking about?"


    "She does," Pale insisted. "It''s a very short list of people I trust with that kind of truth, and one of them is sworn to a blood oath to keep it secret. One day, I''d like to include you in that list, but¡­ I''m not ready. I mean, we were just trying to kill each other a few short weeks ago, and-"


    "Pale," Valerie gently interrupted. "I get it, okay? And I don''t mind at all. If you feel you still need to keep some secrets from me, that''s okay. I don''t expect you to tell me everything about yourself, not in the slightest."


    Pale let out a small sigh of relief. "...Thanks."


    "Don''t mention it. Now, you said earlier that you''re torn between staying here and leaving, and that a lot of lives are at stake if you choose to stay."


    "Yes."


    Valerie thought for a moment. "...It''s not an easy decision, obviously," she offered. "And honestly, I don''t think there really is a correct choice to make here, either."


    "You don''t?"


    Valerie shook her head. "No. I mean, my gut says the right thing to do is to return home and save as many people as possible¡­ but you need to take care of yourself, too. How many people back home do you have a close connection to?"


    "Zero," Pale answered.


    "And that''s what complicates things."


    Pale hesitated. "...If it helps, they don''t know I''m here," she said. "I haven''t been able to contact them for a long time, and vice versa. They almost certainly think I''m dead, and have been for a while. And¡­ if I''m being honest, there''s no telling that there''ll even be anyone left to save by the time I make it back, since it''s been so long."


    Valerie was silent for a few seconds as she considered what to say next. "I can''t tell you what to choose, Pale," she said. "But I can tell you what I would pick."


    "And what would that be?"


    "Personally? I would choose to stay. But it sounds to me like it''s not that simple ¨C you have some kind of duty or higher purpose tying you there. Am I correct?"


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "You are."


    "Then that might change things for you. But if it were me¡­ I would stay here. I mean, if you decide to head back, it''ll probably be permanent. It''s likely there isn''t anyone there to save. If there are, will they even need you to save them again?" Valerie shook her head. "Besides, assuming they''re still around, they think you''re dead already, anyway. The way I see it, there''s no harm in letting them continue to think that. How much time do you have to make a decision?"


    "A lot."


    "Then what I would do is think on it between now and then. Maybe you''ll come up with a different answer, I don''t know. But what I do know is that, whatever you pick, you need to commit to it. Does that make sense?"


    Pale gave her another slow nod. "It does."


    "Good." Valerie flashed her a thin smile. "Then let''s get going, class is about to start."


    XXX


    Classes soon ended for the day, and the first-year students found their way to the mess hall. Pale came filing in alongside Valerie, and the two of them sat down a table length away from Kayla, Cynthia, and Cal. Something about the arrangement made Pale uneasy; Kayla had already explained why her and Valerie were nothing more than acquaintances, but that wasn''t enough to satisfy Pale. She didn''t want to find herself torn between two friends, especially not after what her and Kayla had already been through together.


    In any case, however, she and Valerie simply sat down and ate in near-complete silence, with only a slight bit of small talk between the two of them to pass the time between mouthfuls of food. It wasn''t anything surprising to Pale; given the heavy conversation she''d had with Valerie earlier, as well as the fact that, at least on some level, she was keeping Valerie away from the more sensitive parts of her past, things were bound to be a little awkward between them for a day or two, she figured. But they''d get over that in due time.


    After all, Valerie had gotten over Pale nearly blowing both her legs off at the knee. Compared to that, this was nothing.


    They both finished their respective meals and were about to stand up and leave the room when, to Pale''s surprise, Headmaster Albrecht stepped up on stage and clapped his hands together once, getting their attention. Immediately, the room went deathly silent, and all eyes were upon him as he cleared his throat and began to speak.


    "As some of you may already be aware, your first big examinations will be occurring soon," he said, his voice resounding and carrying across the room. "The exams will be one-on-one, however each of you will be assigned a study partner to assist you with preparing for them. You will not be allowed to select your partner; rather, your partner will be selected for you by the staff based on their observations of how you interacted with the rest of your peers."


    "Where is he going with this¡­?" Valerie wondered aloud under her breath.


    "The purpose of this exercise is to build cohesion," the headmaster insisted. "Upon leaving the Luminarium, you will all be going your separate ways. It is highly unlikely that you will remain attached to your current friends and roommates while out in the field. It is important that you are able to work with anyone you may come across out there. You do not have to necessarily get along with them, however you do need to be able to work together to achieve a common goal."


    As much as Pale hated to admit it, the headmaster was talking sense on at least some level. If nothing else, this would at the very least assure that people would grow accustomed to working with others they may not have been familiar with.


    "Your study partner has been posted to your respective dorm rooms already," the headmaster announced. "We have slid a piece of parchment under each door, on which is written the name of your partner. And before you ask ¨C we are keeping track of who is matched with who, so don''t even try to swap partners."


    A small groan of discontent went up through the assembled students at that bit of information, though the headmaster didn''t seem to care. Instead, he motioned with his hand.


    "That is all," he said. "Dismissed."


    With that, he walked off, leaving them alone. Pale and Valerie exchanged a glance with each other, neither one sure of what to think.


    "Well," Valerie said, "might as well see who we''ve got."


    Pale didn''t argue, and the two girls set off for their dorms.


    XXX


    Sure enough, when Pale opened the door to her dorm room, there were two folded pieces of parchment paper lying on the floor within. One of them had her name written on it, and the other was addressed to Kayla. Pale placed Kayla''s on top of her bed for when she came back, and then picked up her own and opened it. Inside was a single name; she wasn''t surprised at who it was, given the headmaster''s speech, but at the same time, she was disappointed. Her brow furrowed, and she grit her teeth in rage as she read the name printed across the interior of the paper.


    Joel Magnus.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 47

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    Pale came storming out of her room just a few seconds later, the piece of parchment clutched tightly in her hand. She marched down the halls, her neutral expression doing very little to conceal the fact that she was absolutely fuming with rage inside.


    Ultimately, she''d expected this, given what the headmaster had said. Clearly, they were trying to pair people up who didn''t usually work well together in the hopes that their disdain for each other could be rectified. It made sense, she had to admit, even if it did absolutely nothing to numb the sting of actually being assigned to one of her least favorite people in the entire world.


    As she stepped through the hallways of the Luminarium, Pale couldn''t help but run memories through her mind, trying to pick out exactly where she''d gone wrong. Had it simply been all the times she''d avoided Joel, and vice versa? Had someone seen them interacting with each other and deigned to make them both pay for it? Perhaps someone had simply told the professors about how they disliked each other, and that had been enough. Ultimately, it didn''t really matter, she supposed; however she sliced it, she was stuck with Joel as her partner, and he was stuck with her.


    Which really just made what she was about to do all the more illogical, though at a certain point, she supposed this particular bandage was going to have to be yanked off no matter how much it hurt. In that sense, it was better to get it over with now.


    Pale took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She''d made her way to Joel''s room; there was no telling if he was going to be in there by now or not, but she didn''t really care. Worst case scenario, she''d wait for him.


    With that in mind, Pale knocked on his door. Movement from inside the room caught her attention, and a moment later, it opened to reveal her other least favorite person in the world.


    Sven stared at her, his one good eye boring into her like a laser. After a moment, he blinked, his eye narrowing.


    "What do you want?"


    "I want to speak with Joel," she said.


    "Not happening. You might as well go away-"


    "I''m his study partner," Pale growled, shoving the piece of parchment into Sven''s face. "Check it if you want to confirm."


    Sven yanked the parchment out of her hands and looked over it for a second before thrusting it back into her chest. He let out a low grunt, then shook his head.


    "Guess that means you two are going to have to start interacting sooner rather than later, much as I hate to admit it," he grunted. Looking back into the room, he said, "Hey, Joel. Your study partner''s here."


    The door to the bathroom came flying open, and Joel stepped out. His hair was still a little wet, but he was fully dressed, thankfully; his gaze narrowed when he saw Pale standing there, but he moved over to the door regardless, Sven stepping out of the way to give them enough space to talk.


    "I was wondering when you were going to show up," he said. "Took you long enough."


    "Are you going to snark at me, or are we going to work things out between us?" Pale demanded. "Because let''s face it ¨C I don''t like you and you don''t like me, but we''re stuck together for the next few weeks regardless of our personal feelings on the matter. So we might as well bury the hatchet and make the most out of this situation."


    "Much as I hate to admit it, you''re not wrong," Joel mused. "So, what is this, then? You''ve come to me asking for a truce or something?"


    "That was the idea, yeah."


    Joel let out a low exhale. "I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but I''ve been purposely avoiding you and your friends these past few weeks."


    "I have noticed. In fact, that''s probably why they put us together."


    "Yeah, probably. But in my defense, I had no way of knowing that was going to happen."This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Then why do it?"


    "Because-" Joel suddenly hesitated, his voice catching in his throat. After a moment, he let out a long sigh. "...Because you saved my life, okay?"


    Pale blinked, surprised. "...I don''t get it," she said. "This was supposed to be your way of paying me back for that?"


    "It was supposed to be a favor," Joel growled. "You saved me, so in return, I was going to leave you alone for the rest of our time at school. Hells, I was even going to return your backpack to you, just as soon as I could find a way to do it that wouldn''t make you think I''d filled it with poison or something." Joel crossed his arms as he glared at her. "Don''t act too surprised about it, by the way; I may not like you personally, but I know better than to keep antagonizing someone I owe a life debt to."


    Pale wasn''t sure what to say. She stood there for a few seconds before Joel finally exhaled and stepped back into his room, then reached for something next to his bed, which turned out to be Pale''s backpack. He marched back over to her, then pushed it into her arms.


    "Here," he said gruffly. "Consider that a sign that I''m as interested in burying the hatchet as you are. It''s the least I could do considering you saved me from the bandits."


    Pale stared at the backpack in her arms in shock for a moment before looking back over to him and giving him a nod. "...Fine," she conceded. "I guess¡­ I guess we''ll have to start meeting after classes in order to begin studying together, won''t we?"


    "It would seem that way," Joel agreed. "I don''t expect either of us to like it, though."


    "Obviously not. But if we''re stuck together, we might as well make the most of it¡­ or at least try to."


    "Yeah, I guess." Joel shook his head. "We''ll meet in the library after classes are done for the day. That''s five days a week, for at least two hours a day ¨C think you can handle that?"


    "That''s doable," Pale replied.


    "Good. Then we''ll start tomorrow. Don''t let the door hit you."


    Pale took a step back just in time to avoid being struck by the door as Joel closed it. The moment it had shut behind her, she turned and began to walk away, slinging her pack over her shoulder as she did so.


    Joel may have agreed to a truce with her, but something told her it was going to be far from straightforward between the two of them.


    XXX


    The next day came and went, and soon enough, Pale found herself bidding a brief farewell to Valerie as she made her way over to the library. Sure enough, Joel was already there, seated at a table, and he was flanked by Sven as well. Sven''s appearance made Pale feel uneasy, but there wasn''t much she could do about it, especially not without her primary weapons. The only solace she had was that Sven almost certainly wasn''t about to murder her in front of his ward, though that only helped put her at ease a bit.


    "You''re late," Joel mused as she approached.


    Pale glared at him. "I was speaking with a friend of mine after class ended."


    "I didn''t think you had friends aside from the wolf girl."


    "Shut up," Pale snapped. "And don''t act like you''re better than me just because you''re here early. In fact, if my estimations are correct, I''m right on time ¨C we agreed to meet at six, and it''s six on the dot."


    "If you''re not early, you''re late," Joel said to her. "But whatever. Have a seat, let''s get this over with."


    Pale reluctantly pulled up a chair next to him, then began to pull books out of her bag. She''d taken to using the pack he''d returned to her; naturally, Joel had apparently eaten all her rations in addition to throwing away all her extra ammo back in the underground forest, but the medical equipment was thankfully intact, and there was now plenty of space for her to carry study materials.


    Not that she needed to do much studying in the first place. Being a computer had its perks, that was for sure; the only thing she really needed to brush up on was the actual act of casting magic, which Tomas was already helping her with almost every day. She was still very behind, but she was making progress, slowly but steadily.


    "Alright," Joel began. "The way I think we should do this is to start by practicing some of the basic magic casting techniques Tomas was showing us in class."


    "You''ll have a hard time with that," Sven grunted from his spot behind Joel''s chair. "This one can''t cast magic, remember?"


    "Then that''s a problem, because she''s going to need to learn how if she''s going to stay here-"


    "Actually, I recently unlocked my sjel," Pale informed him, even though it pained her to do so. She wanted to keep that a secret for as long as possible, but even she knew that it simply wasn''t feasible given how much time her and Joel were going to be spending together over the next few weeks.


    Of course, Sven being there complicated things a great deal, as it always did, but she''d just have to run with it.


    Joel and Sven exchanged surprised looks with each other. "...You can cast now?" Sven asked.


    "I can," Pale confirmed. "Only basic spells and techniques, but yes."


    "What''s your Affinity?" Joel questioned.


    Pale hesitated. "I can''t tell you."


    "Come on, don''t be such a-"


    "I mean it. I can''t tell you openly, and I definitely cannot tell Sven openly. If you want to know my Affinity, both of you will have to take a Blood Oath. That''s the only way I''ll reveal it."


    "Alright, alright¡­" Joel muttered. "Geez¡­ some people are so protective of it¡­ Makes no sense."


    "It does to me," Pale insisted. "So unless you''re willing to deal in blood, then it''s not happening."


    "Fine," Joel spat. "I guess we can just start with some basic control exercises and hope for the best. You''ve been taught how to call upon your sjel, I take it?"


    "Yes."


    "Then we''ll start with that. Try not to put too much energy into it and mess it up, by the way ¨C last I head, they had you working in the library on weekends, and I''d hate for you to knock books off the shelves and cause more work for yourself."


    Pale ignored him, instead falling into the exercises Tomas had taught her. After a moment, she became aware that Joel was staring at her, and turned towards him.


    "What do you want?" she demanded.


    "Are you doing it?" Joel questioned.


    "Yes, I am. And before you ask ¨C the reason you''re not seeing any light in the palms of my hands is because I found out a way to do it without conjuring anything, since that''s ultimately just wasted energy."


    Joel''s look turned to one of surprise. "You can do that? But that''d require matching the feeling perfectly every time-"


    "Yes, I know. I have an eidetic memory; I recall everything with perfect clarity. I''m convinced it''s possible for regular people to do the same, it just takes more practice."


    "Show me," Joel demanded. "This is our chance to really impress the instructors for the practical portion of the exam."


    "Why should I?" Pale asked. "Especially with Sven there."


    Sven''s gaze narrowed, but he said nothing. Instead, Joel spoke up.


    "About that," he said tentatively. "Why do you two seem to absolutely hate each other so much? I''ve asked Sven, but he won''t give me a straight answer."


    "Oh, he won''t?" Pale asked, all while Sven glared at her. "That''s an easy explanation."


    "Don''t," Sven warned.


    Pale ignored him, instead looking back over at Joel.


    "Let me tell you all about Sven Greymane," she said.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 48

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    To his credit, Sven tried to stop her before she could say another word. He took several steps towards her, clearly intending to grab her and try to wring her neck, but he never got the chance.


    "Stop," Joel commanded, instantly causing Sven to freeze in his tracks. "I want to hear what you''ve been hiding from me."


    Sven turned towards him, his one good eye blazing with malice. "You would listen to her lies and half-truths-"


    "I''ll determine for myself what''s a lie and what isn''t. And besides, if it''s all obviously false, then it should be easy for you to disprove, shouldn''t it?" Joel shook his head. "In any case, if you don''t want to be here for this-"


    "I''m staying.''


    "Then fine. But you will let her speak. I owe her that much for saving my life."


    Sven glared at him. "I was there, too. I had just as much a part to play as she did-"


    "Do you?" Joel challenged. "Because as I recall, you left the room completely when that would-be assassin filled it with smoke."


    Sven bristled at his words. "That was to search for him-"


    "Regardless, the fact is that you weren''t there, and she was." Joel crossed his arms. "If you want to rebut any of what she tells me, then you''re free to do so afterwards. But I want to hear what she has to say first."


    Sven glared at him once more, but backed down, slinking away from Pale''s chair and back to his spot hovering behind Joel. Pale returned his baleful gaze with one of her own, then looked back over towards Joel.


    "I suppose I''ll start with a question," she said. "What do you know about Sven, exactly?"


    "Not much," Joel answered. "Just that he''s from the northern isles. He stumbled into my father''s territory a few months back; said he was looking for someone. He was already injured by then; we all figured that he was searching for whoever it was that had maimed him. My father offered to assist him, with the caveat being that Sven would swear his fealty to my family for a term of a year. He agreed, and his terms of service ended up bringing him here as my bodyguard."


    "That''s all you know about him?" Pale asked.


    "It is," Joel confirmed.


    "You never thought to ask why your father was so willing to help this random, one-armed, one-eyed stranger?"


    "Father''s business is father''s business. I figured they were already associates somehow. Is that not correct?"


    "Parts of it are," Pale admitted. "Sven is from the northern isles, but not in the way you might think. Truthfully, he is ¨C or rather, he was ¨C the warrior-king for a large tribe of berserkers."


    Joel blinked, his eyes going wide. "And you know this how?"


    ''Because I''m the one who maimed him in the first place."


    Silence reigned over the library for several seconds, all while Joel stared at her in absolute shock. Eventually, he shook himself out of his stupor, then turned towards Sven.


    "Is that true?" he demanded.


    Sven hesitated. "...Parts of it are-"


    "It''s a yes or no question. I expect a yes or no answer."


    "Then yes, it''s true."


    Joel''s brow furrowed in confusion. "Then why¡­? She would have had to track you all the way to the northern isles. What the hells did you do to her that made her so persistent on finding you?"


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "He didn''t do anything to me," Pale stated. "My friend Kayla, though? That''s an entirely different story. His men crossed the ocean, and razed her village to the ground. They killed almost everyone there, then took a small handful of people as slaves, including her father. Kayla only survived because she managed to hide, but they found her after a few days. She would''ve been killed or enslaved along with the other members of her village if I hadn''t stumbled upon her and helped her out."


    Joel was stunned. "Then¡­ you both-"


    "Yes. We tracked Sven''s men back to the northern isles, all to try and save Kayla''s father." Pale turned to Sven, giving him a harsh glare. "But we didn''t get the chance. Sven killed him personally before we could free him."


    Again, silence reigned over the three of them. Sven stood there, clenching and unclenching his fist while grinding his teeth. Joel eyed him with no small amount of trepidation the entire time.


    "Is that true?" Joel demanded.


    "Why don''t you tell him the rest of the story?" Sven growled. "Go on. Tell him about how you wiped out an entire village full of women and children using Explosion magic."


    This time, Joel whipped around to face her. Pale didn''t falter for a moment, though ¨C she held Sven''s gaze the entire time, before slowly nodding.


    "You''re right," she said. "I did do that."


    "That''s it?" Sven challenged. "You don''t even sound guilty about it."


    "I''m as guilty as you are over the destruction you ordered done to Kayla''s village."


    "Enough, both of you!" Joel all but shouted, silencing them. Pale turned towards Joel, watching as his shoulders heaved with every breath he sucked in. After a moment, he let out a long exhale, then turned towards Sven, glaring at him.


    "You hid all that from me," he growled.


    Sven didn''t flinch under his gaze. "You had no right to know-"


    "I am your ward. I have the right to know how dangerous you are." Joel rounded on Pale, giving her the same glare. "And you¡­ why would you do that?"


    "Because Kayla and I were already heavily injured and Sven had proven impervious to all other forms of attack we tried to use against him," she insisted. "He was going to kill us both, if not enslave us. I did what I had to do for the two of us to survive and escape. I don''t regret it."


    "And yet, you have the nerve to sit there and lambast him for wiping out villages, when you just admitted that you did the exact same. How are you two any-"


    "Don''t," Pale warned, her voice coming out as a low growl. "Do not for even a single second insinuate that the two of us are even remotely the same. We aren''t. Sven allowed his men to pillage and raze villages because he was being paid for it by a local lord who wanted the land those villages were built upon. Everything those men did, they did purely to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else. Meanwhile, I only razed his village and killed his people as a consequence of trying to escape from him. Those two acts are not equivalent."


    Joel stared at her for a moment before turning back towards Sven. "Is she wrong?"


    Again, Sven bristled. "The situation is more complex than-"


    "Not what I asked. Is she wrong, Sven?"


    Sven hesitated, again giving Pale a harsh glare. "...No."


    "And she''s not lying? None of what she said was a falsehood, or an exaggeration?"


    "...No."


    "That''s what I thought." Joel took a breath, then turned back to Pale. "And you¡­ I don''t know how to feel about you. I don''t know how you can sit there and justify the deaths of possibly hundreds of people so callously the way you just did."


    "Those deaths are on Sven''s head," Pale countered. "None of it would have happened if it weren''t for him."


    ''And yet, he''s not the one who killed them all." Joel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "...I need some time to think about this. I don''t want to see either of you for the rest of the damn week. And if you two have any common sense, you''ll stay away from each other, too."


    With that, Joel stood up and left, leaving the two of them behind. Pale and Sven glared daggers at each other before she stood up and walked off.


    Something told her that this particular incident was far from over, however.


    XXX


    Pale spent the next few days carefully looking over her shoulder. She knew that Sven was going to want retribution for what she''d told Joel ¨C after all, she''d ruined his reputation with Joel and made him look completely untrustworthy in one go, to say nothing of the accusations she''d levied at him, which he''d all but confirmed. The question wasn''t if Sven came after her as a result, but rather, it was when.


    And as it turned out, it happened when she was walking back from working out. She had been entirely unprepared for the floor to suddenly open up and swallow her whole, dumping her in a large pit a few feet below. Stunned as she was, she had no time to reach for the knife on her belt before her hands were bound behind her back with what felt like manacles made of pure stone, and a gag was slipped into her mouth, followed by a hood over her head.


    At that point, Pale was completely disoriented. She had no way to resist as Sven ¨C because who else would it be but him ¨C slung her over his shoulder. She felt the earth shift, and suddenly, the two of them were out of the pit. She could tell he was walking down the halls, but she had no idea where; her first thought was that he was carrying her off-campus, but she soon realized that wasn''t the case; he would never be able to make it past even the front gates of the Luminarium with her in tow like this.


    Her questions were answered when he unceremoniously dumped her onto the floor, then pulled the hood off her head. To her surprise, she was in Professor Marick''s classroom, and the man himself was standing over her along with Sven. Pale''s eyes widened in surprise, though she only got more confused when Marick turned towards Sven and gave him a decidedly irritated look.


    "Did you have to be so dramatic about it?"


    "She wouldn''t have shown up if I hadn''t made her show up," Sven countered.


    "Even still, this was overkill."


    Pale tried to talk, but the gag in her mouth muffled her voice. Marick rolled his eyes, then bent down and pulled it out for her. Pale immediately glared at Sven.


    "What is this?" she demanded. "Professor Marick, what''s going on?"


    "It''s simple," Marick said. "Sven is claiming you dishonored him. He wants retribution in the form of a duel."


    "Dishonored him¡­?" Pale echoed. "Everything I said was true. He even confirmed all of it."


    "Dishonor doesn''t require that the statements be false, only that they negatively impact a person''s reputation."


    "Which they have," Sven spat. "My ward has refused to speak with me for several days now. I demand an opportunity for retribution."


    Marick crossed his arms. "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves. She has an opportunity to back down-"


    "What are the terms?" Pale demanded.


    Marick eyed her with surprise. "...You''re considering accepting?"


    "I am," Pale growled. "Now tell me what the terms are."


    Marick blinked. "¡­Standard fare ¨C no kill shots, or even debilitating shots; the fight goes until first blood, until someone cries for mercy, or until I put a stop to it. In addition, Sven has requested that no magic be used, including barriers and the like."


    "You''re damn right," Sven confirmed. "I want this to be as bare-knuckle as possible."


    "Those terms are agreeable," Pale said. "Untie me and we''ll get this over with."


    Again, Marick eyed her with suspicion. "...You would really allow yourself to be-"


    "I''ve been waiting to beat his ass," Pale spat. "This is my chance to do exactly that."


    Marick hesitated. "...Very well."


    Sven snapped his fingers, and the manacles around Pale''s hands fell away. She immediately stood up, giving Sven a harsh look even as the two of them made their way over to the center of Marick''s classroom.


    "Combatants ready?" Marick asked.


    "Ready," they both echoed.


    "Okay¡­ begin."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 49

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    The attack came so fast that Pale barely had time to react to it. Sven came dashing towards her, his fist cocked back, and she just barely managed to duck out of the way before retaliating with a strike of her own. Her fist collided with Sven''s stomach; there was no barrier protecting him, and so he felt the full brunt of as much force as she could muster.


    And to Pale''s dismay, Sven didn''t even flinch.


    Instead, he backhanded her, and as she reeled from the hit, he drove his knee up into her gut. Pale''s eyes bugged out of her skull as she fell to her knees, the air driven from her lungs, and she coughed and sputtered for breath. Sven didn''t hold back, however; he kicked her in the upper chest, driving her back several feet.


    Pale willed herself to stand up, sucking in air as she did so. Sven stomped over to her, anger still etched across his face, and her expression narrowed as she dropped down into a boxer''s stance, her hands held up and balled into fists. The two of them circled around each other, each one waiting for the other to make the first move.


    Sven took the first shot. He let out a yell as he charged her, intending to shoulder-check her into the nearby wall; Pale waited until the last second, then sidestepped him, lashing out with her leg as she did so. Her boot collided with the back of Sven''s knee, and for the first time, she got a response ¨C Sven stumbled and tried to regain his balance, and Pale followed up her strike with a second one to his throat. Sven''s hand grasped at his throat as he coughed, and Pale seized the opportunity he''d given her, trying to drive her knee into his groin.


    The instant she tried to knee him, however, Sven''s hand shot way from his throat and he grabbed hold of her leg, then swept her second leg out from underneath her. Pale came crashing to the ground, and her eyes widened as she watched Sven inch up her leg, heading for her knee. She fully expected him to break her leg somehow, but he held back, and instead let go of her leg and punched her in the stomach again.


    Mercifully, the air stayed in her lungs this time, but that didn''t stop the waves of pain radiating out from her center across her whole body. She winced, a pained gasp escaping from her, even as Sven pulled away and looked over to Professor Marick for guidance.


    "Do you yield?" Marick asked.


    Pale shook her head, then turned her attention back towards Sven. The two of them locked eyes, and in that moment, Pale went for a groin attack again, kicking upwards into his pelvis. Predictably, Sven stepped out of the way, and her foot bounced off the inside of his thigh. Before he could strike back, however, Pale leapt to her feet and squared up with him once more.


    And just like that, they were both back to square one, circling around each other and looking for an opening. Already, Pale could feel deep bruises forming across her torso, but she wasn''t willing to throw in the towel yet.


    Not until she got at least one good hit in on him.


    By this point, she knew that there was little to no chance of her winning this fight. Sven had over a foot of height and what had to be at least a hundred pounds of pure muscle over her. None of her strikes seemed to be having any kind of effect on him; even the throat punch looked to have done little more than irritate him, given how easily he''d been able to shrug it off.


    But Pale wasn''t about to let any of that stop her, and she wasn''t entirely sure why. She kept trying to analyze his movements, comparing them to her data banks to find a good path to attack, but something kept overriding every attempt she made to do so. Instead of something logical, the only thing she could think of in the moment was how badly she wanted to get in just one good hit. Maybe that was her pride speaking more than anything, she didn''t know, but at this point, she didn''t care.


    Sven had hurt her best friend in a way that could never be fully recovered from. He''d been a constant source of fear and anxiety for the two of them, to the point where he''d even plagued Pale''s nightmares in the past. She wanted her pound of flesh for all of that, and she wouldn''t be satisfied until she could at the very least hurt him in some way, impossible as it seemed right now.


    This time, Pale struck first. She closed in on Sven''s missing arm, giving him a quick jab to his ribcage before he was able to retaliate. By the time he brought his other arm around to try and grab her, Pale was able to jump back; not one to be dissuaded, Sven charged her again, but this time, Pale was ready.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    As he closed in, she met him with a punch to the face. Her fist collided with his nose, and she felt it crack underneath the force of her blow. Sven reeled from the strike, his nose gushing blood. And in that moment, Marick stepped forward.


    "That''s-"


    But Sven wasn''t hearing it. He suddenly charged for Pale once more, lashing out with his leg, sending it crashing into the side of her knee. A loud snap filled the air, and Pale fell to the ground, a pained yell erupting from her throat as she clutched at her broken leg. Sven closed in on her, a furious expression on his face. Pale looked up at him, gritting her teeth even as she fumbled for the knife on her belt.


    But it proved unnecessary, as Professor Marick suddenly stepped between the two of them, glaring at Sven.


    "Stop," he ordered. "This fight is over."


    Even through the twin rivers of blood flowing from his broken nose, Sven still gave Professor Marick the most hate-filled look he could muster. "I''m not done yet-"


    "She''s had enough," Professor Marick growled. "Let it go."


    Sven continued to glare at him for a moment before letting out a reluctant sigh. "...Very well." He peered past Professor Marick, his gaze settling on Pale. "I hope it was worth it, whelp."


    Pale didn''t say anything, her face still twisted up in a grimace of pain. Sven seemed satisfied by that, and turned to walk away. Pale watched as he left the room, only letting out a breath when she was sure he was gone. And the moment he was, Professor Marick was at her side.


    "You fought well," he commended as he bent down to look her over, frowning as he did so. "That leg is definitely broken. I''ll get you to a healer-"


    "Don''t," Pale retorted. "Bring me to my dorm room. I''ll take care of this myself."


    "What? But-"


    "Trust me. It won''t be an issue."


    Professor Marick eyed her like she was crazy, but eventually gave in, giving her a small nod. "If you''re sure."


    "I am. I know a healer who could probably use the practice. I don''t mind the discomfort."


    "Very well." Professor Marick bent down and picked her up in his arms. She winced as her position shifted, but thankfully it only lasted for a moment before the blinding pain faded, instead reduced to a sharp throbbing as he walked.


    One thing was for sure ¨C Pale was going to have to explain what had happened to Kayla, and while she wasn''t looking forward to it, she also recognized that it was better to get it over with quickly.


    No matter how much it hurt.


    XXX


    "Oh my gods, what happened?!"


    Pale winced at the sound of Kayla''s voice. Currently, Marick was standing outside her dorm room, still carrying her in his arms. She must have looked like quite the sight, being carried in her professor''s arms like this, her leg jutting out at an odd angle, and an expression of pain etched across her face.


    But honestly, through it all, the thing that hurt the most was the sheer horror in Kayla''s voice. Pale had expected this to be painful, but this was already worse than she could have imagined.


    "It was an honor duel," Professor Marick reported. "But she can tell you more about it. She told me to bring her back here, and wouldn''t listen to any other suggestions of mine to the contrary ¨C said you both had a healer who could use some additional practice?"


    Kayla turned her attention towards Pale, giving her a harsh glare as she did so. "Yes, we do. You can leave her here, Professor ¨C just put her on her bed, please."


    Professor Marick nodded in understanding, then stepped into the room. He gently and carefully placed Pale down on her bed, then left without another word. Kayla shut the door behind him, then took a breath.


    "So," she began, her neutral tone doing nothing to conceal the fact that she was absolutely seething with rage. "An honor duel, huh?"


    "I can explain," Pale said, hissing in pain. "Just¡­ get me my IFAK first, please; I''d rather get this broken leg taken care of first."


    Kayla obliged, reaching for Pale''s IFAK and passing it over to her. Pale fished out one of her syringes, uncapped the needle, and plunged it into her arm. Instantly, painkillers flooded into her system, providing some much-needed relief. A sigh of contentment pushed its way out of her throat as the pain in her body was steadily replaced by a comforting worth, and the medicine went to work.


    "Explain, then," Kayla said, standing next to Pale''s bed, her arms crossed. "I''m all ears."


    Pale sucked in a breath. "Like Marick said, it was an honor duel-"


    "With who, Pale? Was it Joel?"


    Pale hesitated. "...It was Sven."


    Immediately, Kayla''s eyes widened. "You got in a duel with Sven?!"


    "Easy," Pale urged. "Professor Marick was there as a proctor. I was in no real danger."


    "Pale, he broke your leg!"


    "And I broke his nose. Turnabout''s fair play¡­ actually, since I drew first blood, I believe that means I won."


    Kayla sputtered for a moment. "You¡­! Pale, this isn''t about whether you won or not! He could have killed you!"


    "He didn''t, though. And I finally got a good hit on him after the one that took his arm."


    "Do you not understand how bad this is?" Kayla growled. "What if he had killed you after all, or crippled you in some way?" Her expression softened, and in a quieter voice, she added, "What if he''d taken you away from me¡­?"


    That gave Pale pause. She looked over towards Kayla for the first time since giving herself the injection, and was stunned to find that Kayla was standing there with tears in her eyes and her shoulders heaving. A pang of emotion lanced through her heart, and she found herself forced to swallow a sudden lump in her throat.


    "Kayla-" she began.


    Kayla cut her off with a small sniffle and a shake of her head. "Don''t," she warned. "Don''t try to justify it."


    "I won''t," Pale promised. "I just¡­ I didn''t realize how much this would hurt you."


    "I know. And that''s the problem ¨C you don''t seem to realize just how much we all care for you, Pale. I mean¡­ you and Evie¡­ you''re the only family I have left. And I know you''re going to leave at some point, but I don''t want it to be so soon, and I don''t want it to be because you got yourself killed. But you can''t seem to realize that."


    Kayla wiped at her eyes, then let out a long sigh. "...I need some air. I''ll be back in a bit. And if you have any sense, you''ll stay in that bed and let your leg finish healing. Don''t even think of trying to chase after me."


    And with that, Kayla turned and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind her. Pale watched her go, an unrecognizable emotion flashing across her mind.


    She didn''t know what it was, but what she did know was how small her mission seemed to her now.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 50

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    Kayla didn''t come back from her walk around campus for several hours. In that time, Pale did little more but stare up at the ceiling as her broken leg steadily mended itself, gritting her teeth in pain the entire pain.


    The worst part was that as bad as her leg hurt, the knowledge that she''d severely worried Kayla hurt even more.


    The two of them were friends ¨C best friends, even; Kayla had taken to referring to her as such, and Pale had never seen a reason to do anything but embrace the term in turn ¨C but only now was it truly sinking in that it was more than just a term, or a feeling of being safe and content around a person the way the two of them had grown together. Pale had trusted Kayla with her life, and vice versa, but she hadn''t been prepared to face the responsibility that came with it.


    And now she''d been blindsided by it, and that thought frustrated her to no end.


    Pale grit her teeth again, ignoring the waves of pain that were coming from her still-broken leg as it continued to heal itself, instead focusing on what she was going to say to Kayla once she finally came back. Try as she might, nothing came to mind that seemed appropriate to her. After all, how was she supposed to fix this? She''d almost reduced her best friend to tears ¨C the last time she''d seen her like that had been when Sven had murdered her father right in front of her.


    There was a sudden knock at the door. Pale immediately paused, sitting up straight; she''d intended to get up and answer the knock herself, only to remember Kayla''s words about letting her leg heal itself. Reluctantly, she slid back down into bed.


    "It''s open," she offered. "Come in."


    The knob on the door turned, and someone stepped in¡­ but it wasn''t Kayla. Rather, it was Valerie.


    "Hey," she greeted.


    Pale blinked, surprised. "Hey," she replied. After a moment of hesitation, she added, "...Not that I''m unhappy to see you, but why are you here?"


    "Kayla came knocking on my door, she said you were hurt and probably wanted to see me. I can leave if now isn''t a good time-"


    "It is," Pale insisted. "Stay, please. Otherwise I''ll be alone with nothing but my thoughts, and I don''t want that right now."


    Valerie nodded, then moved over to Pale''s bed, taking a seat on the end of it. As she did so, she eyed Pale''s leg, taking note of how it was still heavily bruised, a scowl crossing her face.


    "Pardon my language, but what the fuck happened?" she demanded. "You look like you got run over by a whole caravan of wagons, one wheel after the next. Did you lose a fight with a dragon or something?"


    Pale shook her head. "Not quite¡­ I got drawn into an honor duel. Apparently, my opponent thought I''d disrespected him, and wanted his pound of flesh for it."


    Valerie blinked. "...An honor duel? And you agreed to it despite not even really knowing how to cast magic?"


    "Yeah, about that¡­" Pale began. "I might have unlocked my sjel, finally. I can''t talk about it too much, and obviously I can''t even really cast magic yet, but I at least do it now."


    Valerie stared at her for a moment before a big smile crossed her face. "That''s great! When did you-"


    "Shh!" Pale insisted. "Not so loud! I''m trying to keep it a secret for now. I figure, the less people that know about this, the better."


    Valerie blinked, but then nodded. "Gotcha, gotcha. What''s your affinity, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "I''m keeping that a secret, too. Currently, the only people who know are Professor Tomas and Kayla, and only because they both have to know. I''ll tell you when I''m ready, I just¡­ I need some time."


    To her relief, Valerie nodded again. "That''s fine, I understand completely. Some people see their affinity as being deeply personal, so it''s not weird or anything. You don''t have to tell me if you don''t want to."


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Pale relaxed, letting out a small exhale. "Thanks."


    "Don''t mention it." Her jovial demeanor suddenly changed, and she gave Pale a harsh look. "Of course, I''m going to demand you tell me exactly what happened in your honor duel and why you even accepted it in the first place."


    "The terms were fisticuffs only," Pale specified. "No weapons, no magic, no moving on past first blood or wherever the proctor stopped us. I found those terms agreeable, so I accepted the challenge."


    "That doesn''t explain why, Pale. What made you step into the ring? Because last I checked, people don''t just get into fights because they like the terms of the fight."


    "Truthfully? My opponent was someone Kayla and I have a history with. To put it simply ¨C he killed her father right in front of us. I''ve been waiting to pay him back for that for some time now, and I finally got the chance to do so when he challenged me to an honor duel." She looked down at her leg, grimacing as she did so. "Painful as this may be, it was worth it when I broke his nose. Technically, I won the fight since I drew first blood, but that didn''t stop him from breaking my leg in retaliation."


    "If this is your idea of winning a fight, then I''d hate to see what your idea of losing one is," Valerie commented. "Who was it, by the way? If it''s someone at this school, and they really did kill Kayla''s father right in front of her¡­ I want to know who it is so I can avoid them."


    "Good luck with that," Pale said. "I''ll give you a hint ¨C he tends to go wherever Joel goes."


    Valerie''s eyes widened with surprise. "...Shut up. You''re telling me that it''s Sven?"


    "It is."


    "No fucking way¡­ why would he do that?"


    "It''s a long story," Pale grunted. "To keep it short ¨C Sven is, or rather was, the warrior-king for a band of berserkers from the far north. Some of his men pillaged certain towns towards the northern part of the continent, including Kayla''s village. They killed most of the villagers, but took her father as a slave; we tracked them back to their home trying to rescue him. Needless to say, it didn''t go well¡­ but at least we managed to mutilate Sven on our way out."


    Pale shook her head. "That was the last we saw of him until we got here. Somehow, Joel''s father got a hold of him and convinced him to watch over Joel as he attended the Luminarium, and Sven accepted. It''s sheer bad luck that he''s here at the same place and time as us."


    Valerie stared at her for a moment, mouth agape, before shaking her head. "Hells below¡­ that''s a wild story. I mean, you told me about parts of it before, but I never would have thought Sven himself would be the man you''d been referring to in them¡­"


    "The very same," Pale grunted. "And I suspect he won''t stop being a problem until either Kayla and I are dead, or he is."


    "And you haven''t told anyone about this?"


    "I''ve tried telling a few people, but without proof, it''s my word against his. Funnily enough, the one person who seems to fully believe me is Joel himself."


    "Is that why I haven''t seen Sven around him for several days?"


    Pale nodded. "Almost certainly. Joel seemed pretty disgusted about what Sven did¡­ and about what I did in retaliation." Pale sighed. "Valerie¡­ you need to know something about me ¨C I''m as far from innocent as people come."


    "Pale-"


    "It''s true. I''ve killed more people than you can even imagine, in circumstances I can''t even mention. Maybe some day I''ll tell you the whole story, but for now, honestly, I just want to rest and speak about something a bit more lighthearted."


    Valerie hesitated for a moment. "I understand your misgivings," she said, "but you shouldn''t sell yourself short. If nothing else, you''re still my friend. And I know Kayla feels the same way, too."


    "Thanks¡­" Pale let out a sigh. "So, how is studying going with you?"


    "It''s going alright," Valerie said. "I''m partnered with Cal. He''s¡­ a bit of a handful, but I can deal with him easily enough. I just wish he''d take these things a bit more seriously. And how about-"


    "Pale?" Kayla suddenly asked from outside the door. "Are you in there?"


    Instantly, Pale sat up straight. She gave Valerie an apologetic look, which Valerie quickly waved off, and then she turned towards the door.


    "I''m in here, Kayla," Pale said. "And so is Valerie."


    Kayla stepped into the doorway a moment later; Pale did not miss how she had her own knife on her belt, with one hand resting on its hilt. When she saw it was just the two of them, however, she was quick to relax, and took her hand away from the sheathed blade.


    "Well, I think now is my time to leave," Valerie commented.


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "You don''t have to-"


    "Yes," Valerie interrupted, "I do." Her expression softened. "Talk to your best friend, Pale. Please. I can tell this is a conversation that needs to be had. I''ll be around once you''re done and healed up."


    With that, Valerie stepped out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind her as she went. Kayla, for her part, shifted nervously, seemingly unsure of what to say. Finally, she bit her lip and shook her head.


    "I''m still very mad at you," she stated.


    "I know," Pale said, "and I deserve it. Kayla, I''m sorry-"


    "Stop. You''ve said that to me before, Pale. I just¡­ I want to know that you mean it this time." Kayla let out a heavy sigh. "I''m always so worried that I''m going to lose you¡­ I mean, you and Evie are all I have left, and she''s miles upon miles away. What am I going to do if you''re not around anymore?" she shook her head. "Of course, I guess I''m going to have to get used to that reality sooner rather than later¡­"


    "But not this soon," Pale insisted. "Kayla, I understand what you''re saying ¨C finally, I get it. And you have my word that I''ll never do anything that stupid again."


    "And that''s good and all, but I just can''t figure out why you''d even agree to do something like that in the first place," Kayla said frustratedly. She crossed her arms, a sigh escaping her. "...And that bothers me."


    "Truthfully? I did it because I wanted to hurt him in some way," Pale explained. "I did it because he''s haunted our nightmares for long enough. I figured, if I could just get one good hit in, that''d be enough to satisfy me."


    "And was it?"


    Pale hesitated. "...I thought it would be, but it wasn''t¡­ because now I realize that the only way it ends between the three of us is if he kills us, or we kill him. I don''t know when that''ll have to happen, but that day is approaching. And when it does¡­ when it does, we need to be ready for it."


    Kayla said nothing at first. Finally, she moved over to Pale''s bed and took a seat on it.


    "One more question, Pale," she said.


    "Anything, Kayla."


    "What was it like?"


    Pale blinked, confused. "Hm?"


    "What was it like," Kayla said, "to hit that son of a bitch?"


    At first, Pale wasn''t sure how to respond. After a moment, though, she gave her a small nod.


    "At first, it didn''t feel like anything, but that was probably because he was able to just shrug off my blows," she said. "The broken nose I gave him at the end, though? That was worth him breaking my leg in retaliation."


    "I can imagine." Kayla turned towards her, her expression softening. "Just¡­ don''t do it again. Please. I don''t want to lose you."


    "I won''t," Pale insisted. "You have my word."


    Kayla nodded at that, and then leaned forward to embrace her. Pale returned the hug with one of her own, and both girls sat there for a bit, simply enjoying each other''s presence.


    They''d hugged before, but now, after having her sjel unlocked, Pale had to admit that something about it felt different ¨C more warm than it had in the past. She wasn''t sure what that meant, but she didn''t care.


    Right now, all she wanted to do was hold on to Kayla for as long as she could.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 51

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    By the time Pale woke up in the morning, her broken leg had completely healed, with not even a trace of pain left behind. She let out a small yawn before stepping out of bed, tentatively putting weight on her once-broken leg, just to make sure it wouldn''t buckle beneath her. Sure enough, it felt completely normal.


    Across from her, Kayla stirred awake, blearily opening both eyes before yawning widely.


    "Morning," Pale greeted.


    "Morning¡­" Kayla murmured back. "Urgh¡­ do we really have to go to class today?"


    "Yes."


    "I was afraid you''d say that¡­"


    "You can have the bathroom first, if that''d make you feel better," Pale offered.


    "Thanks, but you can have it first. I''ll wait."


    Pale gave her a nod, then retreated into the restroom, stopping only to grab her clothes and body armor first. After a few minutes spent washing up, she got changed and stepped out, only to discover that, predictably, Kayla had fallen asleep again. Pale pursed her lips, then stepped over to Kayla''s bed and yanked the sheets off of her.


    "Come on, it''s time to get up," she said. "I know wolves like to sleep, but this is ridiculous."


    Kayla glared at her, letting out a small, annoyed huff. "That was a good dream, you know¡­ you couldn''t have given me a few more minutes?"


    "No." Pale motioned to the bathroom. "It''s all yours. I''ll meet you in the mess hall."


    "Yeah, yeah¡­ I''ll remember this next time you''re trying to sleep in¡­"


    Kayla let out another wide yawn as she headed for the bathroom. Pale, for her part, watched her until she closed the door behind her. When it did, a feeling of relief washed over her.


    She''d left Kayla disappointed and worried the day before, but she was glad to see that Kayla hadn''t held it against her, at least not openly. Still, she''d have to remember not to press her luck ¨C after all, Kayla had a point with what she''d said.


    Of course, that brought up another issue. If Kayla had reacted that poorly merely at the thought of losing her¡­


    Pale shook that thought from her mind the moment it entered. It wasn''t worth dwelling on right now; so far, her ship still hadn''t even been repaired yet. She could worry about the finer details once she was up and running again.


    Her mind now cleared, Pale stepped out of the room, and headed for Valerie''s dorm.


    XXX


    "Your roommate is here," Valerie pointed out.


    Pale paused midway through her breakfast sandwich, then looked over to the door. Sure enough, Kayla had just walked in, flanked by Cal and Cynthia. Pale waved her over, and Kayla hesitated before making a beeline for the two of them. Next to her, Cynthia frowned.


    "I don''t think the two of us being here together is wise-"


    "Why not?" Pale asked. "Because of your affinities? That seems like a weak excuse to me."


    "It''s not an excuse, at least to her."


    "So you''re not even going to try?"


    That gave Valerie pause. After a moment, she let out a tired sigh. "...Okay, fine, guilt-trip me if you must¡­"


    Thankfully, she didn''t get up and try to leave. The three newcomers sat across from her and Pale. It took all of about two seconds before Cynthia looked to Valerie and gave her a warm smile.


    "I''ve seen you around, but I don''t think we''ve met," she said. "I''m Cynthia. Nice to meet you."


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Valerie," she greeted, briefly shaking his hand before the two of them separated.


    "Valerie?" Cynthia said. "That''s a pretty name."


    "So, how did you and Pale meet?" Cal asked Valerie. "I take it that it was during initiation, right? I mean, that''s how we met her. I''m asking because, you know¡­ she''s not always the friendliest type."


    "Cal!" Cynthia chastised.


    "What? You know she isn''t."


    "It''s alright, Cynthia," Pale said, quieting her. "To tell you the truth, Valerie and I got off to a rocky start during initiation, to say the least. I won''t go into details-"


    Valerie rolled her eyes. "I will. She thought I was going to kill her, I thought she was going to kill me, one thing led to another, and suddenly both of my kneecaps were blown out. She fixed me up, thankfully, but we didn''t like each other for the longest time."


    "What changed?" Cynthia asked, only for understanding to cross her face. "You two were both at the border together¡­"


    "We were," Pale confirmed.


    "She saved my life," Valerie stated. "I figured, the least I could do is give her a chance. We ended up getting along better than we thought we would. And now we''re here."


    Cal nodded along. "That''s quite the story. As for us, we know her and Kayla because they used us as bait for a giant abomination of a monster, so they could lure it out and kill it." He paused, his eyes widening. "...That sounded a lot better in my head, I''ll admit."


    Before anyone else could add anything to his statement, the headmaster suddenly stood up from his table. Instantly, everyone went quiet, figuring he had an announcement of some kind to make; they were proven correct when he suddenly cleared his throat.


    "Attention," he said. "Just a brief announcement¡­ I will unfortunately be leaving school for a few weeks, as a result of what happened at the border."


    An anxious murmur went up through the assembled students at that, though he was quick to silence it by holding up a hand.


    "Rest assured, I am in no trouble, and in no danger," he added. "What happened was deeply unfortunate and tragic, and given the nature of the incident, it is being treated as a diplomatic incident between the two kingdoms. I am going there to demand restitution and retribution for those students that were lost, and for those that still have yet to recover from their scars left behind by the attack, be they physical or mental."


    The headmaster shifted slightly, then continued to speak. "I expect this process to be demanding. I will be gone for several weeks, but should return by the time your examinations have concluded. I expect you all to show your professors the utmost respect and understanding during this difficult time, if not for me, then for the fallen." He waved his hand over the crowd. "Thank you. Please, enjoy the rest of your breakfast."


    With that, he went back to his table and sat down. After a moment of apprehension, the students returned to eating, though Cal was quick to interrupt.


    "So, the big boss is heading out for a few weeks, then?" he asked. "I can''t say I''m surprised. An attack like that demands retribution. If I''m the person who masterminded the whole thing, I''d be ¨C for lack of a better term ¨C shitting my pants right now."


    "Cal!" Cynthia said. "We''re trying to eat!"


    "I can''t say I''m surprised by this, either," Pale admitted. "It makes sense to me ¨C not only does he want to fight for his students, but if what you said all those weeks ago is true, Albrecht is one of, if not the greatest mage in the world. I have no doubts he''s going there personally to intimidate them into compliance. That''d make more sense than sending an envoy, or something along those lines."


    "I suppose so," Kayla agreed, her tail swishing behind her. "Though admittedly, I don''t know much about politics¡­"


    "Still, this shouldn''t really concern us, should it?" Valerie asked Pale. "I mean¡­ we did our part already."


    "True," Pale confirmed with a nod. "I wouldn''t focus too much on how we fit into all this. The fact is, the headmaster is going there of his own accord, and what happens between him and whatever world leaders over the next few weeks is none of our concern. Probably for the best, too ¨C I doubt any of us want to continuously relive the moment."


    Valerie shuddered. "You''ve got that right¡­ Gods, I''m still having nightmares about it, and I wasn''t even taken captive¡­ I can''t imagine what it was like for those students who were."


    Footsteps suddenly caught Pale''s attention, and she turned around. To her surprise, she all but came face-to-face with Joel. He stood there, staring at her for a moment, before wincing and looking away.


    "We need to talk," he said.


    Pale blinked in surprise. "Okay," she said. "I''m all ears."


    "Not here," Joel insisted. "I want this to be private, just between us."


    Kayla bristled. "If you have something to say to her-"


    "Kayla," Pale interrupted, stopping her. "I appreciate the backup, but I''ll be okay." She turned back towards Joel. "Where is Sven?"


    "No idea. I told I didn''t want to see him for a while, and he seemed to take it to heart. The last time he and I were in the same room together was that day in the library. I don''t know where he is now." He let out an irritated sigh. "Look, can we please just talk? It doesn''t have to be somewhere super secret, just out in the hallway would be fine."


    Pale hesitated, weighing her options. With Sven unaccounted for, the last thing she wanted was to speak one-on-one with his ward. But on the other hand, Joel was supposed to be her study partner for the next few weeks, which meant that at some point, she was going to have to be alone with him. And in that case, she might as well start now.


    Pale stood up, giving Joel a nod.


    "Lead the way," she said.


    XXX


    True to Joel''s word, the two of them found themselves outside the mess hall, standing in the hallway together. Joel shifted, uncomfortable, while Pale just crossed her arms and stared at him.


    "Yes?" she said.


    "Look, this isn''t easy, okay?" Joel stated. "I thought I could trust Sven ¨C I mean, my father knows him, and I''ve always trusted my father, but¡­ now I''m not so sure if I can trust him."


    "Do you mean Sven, or your father?"


    "Both" Joel confessed. "Sven straight-up admitted that what you told me was true. If that''s the case, then my father must have known about it on at least some level ¨C he would''ve found that out during Sven''s vetting process. He never would have allowed a man like that to be my guardian under normal circumstances."


    "So you think something else is going on?" Pale asked.


    Joel said nothing at first, instead turning to stare out a nearby window. "...Truthfully, I don''t know what to think," he said. "If my father knew about this, but still entrusted Sven to be my guardian¡­ I don''t know."


    "Is that why you brought me out here?" Pale questioned. "You want my help with this?"


    Joel shook his head. "No, this is more of a warning than anything. You already know Sven is dangerous, I don''t need to tell you that¡­ but you need to be aware that if my father is in on this, that''s when things get complicated."


    "Complicated how?"


    "Again, I''m not sure. But if he''s taken Sven''s side, despite everything, then it''s for a very good reason, or so he thinks." Joel turned towards her again. "Consider this a friendly warning ¨C as dangerous as Sven is, there''s always a bigger fish in the sea."


    Pale was taken aback. "Are you threatening me?"


    Joel grimaced, then shook his head. "No, not at all. I''m just saying¡­ if you do go after Sven, you need to be very careful, because he absolutely has friends in high places, and they might not take too kindly to seeing him attacked. Me, personally¡­ I have no love for the man. Not anymore, at least. So, do what you have to do, but just be aware that it will have consequences attached, and they''re the kind I''m not sure I would be able to mitigate."


    "...You''d be willing to intervene on my behalf?"


    "Yes, for all the good it''d do." Joel''s eyes narrowed. "Don''t sound so surprised ¨C you saved my life and I''m returning the favor. Anyway, we''re going to have to start meeting up again sooner rather than later. Does tonight after classes work for you? I promise Sven won''t be there."


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "Sure."


    "Good. I''ll see you then."


    With that, Sven walked, leaving Pale standing there, confused as ever. She wasn''t sure exactly what to make of the conversation she''d just had, but one thing was for sure.


    Sven was somehow even more dangerous than she''d initially thought.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 52

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    The study session with Joel went well enough, thankfully. There wasn''t much small talk between them, and Joel was very guarded throughout the whole thing, but it wasn''t hard to see why ¨C she''d essentially admitted to killing an entire village full of people. He may have been stuck with her, but that didn''t mean he had to enjoy her company at all.


    Pale couldn''t blame him for that ¨C try as she might to rationalize it, a whole village of dead people was still a whole village of dead people. As far as she was concerned, being a good person was secondary to the mission at hand.


    And besides, she had Kayla, Evie, and Valerie in her corner already. As far as she was concerned, that was enough personal contact for now. Everyone else was essentially inconsequential to her.


    In any case, things thankfully went well with Joel. The rest of the night and the next day''s classes passed by without incident as well. Eventually, it was time for her one-on-one with Professor Tomas, which she had been looking forward to ¨C now that she had her affinity, it was time to begin putting it to work. So far, she''d only tried basic exercises with it, but Tomas had promised her the other day that today would be when they started to really test its limits.


    And so, Pale made her way down the halls of the Luminarium, headed for Tomas'' classroom yet again. The halls were mostly empty at this point in the day, the other students no doubt occupied by either studying or working out, which meant that she was free to travel on her own.


    That didn''t mean she was careless, though ¨C Sven was out there somewhere, and while he hadn''t made any moves against her since their honor duel a few days ago, she was still wary of the fact that the two of them still very much had a score to settle.


    Whatever he may have been planning, however, it didn''t have a chance to come to fruition before Pale made it to Professor Tomas'' classroom. Curiously, however, the door was shut, which she found odd; the door was generally always open for her at around this time of day. More strange than that, Pale could hear voices from inside the room, and against her better judgment, she decided to press her ear against it and see what was going on that was so secret.


    "-large amount of refugees from the north," she heard Professor Marick, of all people, report.


    "I see," Professor Tomas confirmed. "And is this something to be concerned over?"


    "Not as far as I can tell. They all just seem thankful to be safe."


    "Safe from what?" Professor Tomas asked, his voice taking on a slight edge. "Are they in danger?"


    "No, but they are survivors. Of all things, they claimed a vampire attacked their city a few months ago."


    Immediately, the hairs on the back of Pale''s neck stood up. Was he talking about the attack on Stonebriar? He had to be; that was the only vampire attack she was aware of. For all intents and purposes, the undead were supposed to be extinct; the vampire they''d faced at Stonebriar all those months ago had been an anomaly in the first place, so she highly doubted another one had woken up so soon after the first.


    Why, then, was Professor Marick reporting that these people had seen fit to move after all these months? Pale''s brow furrowed as she pressed her ear against the door again, trying to glean whatever additional information she possibly could.


    "I don''t understand," Professor Tomas claimed. "They''re saying a vampire was responsible for the destruction of their city?"


    "Indeed," Professor Marick answered.


    "And you believe them?"


    "I do. Their stories are all consistent with each other ¨C the local lord unearthed the vampire''s sepulcher and awakened it. He attempted to get the vampire to do his bidding and wipe out some local villages so he could claim the land for himself, but the vampire had other ideas. Soon, the entire city was under siege by the undead, and it''s only thanks to the brave actions of their knight-commander that the vampire was slain and some survivors were able to escape."


    Pale scowled. That was all mostly true, she had to admit, but a few parts of it were missing information ¨C namely, her and Kayla''s involvement, along with Evie''s. Allen hadn''t struck her as the kind of glory hound who would otherwise purposely leave them out, unless there was a reason for it. Had he simply realized that the three of them would most likely not want the kind of scrutiny that would come with the territory of having defeated a vampire lord?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "Regardless," Professor Tomas said, interrupting her thoughts, "why would they come here now? You said this happened months ago ¨C what changed to make them want to come south all of a sudden?"


    "Bandits tried to raid what was left of the city," Professor Marick informed him. "The knight-commander was able to fend them off, but that was the last straw for a great many of the survivors. They decided to head south for greener pastures, and essentially put as much distance between themselves and Stonebriar as they possibly could. Apparently, there''s now a rumor going around that the city is cursed in some way, so as you can imagine, they''re all very eager to put it behind them."


    "Hm¡­ yes, I can imagine," Professor Tomas replied. "Well, if you''re sure this is of no concern, then I and the others will trust your judgment. We''ll be on our guard, of course, but I doubt we have anything to worry about after all."


    "Probably a safe bet," Professor Marick conceded. "Well, I must be going now. Have a good night, my friend."


    "You as well."


    Pale heard one of them abruptly turn and begin walking towards the door, and she hastily peeled herself off of it, then darted around a nearby corner. As the door opened and Professor Marick came striding out, Pale rounded the corner and gave him a small nod, which he returned with one of his own before they both continued on their way.


    The moment Pale stepped inside Professor Tomas'' classroom, she shut the door behind her. The professor was at his desk, as always, though he was quick to light up when she walked in.


    "Ah, there you are," he greeted, a thin smile crossing his face. "Come in, come in. We have much to do."


    "And discuss," Pale stated as she made her way over to the chair across from Tomas'' desk, then took a seat. "I overheard your conversation with Marick just now ¨C the one about what happened at Stonebriar."


    "Did you, now?" he asked. "Well, I assure you, there is nothing to worry about-"


    "I was there, Professor."


    Immediately, Professor Tomas paused, his eyes widening in surprise. "...What?"


    "I was there, during the attack," Pale emphasized. "So was Kayla. The two of us, along with a close friend of ours, helped the knight-commander of the city kill the vampire."


    Professor Tomas stared at her. "...You''re not lying," he surmised. "I can see it on your face¡­ why bring this up to me, though?"


    "I don''t know. Parts of Professor Marick''s story worry me. I mean, I heard nothing of mine and Kayla''s friend, who last I checked, is still there."


    "Well, I''m sure that there''s no cause for concern-"


    "The knight-commander of the city, Captain Allen, is himself a vampire now," Pale explained. "He was infected by the undead curse and turned as a result of fighting the original vampire. Last I remember, he was able to will himself to keep his compulsion to feed under control, but if his willpower ran out, and my friend was still there with him¡­"


    "You''re worried about her," Professor Tomas surmised. Slowly, he gave a small nod. "Okay. I would suggest you speak with Marick later ¨C see if he doesn''t actually know anything about this, or if he can''t figure something out from the refugees. I wish I could help more than that, but unfortunately, I''m as in-the-dark as anyone else here save for you, Kayla, and Marick."


    Pale couldn''t help but deflate slightly at that news. "Thanks, I will."


    "Quite. Now, what''s to say we get started, shall we? Perhaps that will help take your mind off of these fears. You have been practicing the mana control exercises?"


    "I have," Pale reported. "To great effect, even."


    "Good. Then I suppose it''s time we begin the practical application of your magic."


    Professor Tomas reached under his desk, coming back with a large, heavy-looking cloth sack. He set it down on the desk with a clang, then opened it and let her look inside. Immediately, Pale looked back to him, tilting her head in confusion.


    "I don''t understand," she offered. "It''s just a bunch of steel daggers."


    "Indeed," Professor Tomas replied, his grin widening. He reached into the bag and pulled out a dagger, then placed it on the table. "A close personal friend of mine is a local blacksmith, and a few days ago, he got a rush order from an anonymous client for a large supply of these. Unfortunately, this batch wasn''t heat treated properly, and is therefore unsuitable for delivery to the client. Rather than be forced to melt these weapons down to re-forge them or otherwise try to sell them for a loss, I offered to buy them from him at market value, so he''s at least breaking even."


    Pale''s heart skipped a beat. "You shouldn''t have-"


    "Stop," Professor Tomas interrupted. "I don''t mind. It was the right thing to do for you."


    "How much did it cost you? I don''t have a lot of money, but I can repay-"


    "No, you won''t," he said sharply. "I insist. This is my gift to you, so you may improve your magic abilities." The corners of his mouth quirked upwards. "Although, when you get good enough to turn lead into gold¡­" He shook his head. "Jokes aside, I want to try something."


    "What did you have in mind?" Pale asked.


    He motioned to the blade of the dagger. "See if you can''t transmute the blade into something similar."


    "Similar how?" Pale asked.


    "You tell me. What elements can you think of that are similar to steel?"


    Pale thought for a moment. "Steel itself is made up of iron and carbon," she said. "Logic would dictate that I would need to turn it into something similar ¨C so another metal."


    "Precisely," Professor Tomas replied. He motioned to the dagger again. "Normally, I would suggest trying to turn it into iron, but we might have a tough time trying to differentiate between the two with the naked eye."


    "What about aluminum?" Pale asked. "It''s very rarely naturally-occurring, but it is very soft compared to steel. We''d be able to tell by touch if it was successful."


    Professor Tomas nodded. "Sounds good to me. Might as well try it."


    "Okay." Pale paused. "So, what do I do?"


    "Focus on the dagger itself," Tomas advised. "Try to picture its very essence and building blocks ¨C the things that make it what it is."


    "You mean in a figurative sense?"


    "Or a literal one, whichever is easiest for you. In any case, picture it in its purest form, and then try to alter that form as needed."


    Pale nodded. She closed her eyes, and immediately, she saw an image of several molecules pass by in her mind. At a glance, she recognized them for what they were ¨C a combination of iron and carbon, arranged in such a way as to create the steel before her.


    "Do you have it?" Professor Tomas asked.


    "I think so," Pale said, not opening her eyes.


    "Okay. Now, what would you need to do in order to transmute what you''re seeing into aluminum?"


    Pale bit her lip, trying to focus on what needed to be done. The first thing that came to mind was the atomic formula for each ¨C the carbon was inconsequential to her, so she set it aside for now. However, she knew that iron had twice as many protons in its nucleus as aluminum did. Maybe if she simply tried to rearrange them? It didn''t make much logical sense that way, but then again, nothing about magic did, and it was worth at least a shot.


    And so, Pale pictured the protons splitting off from the iron molecule, twelve of them attaching themselves to the carbon molecule.


    Unfortunately, that was as far as she got before a small explosion shook her out of her thoughts.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 53

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    Pale was still alive, at least ¨C she knew that right away, thanks to the slight burning in her lungs, the stench of smoke filling her nostrils, and the coughing fit she''d been reduced to in the wake of her transmutation apparently failing. Professor Tomas didn''t seem any worse for wear, either ¨C if anything, he was doing slightly better than her, his coughing fit nowhere near as pronounced.


    Thankfully, Professor Tomas had left a nearby window open, and so the smoke began to clear sooner rather than later, helped by the two of them fanning it outside. Before long, they were able to see each other again, and Pale couldn''t help but grimace.


    "Sorry," she offered. "I guess I didn''t do it right."


    "Don''t be so sure," Tomas offered. "Check the blade. You might be surprised."


    Pale blinked, uncertain, but did as she was told, reaching for the dagger on the table. It was blackened and covered with a thin layer of soot, but it was at the very least still in one piece, even if it was hard to tell whether anything had changed under the sheet of carbon that had buried it. Pale picked it up by its hilt, and her eyes went wide.


    It was much lighter than it had been initially.


    "Whoa¡­" she couldn''t help but breathe. "I think I actually did it¡­"


    "Truly?" Professor Tomas asked, a tinge of excitement creeping into his tone. "Let me see, please."


    Pale obliged, passing him the blade hilt-first. Tomas took it, and right away, flashed her a grin.


    "Congratulations," he told her. "The spell seems to have mostly worked."


    Pale blinked, then tilted her head. "Mostly?"


    Tomas nodded, then brought a finger up and carefully wiped away some of the soot and carbon that had coated the blade from the explosion. As he did so, Pale could easily tell that part of the blade ¨C from the tip to about halfway up the blade itself ¨C was discolored compared to the rest of it.


    "It seems as though you were able to transmute this half of the blade," Tomas surmised. "And I must say, you figured it out quick. Is there some explanation behind this?"


    "Yes, actually," Pale said with a nod. "You told me to envision the steel down to the very elements that made it up. I did exactly that, and it seems to have mostly worked. Though, I wonder why it only went halfway¡­ perhaps the splitting off of the protons to try and form a new molecule, combined with the excess of carbon molecules and my sjel serving as the fuel source caused part of the energy to be consumed?" Pale shook her head. "It''s the only explanation I can think of. Transmutation already seems to go against one of the basic laws of physics, but then again, so does magic in general, so I''m not surprised."


    Tomas blinked. "...Apologies, but I do not understand you just said in that sentence. Pro-tons? Laws of physics? Mole-cools?"


    "Molecules," Pale corrected. "And don''t worry ¨C I''m not surprised; all of those things took my creators many centuries to figure out, and they needed a much higher level of technology to do so in the first place. Perhaps one day this world will progress to that point."


    To her surprise, Tomas shook his head. "I wouldn''t count on it too much. People here seem to be addicted to the status quo, and the various major religions frown upon turning away from magic."


    Pale''s expression faltered. This was the first she''d heard of any kind of religion existing on Sjel. It didn''t surprise her in the slightest, of course, but it was odd that she''d gone so long without being properly introduced to its concepts yet.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Perhaps a question to ask Kayla or Valerie later¡­


    Professor Tomas suddenly shook his head again. "Anyway, we still have an entire bag full of knives, similar to this one. Are you willing to keep going?"


    "Of course," Pale replied with a nod. "I''m willing to keep working at this until I am all but out of mana."


    At that, Tomas let out a small chuckle. "No need to go quite that far, at least not yet. But yes, let''s continue and see what we can accomplish for now."


    Pale gave him another nod, then settled back into her seat as he pulled another dagger out of the bag and set it on the desk before her.


    It was going to take some work before she was adept with magic, but she was nothing if not patient and persistent.


    XXX


    About an hour later, Pale came striding out of Professor Tomas'' office, exhausted but in good spirits. She''d gone through several other daggers over the past sixty minutes, and while she hadn''t succeeded in turning more than half the blades on them into aluminum, she''d eventually gotten to the point where she was able to do so without causing a small explosion along the way.


    The fact that she was only able to transmute half of the blade implied to her that her initial assessment had been correct ¨C something was being lost as part of the transmutation process, no doubt as a way to fuel the reaction in the first place. This was both good and bad ¨C bad because it meant that if she wanted to transmute some of the metal here into something that could be used to repair herself, then it was going to take much more time, effort, and energy to do so.


    Good because, if she was correct, then it seemed like it might be possible for her to use up more of her mana in order to use up less of the material during the transmutation process.


    She hadn''t thought to try this during her lesson with Tomas, though that was probably for the best for now ¨C after all, she still needed to learn the very basics of how it all worked before trying to mess with the formula, so to speak. But that being said, the next time she had the opportunity to do so, she was absolutely going to try it. If it worked the way she suspected it would, then that would serve as a huge breakthrough for her.


    For now, though, exhausted as she was, she still had one more stop to make before heading back to her dorm room.


    XXX


    Thankfully, the classroom was still well-lit by the time Pale stopped outside of it. She wasn''t surprised; it seemed that most of the professors at this school enjoyed working late, or otherwise needed to do so. Given how rapidly the exams were approaching, neither would surprise her.


    In any case, Pale raised a hand and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it opened, revealing Professor Marick standing there, a confused look on his face.


    "Oh, hello," he greeted. "Apologies if I sound confused; I don''t usually get student visitors this late."


    "I understand, Professor," Pale replied. "Mind if I come in? I had a few things I wanted to discuss."


    "Sure, sure."


    Professor Marick stepped aside, allowing her entry. She strode into the room, though she didn''t bother to sit down; hopefully, this wouldn''t take long.


    "So, what''s on your mind?" Marick asked, shutting the door behind him.


    "Just had some questions about something Professor Tomas mentioned to me earlier. I was hoping you''d be able to answer a few of them."


    "Of course," Marick offered. "What did you want to know?"


    "What can you tell me about where the refugees have come from?"


    Marick paused, giving her a surprised look. "Admittedly, that isn''t the question I expected," he said. "What brought this on? Are you worried about the sudden influx of people?"


    Pale shook her head. "No. Kayla and I had a friend who was up there ¨C an elf, in fact. I wanted to make sure she was okay. I could write a letter to her, and in fact I will after this, but that will still take time to get to her. I was hoping you''d be able to clear that up for me beforehand. It''s a long shot, I know, but still."


    Marick shook his head. "Unfortunately, I cannot. None of the refugees I spoke to or mentioned anyone like that to me. That doesn''t mean she''s dead, of course, but as much as I hate to say it, I wouldn''t get your hopes up, given how few survivors there were in the end."


    Pale pursed her lips, then nodded. "What about the bandits, then? Was there anything specific about them?"


    "They were just a local group, looking to pillage whatever was left after the vampire killed almost everyone there," Marick reported. "The one universal constant among all the stories I was told by the different refugees was that the knight-commander took care of them all easily enough, but that the prospect of being beset by bandits right after surviving an attack from a vampire was too much for them to take."


    "Understandable, I suppose," Pale grunted. "One more thing, Professor."


    "Go ahead."


    "Did the refugees say how long the trip took them, or why they specifically chose the Luminarium?"


    "Yes, actually. The trip took them several weeks of non-stop travel, and they picked here specifically because this was the farthest away they could get from Stonebriar without crossing the border."


    Slowly, Pale nodded. She had no indication that Professor Marick was lying about anything he''d just told her, and even if he was, it wasn''t like she would be able to confront him about it here. It was disappointing to not hear anything about Evie, but that was fine ¨C she could always send her a letter in the morning.


    "Was that everything you wanted to ask?" Professor Marick questioned, interrupting her thoughts.


    Pale gave him a quick nod. "It was. Thanks, Professor."


    "Sure. And for what it''s worth, I hope your friend is okay."


    "I''m sure she is," Pale replied, making her way over to the door. "Thanks again for answering my questions."


    "Anytime, Pale," he replied. "Have a good night."


    "You as well, Professor. I''ll see you in the morning."


    With that, Pale exited his classroom and began making her way back to her own dorm room, intent on getting as much sleep as possible before the next day started.


    She still had questions about the refugees, and parts of the story still concerned her, but Professor Marick was going to be of no help to her, she could see that much right away. At the very least, she''d started making progress on her magic, slight as it was. Idly, she just hoped she wouldn''t have to use her magic offensively any time soon.


    Things had been quiet since the incident at the border, and Pale was finding that she preferred them that way.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 54

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    The next few weeks passed by almost as a blur. Pale settled into a peaceful, quiet monotony, all things considered ¨C she went to class, practiced her magic with Professor Tomas, and then studied with Joel for a bit into the night. She didn''t see any trace of Sven at all during those weeks, which struck her as a bit odd, though whenever she''d brought this up to Joel, he''d simply replied that he''d told Sven not to show his face around the Luminarium for some time.


    Pale wasn''t exactly happy with that explanation, though she supposed it made sense ¨C Joel had phrased it as a direct order that Sven wasn''t to be seen near him at least until after exams were concluded, and it wasn''t hard to see why, given that Joel likely wanted to keep his mind free of any distractions until then, Sven included. She supposed she could understand his absence, even if the thought of it made her uneasy.


    She wasn''t sure what Sven was planning, exactly, but whatever it was, she was confident that even he knew better than to attack the Luminarium itself. At the very least, he was working for Joel''s father, and she doubted Duke Magnus was willing to go that far, assuming he even had a reason for it in the first place.


    In any case, Pale was able to get through the next few weeks without any issues, aside from one very obvious one. Thankfully, it was one the rest of her fellow students shared.


    "Gods¡­" Kayla muttered as she paced back and forth through their shared dorm room. "Is it really today¡­? I mean, I spent the past few weeks desperate to stop studying, and now it''s finally here, and now I''m panicking, and oh Gods, I wish I''d studied some more, and-"


    "Kayla," Pale stated, interrupting her. "Calm down, okay?"


    Kayla''s brow furrowed. "Easy for you to say, given you remember every little detail of what you''ve read."


    "That is true, but you''re forgetting that I also struggle with magic still." Pale motioned to the bag of half-aluminum daggers seated on the ground at the foot of her bed. "Seriously. I don''t know what Professor Tomas'' exam is going to look like, but that''s the one that worries me."


    Kayla blinked. "...You''re really worried about that? Come on, Pale ¨C Tomas loves you. You''re his favorite student, as you should be, given how much time you''ve spent with him and how much progress you''ve made since getting here."


    "You really think so?"


    "Uh, yeah? I mean, he''s not going to fail you just because you''re not as practiced as the rest of us, especially given the circumstances." Kayla''s expression softened. "Have some faith, would you?''


    "That advice applies to you as well, you know," Pale pointed out. "You''ve studied as much as the rest of us have. You''ll be fine."


    "I sure hope you''re right¡­"


    There was a knock at the door, though neither of them had to guess who it was for very long.


    "Hey, open up!" Cal shouted. "Exams start soon, and I want to eat something first!"


    "Cal," Cynthia chastised.


    "Well, I do!"


    Pale let out a tired sigh, then shook her head and made her way over to the door, which she threw open. To her surprise, it wasn''t just Cal and Cynthia standing there, but Valerie as well. Valerie seemed to sense her surprise, and offered her a shrug.


    "We met up along the way and figured it''d be easiest to go as one big group," she stated simply.


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "Yes, I can see that."


    "Alright, yeah, we''re all well-acquainted by now," Cal said, impatient. "Can we go? I''m starving and really don''t want to sit through multiple exams on an empty stomach."


    "I don''t see why not," Kayla offered. "Let''s head out, then."


    The rest of them nodded, then followed after Kayla as she began to lead them through the halls.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    XXX


    Breakfast surprisingly got more somber as time went on. When they all sat down, there had been some chit-chat among them, mainly reviewing study topics prior to sitting for the exam. But as they got deeper into their food, all conversation steadily tapered off, until eventually, they were all completely silent. The only noise present to interrupt Pale''s thoughts was the sound of silverware scraping across their plates.


    Finally, it got to be too much for her. Pale swallowed her last mouthful of eggs, then pushed her plate away with a reluctant sigh.


    "Alright," she said, "I get that we''re all nervous to some degree, but this is ridiculous. You all are acting like someone died."


    "Can you blame us?" Valerie questioned. "It''s the first exam we''ve had since arriving here. It very much could be do or die for us, at least in terms of determining whether we get to continue studying here."


    "That''s true, but it''s also true that you''re all fantastic students," Pale pointed out. "If you weren''t, you wouldn''t still be here. And besides, you all forget that I work in the library on the weekends ¨C I''ve seen you all in there at one point or another, hunched over the tables, engrossed in your notes and books. If anyone in this school has a chance of passing these things with flying colors, it''s all of you."


    "But that''s only for the written portion of the exam," Cal stated. "What about the practical-"


    Pale couldn''t help but roll her eyes. "Oh, please, I doubt the practical portion of the exam will be any more difficult than what we went through during initiation."


    Cynthia tentatively raised a hand. "...To be fair, you saved us from that thing," she said. "Without you and Kayla, it would have killed us for sure."


    "Even without that, you still made it through. The Amalgamation wasn''t the only danger lurking in those woods, after all. Or do you truly expect me to believe that was the only thing you two encountered down there?"


    Cynthia fell silent at that, and slowly lowered her hand. Pale let out a tired sigh.


    "Look, I don''t mean to imply that this is going to be completely smooth sailing, but come on," she said. "Besides, it''s not like we can avoid it ¨C we have to get through these anyway, so there''s really no sense in worrying about them like this."


    "Said the girl who admitted she was worried about her magic just a few minutes ago¡­" Kayla muttered.


    Pale gave her a decidedly un-amused look, and Kayla offered her a sheepish grin. "I mean¡­ you were," she said.


    "Yes, and you talked me out of it, the same way I''m currently trying to talk all of you out of it," Pale declared. "Look, let''s just take it one test at a time, alright?"


    "I suppose¡­" Valerie said quietly. "Anyway, if I remember right, the first test is with Glisos, right?"


    "Correct."


    "So it''s absolutely going to be some kind of physical stress test. Beautiful¡­" Valerie let out a sigh of resignation. "Well, at least we roughly know what to expect¡­"


    "At least we''re all in good shape," Cynthia pointed out. "Better than most of the other students, at least, even if the school has apparently done its best to change that¡­"


    She motioned to the plate of eggs in front of her. She''d barely eaten half of them, but Pale could tell there was no way she''d be able to put away the rest without getting sick.


    "To be fair to them, at least it''s good food," Pale stated. "Good for your body, I mean."


    "Really?" Cal asked, curious. "In what way?"


    Pale hesitated. "...Just something I''ve heard," she said. "Animal meat and eggs are good for you. Ditto for fruit and vegetables."


    Cal stared at her, then shook his head. "Anyone ever tell you that you say weird stuff sometimes?"


    "Cal!" Cynthia said.


    "Well, she does."


    "Yeah, she does," Kayla said. Pale gave her an uneven look, which earned her another sheepish grin. "Well, I mean¡­ you do¡­"


    Pale''s brow furrowed, and she crossed her arms. "Whatever. The point is, I''m sure these tests will be fine in the end. It doesn''t really matter, because we have to get through them either way. Besides, how bad could they be?"


    XXX


    "Higher, Pale! Lift the bar even higher than that! Come on!"


    Pale grunted as she strained to complete what she could already tell was going to be her final rep on the makeshift bench press Glisos had designed. She''d used this exact piece of equipment many times so far over the past few months, and yet she''d never been pushed the same way she was being pushed now.


    Glisos, for his part, seemed to take the entire exam as an excuse to push them all to the absolute breaking point. They''d started with weights, where he''d judged them on multiple different compound lifts ¨C deadlift, overhead press, back squats, and now bench press. The goal now was to beat whatever their previous one-rep-max for the year had been.


    He hadn''t been entirely clear as to the consequences of what would happen if they failed to top their previous max, but Pale wasn''t about to take any chances on that one.


    With one final burst of energy and an exhale of breath, Pale finally succeeded in pushing the bar up as high as it would go. She held it there for a moment, all while Glisos both judged her form and urged her on.


    "Lock in," he said. "Hold it, hold it¡­ okay, good. Rack it."


    Pale lowered the barbell back onto the rack, then sat up, gasping for breath. She brought a hand up to rub the sweat away from her forehead, then looked around. Most of the other students had already completed this exercise, leaving her as one of the final few to still finish it, but even the ones who hadn''t gone yet were still dripping with sweat and gasping like they''d just run a mile. The bench press had been the final weight Glisos was judging them all on, which Pale hoped meant that they were done.


    Even if, deep down, she suspected he still had a nasty surprise for them at the end.


    "Good job," Glisos suddenly said, getting her attention. "You beat your previous max on all four compound lifts. Are you sure that you weren''t just holding back throughout the year?"


    "I wasn''t," Pale insisted.


    "Uh-huh. Guess I didn''t do a very good job of pushing you lot throughout the year, then, because nobody''s failed just yet."


    That got Pale''s attention. She already knew that a few students hadn''t managed to beat their previous records on at least one lift. They''d all thought those few students were gone for sure, but Glisos had other ideas, apparently.


    Glisos motioned for her to stand on the sidelines with the others, which Pale did, stepping over to where her friends were standing.


    "How do you feel?" Valerie asked.


    "Like I just got in a fight with a speeding carriage and lost," Pale answered.


    Valerie let out a small, amused snort. "Didn''t take you for a joke teller."


    "I''m not. That was more of a sarcastic simile than a joke."


    "Whatever you say, Pale. What do you think is going to come after this, anyway?"


    "Knowing Glisos, he''s probably going to have us run three miles or something," Pale stated. "In fact, I''d be surprised if-"


    At that moment, a massive explosion rocked the school. The students all stumbled, some of them falling to the ground in surprise, frightened yells escaping from them. Pale was one of the few exceptions; she managed to maintain her footing, even if only barely, while the rest of her friends save for Kayla all fell.


    "What the hells was that?" Valerie asked as she picked herself up off the floor.


    Pale opened her mouth to respond, but didn''t get a chance to before a new sound filled the air around them.


    It was the sound of far-off screaming from another part of the school.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 55

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    Pale didn''t hesitate. The moment she heard screaming, she began to run for the door, only for Glisos to stop her by erecting a solid wall of earth between her and the way forward. Pale immediately rounded on him, leveling a harsh glare in his direction.


    "What are you doing?!" she demanded.


    "I can''t let you go out there," Glisos stated.


    "Why¡­?" Cynthia asked, nervous. "What''s going on?"


    "The school is under attack," Pale told her. "Unless this is part of the exam, Professor?"


    Glisos shook his head. "No, you''re correct. Wait here, all of you."


    Before Pale could say anything further, Glisos covered the only door out of the classroom in a thick wall of rock, then the floor beneath his feet shifted, seeming to swallow him whole before closing. Pale stared at the spot he''d been just a second ago, then turned towards Valerie.


    "You''re an Earth Mage," she stated. "Can you get me out of here?"


    Valerie blinked. "I can, but¡­ why-"


    "Because I''m not going to just sit here and wait to die, that''s why," Pale declared. "Especially not when they''re out there killing people already."


    Kayla stepped forward, glaring at her. "If you''re going out there, then you''re not going alone. I''m with you."


    "So are we," Cal and Cynthia declared.


    Valerie shook her head. "I''m not just going to sit idly by, either."


    Pale stared out at them. She wanted to argue, to point out that it was too dangerous, but another explosion suddenly rocked the school, and she knew they had no time. Much to her chagrin, all she could do was nod her head in understanding.


    "Okay," she said. "But be careful. Don''t go looking for any fights you can avoid; let the upperclassmen and teachers handle the brunt of it."


    Pale peered out past her friends at the other students who were in the room with them. The first-year students, at least, had been split into different groups for testing purposes; half of them were in Glisos'' classroom, and the other half were elsewhere. Of the students grouped up with her, the majority of them didn''t seem like they''d be of much use in a fight ¨C they were already panicked and worried, and Pale could tell they''d just be liabilities more than anything. There were a select few, however, who seemed like they were more than willing to leap into the fray to protect their fellow students and professors.


    And as much as it pained her to admit, they were all likely going to need the help.


    "Anyone who''s willing to fight, we''re headed out into the hallway," Pale stated. "Valerie, can you open up a path through the walls for the others to escape? I don''t like the idea of leaving them here alone ¨C they''ll be sitting ducks if someone breaches the door or walls."


    Valerie nodded. "Just say when."


    "Do it."


    Valerie obliged, and a moment later, the stone wall shifted, revealing a new passage to the exterior part of the campus grounds. Most of the students needed no further prompting, and quickly ran for their lives, unwilling to fight whatever threat was laying siege to the school. That ended up being most of the students there among them; Pale counted only nine total who had chosen to stay and fight, and five of them were herself and her friends.


    Pale let out a short exhale, then looked back over towards Valerie. "Before we do this, we need to establish our objectives."


    "Which are¡­?" Cal asked.


    "Rescue anyone who needs help. Stop the attackers by any means necessary." Her eyes narrowed. "For me, personally¡­ I need to get to Virux''s office, where my weapons are being stored. Otherwise, I''m useless in a fight."This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "What do you mean?" Cynthia asked. "You-"


    "Are unarmed, save for my knife, and there''s no telling who, exactly, is attacking the school," Pale pointed out. "I''m heading for Virux''s office to get my weapons back. And I''m heading there alone."


    Kayla stared at her, horrified. "Pale, you can''t do that!"


    "I have to. Professor Virux''s office was in the direction of the first explosion. I''m heading right into the hornet''s nest, and I will not allow myself to drag you all there with me." She shook her head. "The rest of you need to stick together and work to save as many people as you possibly can. I''ll rejoin as fast as I''m able to." Pale looked over to Valerie and gave her another nod. "Open it."


    Valerie hesitated for just a moment, then did as she was told and opened a path out to the hallway. Pale didn''t wait for anyone else; she immediately broke off, sprinting down the halls, aiming for Professor Virux''s office. Behind her, she heard the others calling her name, but she paid them no mind, instead focusing on her present mission.


    Hopefully, there wasn''t too much resistance on her way to Virux''s office.


    XXX


    Pale crept through the halls of the Luminarium, one hand wrapped tightly around the grip of her knife as she went. Off in the distance, she could hear spells being cast, along with the screech of steel clashing against steel, followed by the occasional cry of pain or death rattle. The noises only grew in intensity the closer she got to Virux''s office, which she''d realized by now was located in or near the epicenter of the initial explosions.


    That realization couldn''t help but make her wonder as to how the attack had started. Virux''s office wasn''t exactly at the front of the school; the attackers would have had to make their way deep into the Luminarium in order to launch their opening salvo there. Which meant, somehow, they had to have sneaked past the external guards.


    Pale shook those thoughts away almost as soon as they''d entered her head. The how of it didn''t matter, she supposed; the important part was that they were under attack now, and she needed to stop it while she still could. And that started with getting her properly armed. She still had a supply of weapons and ammo back aboard her pods, but calling down a pod in the middle of the Luminarium would no doubt draw every hostile in the area towards her as they tried to investigate the commotion, and while she was confident in her ability to defend herself, Pale did not agree with the idea of facing that many people at once, particularly if they were skilled enough and bold enough to launch an assault like this in the first place.


    With that in mind, Pale continued to move through the halls. She passed by several classrooms that reeked of blood, and grit her teeth as she did so. Whoever was attacking them, they''d definitely started towards the center of the school and worked their way out; she saw no trace of any of them as of yet, even though there was plenty of evidence of their handiwork scattered about. There were no dead students in the halls, though that was almost certainly because they''d all been in class at the time of the initial assault. Rather, she saw bloody footprints spattered across the floors, and knew the attackers had come this way.


    Pale approached a branching path in the hallway before her, one that split both left and right, and was about to step out into it and continue on her way when she heard a pair of unfamiliar voices echoing through the halls. Hurriedly, she flattened herself against a nearby wall, keeping a tight grip on her knife as she heard them approach.


    "Where is this kid, anyway?" one of them said.


    "No idea."


    "Damn it¡­ this school is a fucking maze. How does anyone find their way around this place regularly?"


    "Look, the kid''s just a secondary objective, right? We''ll let his father know we weren''t able to get to him in time, or that one of the teachers found out and killed him before we could stop it. I mean, what choice does he have but to believe us?"


    Pale''s eyes narrowed even as she committed the overheard conversation to memory. Whatever was going on, it was clear that this wasn''t just some random attack. Whoever was responsible, they had some agenda of their own, and it sounded like it involved one of the students at the school.


    Pale had no time to think further on it, as two people dressed in ragged tan cloaks suddenly turned the corner in front of her. Both of them were armed with bloodstained knives, and coupled with the conversation she''d just overheard, that was enough for Pale to determine they were threats.


    She launched herself at the nearest one, a tall, tan-skinned man, and leaped onto him, slashing his throat in the process. Blood splashed against the nearby wall and against her, and she let go of him as he fell to the ground, clutching at his wound with wide eyes. The other hostile, having seen his friend get his throat cut, raised a hand up towards her; Pale had barely enough time to dive out of the way before a bolt of lightning came arcing towards her. It missed her by mere centimeters, leaving a small crater against the stone floor as the accompanying thunderclap echoed against the walls.


    Pale recovered quickly, rushing her next target down and going in for a series of stabs. To her dismay, he was able to counter each and every one of her incoming strikes with ease, and finally, after she accidentally overextended a bit too much, he made her pay for it with a stab directly to her chest.


    Her body armor saved her life, the ceramic plates turning the blade before it had a chance to penetrate and do any damage to her. She felt a part of her armor crack inside the plate carrier, but it didn''t matter ¨C her enemy had made a mistake, and she made him pay for it with a quick slash directly to his jugular vein. Blood began to gush from his wound as he choked, and his knife came clattering to the stone floor below as he fell, trying desperately to clamp his hands over the wound and stem the tide of blood. Pale didn''t let him, though ¨C she drove her knife into his heart with a series of three stabs, and then he was gone.


    The fight wasn''t over, though ¨C the first man suddenly charged at her with a feral yell; she could only assume he''d cast some kind of healing magic on himself while she''d been distracted, because when she turned towards him, the only remnant of the wound she''d inflicted upon him was a trail of scar tissue stretching across his throat. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up before thrusting her up against the nearby wall, choking the life out of her as he did so; Pale thrashed in his grip, trying desperately to free herself as his hand closed around her neck. It was no use, though ¨C his free hand kept her arm pinned to the wall as well, preventing her from retaliating with her knife. Pale began to desperately gasp and sputter in his grasp, black closing in on the edges of her vision as her supply of air dwindled with every passing second.


    Then, suddenly, she was showered with a spray of blood. The man choking her stiffened, and then his eyes glassed over and he fell to the ground, releasing her in the process. Pale fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for breath, but had the presence of mind to look up.


    To her relief, Virux was standing above her, wielding a spear. He was covered in blood, but none of it appeared to be his own.


    "Are you okay?" he asked, offering her a hand. Pale accepted the gesture, allowing him to pull her to her feet, though she stumbled a bit as he did so.


    "Fine¡­" she managed to get out between coughs. "Where¡­ your students¡­"


    Virux shook his head. "I got them all out already. What about you? Why are you wandering the halls alone?''


    "Need¡­ weapons¡­"


    Understanding dawned on Virux''s face, and he nodded. "Follow me. I''ll get you armed up right away."


    With that, he took off down the hall. Pale took a moment to finish collecting herself, then followed after him.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 56

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    Much to her relief, Pale and Virux did not encounter any further resistance as he led her through the halls of the Luminarium. That wasn''t to imply that the fighting had ended ¨C far from it, in fact; even now, Pale could still hear the telltale echo of steel against steel ringing out through the various rooms and halls, along with the occasional burst of magic or explosion that rocked the entire school.


    It was no better outside, either ¨C through a nearby window, Pale caught sight of spells being fired throughout the nearby city. The sight of it gave her pause.


    "Virux," she said. "What happened here?"


    Virux let out a grunt, then shook his head. "I have no idea. They came out of nowhere, as far as I can tell ¨C they struck right as exams were beginning to really take off; we had no time to mount a proper defense. And moreover, this absolutely flies in the face of how combat is usually undertaken between the various territories."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean it usually isn''t this clandestine. Sure, there''s the occasional cloak-and-dagger assassination of a high-ranking official, but an entire sneak attack like this?" Virux shook his head. "This is completely unheard of. It reminds me of an attack by a bandit tribe more than anything¡­"


    Pale''s eyes widened, the gears in her head beginning to turn as she put the pieces together. "Where is Sven?" she demanded. "Have you seen him?!"


    Again, Virux shook his head. "No, I haven''t seen him in several days."


    "Do you remember what I told you about him at the start of the year?"


    "Yeah, he-" Vrrux suddenly paused, a shocked expression crossing his face. "...What? You don''t think-"


    "I don''t know what to think right now," Pale hastily added. "All I know at this point is we need to mount a counterattack and fend off whoever''s doing this¡­ and if possible, we need to find Sven and hopefully get some answers."


    "Agreed on all counts," Virux said with a nod.


    At that moment, the two of them rounded a corner, and Pale spotted Virux''s office. The door was already open, and she could see a figure rifling through the various stacks of paperwork. Curiously, he didn''t seem to care about any information he might have been able to glean from the papers. Rather, he seemed intent on finding something else instead.


    Virux didn''t give him a chance to accomplish whatever it was he was trying to do. The Dragonborn dashed forwards, spear at the ready, and thrust it straight through the cloaked man''s back. The point of the spear erupted out the man''s front, spattering Virux''s office with blood; Virux, for his part, held onto the spear with one hand, and with his other, drew a knife from his belt and jabbed it into the side of the enemy''s throat. Blood spurted out from his freshly-severed carotid artery; he was unconscious within seconds, and dead after just a few more.


    Virux sheathed his knife, then yanked his spear out of the dead man''s back. As Pale watched, he moved over to behind his own desk, then reached down to the floor, resting his palm against the stone. To her surprise, the stone suddenly shifted to glass, revealing a hollow cavity underneath the floor, in which her weapons had been placed. Virux shattered the glass, then reached into the hole and began to pull her weapons out.


    "You''re an Alteration mage¡­" Pale surmised, awestruck even as she moved over to him and began to take possession of her weapons.


    Virux nodded. "Yes. I tried to keep it a secret, but these are desperate times."


    "I¡­ I thought I was the only one here¡­"


    "Only one¡­? What do you-" Understanding suddenly dawned on Virux''s face, and he stared at her in surprise. "...Tomas told me you''d finally unlocked your sjel, but I never would have thought¡­" He trailed off after a moment, then shook his head. "You and I will have much to discuss when this is all over. But for now, let''s focus on routing the enemy before they can kill anyone else."


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    Pale nodded as she readied her weapons, the room suddenly filling up with metallic clicks and clacks as she loaded up magazines and chambered rounds in everything. By the end of it, she had a complete kit and then some ¨C her usual .45-caliber pistol was nestled in its spot on her hip, while her semi-auto shotgun was slung across her back. In her hands, she held the assault rifle that had gotten her through initiation. Ammunition-wise, she was carrying almost a full combat load for her pistol, plus about half a full load for her assault rifle, not to mention two full shell caddies for her shotgun, consisting of mostly buckshot with a few slugs mixed in.


    All told, she was absolutely loaded for bear. With one final motion, Pale pulled back the bolt on her assault rifle, watching as it stripped a 6.8-millimeter round from the top of the magazine and fed it into the chamber without an issue. Once she was finished getting armed up, she turned towards Virux and gave him a nod.


    "Let''s get to work," she said.


    XXX


    Her and Virux came sprinting out of his office, Pale''s rifle tucked into her shoulder as she swept the nearby hallways. Off in the distance, she saw several students come running around a corner, pursued shortly thereafter by three cloaked figures. She didn''t hesitate; her rifle barked six times, the sound of the suppressed gunshots echoing through the halls, and the cloaked figures all stumbled and fell as the rounds tore into them two at a time. The three men fell to the ground and didn''t move.


    Pale motioned towards the panicked students, who had stopped a short ways away from Virux. "Watch them," she urged her professor as she closed in on the three freshly-killed corpses. Sure enough, none of them were breathing, but just to be sure, Pale shot each one an additional time in the head.


    "Clear," she called out.


    A moment later, Virux came running up behind her, the students hesitantly following after him as he did so. "Wow," he said, eyeing Pale''s rifle as he closed in. "I didn''t expect it to be so¡­ brutally effective. Where did you say you got that, again?"


    "Focus," Pale emphasized. She motioned to the students gathered around them once more. "Can you watch them?"


    "Yes, I can."


    "Good. I need to head back and find my friends. What I need from you is an assurance that you''re okay to keep clearing rooms on your own and saving anyone who can be saved. Can you do that?"


    Slowly, Virux nodded. "You have my word."


    "Good." Pale was about to turn away when she suddenly thought of something and looked back over to him. "And if you see Sven¡­ it''s best if you don''t engage him unless you have to. He''s crippled, but still extremely dangerous."


    "Understood," Virux replied. "Good luck to you, Pale."


    "To you as well, Professor."


    With that, the two of them split up, Virux heading one way and Pale heading the other. She was moving deeper into the Luminarium now, towards the epicenter of the fighting.


    She could only hope that her friends were doing okay in her absence.


    XXX


    A short burst of suppressed gunfire tore through the air, and an enemy soldier fell, the top half of his head sheared off. The other soldiers, all of whom were standing over dead students and were holding bladed weapons, looked up towards where the noise had come from.


    The last thing they ever saw was the muzzle flash from Pale''s assault rifle as it spat hot lead in their direction.


    Her weapon clicked empty for the first time just as the final enemy soldier fell, clutching at his stomach, screaming in agony from the bits of white-hot metal that had pierced his abdomen. Pale paid his cries no mind as she reloaded her weapon; at the end of the day, they were nothing more than the cries of a wounded animal caught in a trap.


    "Talk," Pale said as she stood over him, her assault rifle leveled at his head.


    The man sneered at her even through the obvious pain etched across his face. "Fuck you. Why would I-"


    Pale''s only response was to suddenly jab the end of her weapon''s still-smoking suppressor directly into the man''s forehead. He yowled in pain as the heat coming off the suppressor burned him; after a few seconds, Pale yanked the gun away from his head, leaving him there with tears of agony trailing down his face.


    "Talk, or I drag this out and make them hurt even more," she said. "This is your only warning. You have exactly five seconds to tell me something useful."


    The soldier tried to stare her down for a few seconds before realizing she wasn''t bluffing. Finally, he let out a sigh. "I don''t know any-"


    "Time''s up."


    Pale angled her rifle downwards and fired off a round directly into his right kneecap, the high-velocity bullet nearly separating the lower part of his leg away from the rest. The man let out an agonized howl, which only grew in intensity as Pale again pressed her suppressor against his forehead.


    "Do not make me ask again," she threatened.


    Footsteps from behind her suddenly caught her attention, and Pale let out a muffled curse as she turned around. Four more cloaked figures were approaching, no doubt having been drawn in by their comrade''s pained screeches. Pale, for her part, wasn''t surprised by this; she thumbed her weapon''s fire selector back to fully automatic, and laid on the trigger. Spent brass ejected out of her weapon with every shot, bouncing off the walls and floor as their payloads screamed downrange, impacting against flesh and bone. It was over in just a few seconds, the four men who''d come to investigate having been riddled with bullets in the blink of an eye.


    With that done, Pale turned back towards her captive, her eyes narrowing dangerously. He stared back at her, but any trace of bravado was gone, having been replaced with sheer terror.


    Without a word, Pale lifted her boot up and stomped on his bullet wounds, eliciting the expected cries of pain from him.


    "Tell me something useful right now or I''ll send you straight to whatever hell you believe in," she growled.


    "Alright, alright!" the man managed to gasp out. "We were sent¡­ by Duke Magnus!"


    That gave Pale pause. She''d only heard of the Duke in passing ¨C first at Stonebriar, and also in the past at the Luminarium ¨C but she knew that he was Joel''s father. Of course, while that answered one question, it raised so many others.


    "Who put you up to this directly?" she demanded. "Because I know it wasn''t the Duke himself; he''s hundreds of miles away. So who was it?"


    "I don''t know!" the enemy soldier cried out. "Some bandit! He''s the one who taught us to attack like this! I don''t know his name or even what he looks like, I swear!"


    "Then you''re of no further use to me."


    ''Wait-"


    That was as far as he got before Pale sent one final bullet directly through his skull. The round erupted out the back of his head, spewing blood, brains, and chunks of skull across the stone floor underneath him. The man''s dead body fell against the ground, and Pale wasted no time in continuing on her way.


    She''d confirmed one thing, now to find confirmation for the rest. Of course, that was going to be easier said than done, given she had no idea where to find Sven.


    Another explosion rocked the Luminarium, and she grit her teeth as she ran.


    There''d be time to worry about all that later, she figured. For now, she needed to regroup with her friends.


    And so, she continued on her way, the whole time hoping they''d managed to hold out so far.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 57

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    Pale ran through the halls of the Luminarium, her assault rifle at the ready. A few stray enemies came into view as she went, and she was quick to cut them down as rapidly as she saw them. Not that it made much of a difference ¨C somehow, more of them were breaking into the school. How they''d gotten here in the first place, she had no idea, but they were here now, and that meant the only thing to do was fight.


    As Pale stepped out into another hallway, an arrow suddenly came whistling by her, missing her face by an inch. Without hesitation, she rounded towards the direction it''d come from and fired off a burst at the cloaked woman she saw. To her dismay, one of those magical barriers appeared in front of the woman, stopping Pale''s rounds from hitting her.


    Pale let her rifle hang by its sling and drew her knife, then ran towards the archer, who was frantically trying to nock another arrow. She wasn''t able to close the distance before the woman fired off the arrow at her, aiming for her chest; Pale made no attempts to dodge the incoming projectile, instead letting it impact against her body armor, which stopped it. The archer''s eyes widened in surprise and she turned to run away, but by then, it was too late for her.


    Pale rapidly ran her down, shoving her knife into the base of the woman''s spine. The archer fell with a pained shout, one that was silenced a split-second later by a suppressed gunshot as Pale drew her handgun, placed it flush with her head, and fired a single round. The archer''s lifeless body impacted the ground in a pool of her own blood; Pale gave her a brief baleful look before holstering her pistol and retrieving her knife, then continued on her way.


    Another explosion suddenly rocked the school, this one close-by enough that it briefly knocked her off her feet. Pale fell to the ground, her ears ringing, but was quick to pick herself up. From the sound of things, that explosion had come from a nearby classroom. She didn''t hesitate; it was going to divert her away from finding her friends, but she wasn''t about to just let more innocent students die.


    Pale approached the classroom, weapon at the ready as she quietly opened the door. Inside, it was a horror show ¨C bodies lay strewn across the room, all of them missing heads or limbs, which were nowhere to be found. The interior of the room was spattered with blood and gore; it covered almost every part of the room, leaving only the occasional spot clear. A close look at the bodies told Pale that they were Luminarium students.


    "No, please! Please don''t kill me!"


    At the sound of a young woman''s panicked scream, Pale turned her attention to the front of the room. Three cloaked men were standing there, over top of several students who''d been bound by their hands and feet, and were lying on the floor. One of the men, the biggest, most well-built of the three, was holding, his hands pressed up against either side of her face as she sobbed and begged for her life.


    Pale didn''t need to see any more. She raised her rifle and fired off a burst at the man, only for her rounds to impact that same barrier as before. She shifted her attention to one of the other two, hoping to at least take one of them out before closing in with her blade, but to her shock, the muscular man''s hands suddenly started to glow white-hot, and a second later, there was a massive explosion. Again, the room shook, and Pale fell to the ground from the shockwave. Something spattered against her; a look down at herself revealed it was a mixture of blood and brains. Stunned, she turned back to the front of the room, and found the muscular man holding the woman''s body, which was now little more than half a torso with a pair of legs attached. As she watched, he threw the remnants of the girl''s body away, then went to reach for another student, who started screaming in fear and panic.


    The other two cloaked men, meanwhile, turned towards Pale and began to advance upon her, wicked grins on their faces. Pale fired off what was left in her rifle''s magazine at them, transitioning from target to target as she did so, but to no avail ¨C they were both protected by barriers. Without hesitation, she let her rifle hang, then drew her knife in one hand and her pistol in the other.


    Her ears were still ringing and her head was swimming, but she''d seen enough. All the attackers needed to pay for what they''d done, but these three in particular, she was going to enjoy stopping.


    One of the two men advancing towards her drew a sword from a sheath on his hip, then broke into a run to try and close the distance. The other, meanwhile, began prepping what appeared to be a powerful lightning spell. Pale focused on the immediate threat first, watching as he approached. He was big, but relatively slow ¨C that made it easy for her to predict his movements, anticipate where he was likely going to try and attack her, and then move out of the way in the nick of time. The man seemed surprised she''d managed to guess his move, but it didn''t last ¨C she lashed out with a stab to his sword-carrying arm, which she felt sever the tendons in his wrist, forcing him to let go of his weapon. He let out a howl of pain, his wrist spurting blood as he clutched it, but to Pale''s dismay, a moment later, and a green glow enveloped his arm, healing his wound.


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    There was no time to focus on that, however, as out of the corner of her eye, Pale saw the Fire Mage finish preparing his spell. He pointed his hand at her, and her eyes widened as she dove for cover behind a nearby overturned desk. The lightning impacted against the desk, where it began to burn a hole in the center. Pale scrambled out from behind cover, diving a ways away just as the lightning bore through and reduced the desk to ash where she had once been laying.


    Pale leaped to her feet just as the swordsman charged her once more, trying for an overhead swing. She dove around him, just barely managing to avoid being hit. At that moment, someone screamed, and another explosion filled the room, followed by a shower of gore. From her spot already on the ground, Pale saw the swordsman stumble and nearly lose his footing, and took advantage of it to strike.


    She threw herself at the man, severing one of his Achilles tendons. He dropped down to one knee, but before he could fully recover or begin healing, Pale finished him with a stab through his eye. He stiffened, but then fell to the ground, lifeless.


    She had no time to revel in her victory, however, as her entire body suddenly erupted in pain. A ragged scream tore its way from her throat as she was electrocuted. It only lasted a split-second, but it left her falling to her knees regardless, her handgun slipping from her grasp even as she maintained a hold on her knife. Pale looked up just in time to see the blood-soaked muscular man had given up on executing the remaining students and was now stepping over to her, an expression of sheer rage on his face.


    Desperate, Pale ripped the shotgun from its spot slung across her back and leveled it at the muscular man, firing off a shot that struck him right in the head. The barrier saved him, of course, but the shock coupled with the sheer power of the shotgun caused him to flinch and take an involuntary step back, giving her some much-needed distance to breathe.


    Pale forced herself up onto her feet, firing off several more shotgun blasts into his legs as she did so. He stumbled, eventually falling to the ground, and when he did, she charged past him altogether, aiming for the Fire Mage. He hadn''t expected to be targeted, it seemed, as he was in the middle of preparing another lightning spell. He went to point his hand at Pale once more, but another shell from her shotgun knocked his attack off-course, and the bolt of lightning sailed harmlessly past her.


    Pale dropped the empty shotgun as she closed in, knife at the ready, and plunged it into his guts. He went to scream, but didn''t get a chance to, as she yanked the blade out and then stabbed him, again and again, finally finishing with a deep slash across his stomach that left him disemboweled. The mage fell to the ground, clutching at his own guts as they trailed out of his body.


    Pale didn''t get a chance to finish him off completely, as the muscular mage suddenly charged into her, and picked her up, clearly intending to kill her the same way he had all the others. Pale, for her part, dissuaded him with a deep stab directly to his arm, which forced him to release his grip altogether. He recovered quickly, however, and before Pale knew it, he was pointing a hand at her, and flames were leaping out. She dove to the side, but he managed to catch her right leg, which was set ablaze. Pale desperately tried to roll away to put out the fire before it could spread to the rest of her gear, and in so doing, she gave him more time to approach her. Just before he could set her ablaze once more, she reached for her rifle, still slung against her chest, and hurriedly reloaded, then fired off a burst directly into his hand, trying to knock it off-target. She partially succeeded, the flames catching her left arm this time.


    Pale sprang to her feet, desperately patting her arm with her other hand to put out the fire, gritting her teeth as she felt the burns on her skin in the process. She''d been forced to leave her knife behind when she''d reloaded, meaning she was now down to just her rifle.


    An idea suddenly came to mind, and she turned around just in time to see him no more than a few meters away from her now. Pale took a breath, then concentrated on the floor underneath his feet. It took almost everything she had left, but to her relief, the section of floor he was standing on, once stone, suddenly turned to mud. The muscular Fire Mage gave a shout of surprise as he sank down to his knees in it, and that gave her all the time she needed.


    Pale ran up to him, placed the barrel of her weapon flush with his head, and fired off a long burst at point-blank range. The man''s now-headless body slumped over, and after a moment, Pale let out a breath she''d been holding and allowed herself to slump over, gasping for air.


    Her entire body hurt in some way, she was covered in blood and gore, and she still could barely hear anything, but she''d won.


    Turning towards the remaining students, Pale saw that there were still five of them who were all obviously frightened and traumatized, but also still very much alive. She paused only to retrieve her gear, then made her way over to them and cut them loose from their restraints. None of them wasted any time, instead sprinting out of the room. Pale watched them all go, then sheathed her knife, reloaded everything, and continued on her way.


    XXX


    Somehow, in the few minutes she''d spent clearing out that room and saving those students, things had worsened around the Luminarium. Now, she could smell smoke from somewhere on-campus; a quick look outside revealed it was coming from one of the upperclassmen dorms. She let out a grunt, then shook her head and continued on her way; there was nothing she could do for them, at least not right now.


    If she wanted to help, she''d have to regroup with the others.


    "Kayla!" she shouted out as she continued on, her voice coming out very hoarse due to a combination of exhaustion and pain.. She''d somehow ended up back at her own dorm room now, not that it mattered. She walked past it without a second thought. "Valerie! Are you here?!"


    She received no response at first, but then another voice answered hers.


    "Pale¡­?"


    Instantly, Pale whipped around, her rifle at the ready. To her surprise, Joel was standing in the doorway to her room, having obviously been inside.


    And somehow, someway, he was completely unharmed.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 58

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    Pale could only tense as she stared Joel down, her grip on her weapon turning shaky as she grit her teeth.


    "What are you doing here?" she demanded.


    Joel seemed taken aback by her sudden aggressive demeanor, coupled with her disheveled, gore-spattered appearance. "Easy," he said, his voice shaking.


    "Don''t start. Put your hands up, now."


    Joel obliged, raising his hands. "I''m unarmed."


    "You''re a mage, you''re never unarmed. Why are you here?"


    "I was looking for you," he insisted. "I figured you''d come back here, but¡­ that doesn''t seem to have been the case."


    The two of them paused, continuing to stare each other down. Pale stood there, panting from a combination of exertion and her injuries. Her burns were beginning to become debilitatingly painful. She''d contemplated using a syringe on them, but had decided against it ¨C she was running very low on them as-is, and wanted to save the few she had left for when things were truly dire.


    Then again, with the way Joel was looking at her, perhaps she was underestimating the extent of her wounds. He was staring at her like she was little more than a walking corpse. Whether that was the truth of the matter or he''d simply never seen wounds to the extent of hers before, she wasn''t sure; the reality was probably somewhere in the middle. Or at least, she hoped it was.


    Pale shook those thoughts from her mind, instead turning her attention back to Joel. "And you were looking for me because-"


    "Because of what you said about Sven," Joel insisted. "I think¡­ I think he might be behind this."


    Pale let out a grunt. "Tell me something I don''t know. This has his handiwork written all over it. The only question is whether you''re involved or not."


    Joel''s eyes widened. "W-wait, you don''t mean-"


    "I know Sven is responsible for this, somehow," Pale growled. "And moreover, I know your father ordered him to do this."


    "How did you-"


    "I managed to interrogate one of the attackers, they said Duke Magnus, your father, ordered this attack."


    Joel''s shocked expression turned to one of downright terror, as he frantically shook his head. "Pale, I swear, I had no idea this was going to happen. I don''t know what my father is planning, I-"


    "You really expect me to believe that?"


    "If it were true, then why am I still here?" he pointed out. "It doesn''t make any sense for me to still be here if I were truly in on it, does it? I would''ve been given advance notice somehow and been able to get out, or Sven would have come to get me, or something. But I''m still here, and I haven''t seen Sven for a number of days now." He shook his head again. "However you look at it, it doesn''t make any sense. And besides, what were you planning to do to me if I was?"


    "What do you think?" Pale said gruffly.


    Joel swallowed nervously, his hands beginning to shake. "L-look¡­ you have my word that I am not a part of this. I had no idea this was going to happen, I swear. And if you don''t believe me¡­ if you don''t believe me, then you''re just going to have to kill me."


    Pale stared at him with wide eyes. She expected this to be some kind of trick or play, but Joel seemed completely genuine about it. He was offering no resistance towards her, and moreover, he''d had an opportunity to kill her while her back had been turned towards him, and he hadn''t taken it.


    She had no reason to suspect he was involved in this, and that meant there was only one thing she could do.


    Pale lowered her weapon. Joel breathed a sigh of relief, then lowered his hands.


    "Thanks," he said.


    "Don''t," Pale warned. "The school is still being attacked. People are still dying. Either get in the fight or get yourself to safety. Either way, don''t waste my time any more."


    Joel gave her a nod. "I¡­ I understand. I''ll go look for people I can help. What about you?"


    "I''m looking for my friends," Pale stated.


    "They''re in the fight?" Joel asked. That earned a nod from Pale, and he added, "Okay. If I see them, I''ll back them up."


    That took her by surprise. "You don''t have to-"


    "It''s my school, too, damn it," Joel growled. "And whether these are my father''s men or not, I refuse to allow them to rampage the way they''re doing now." He motioned for her to go. "You search that side of the school for them, I''ll look on the other. And like I said, if I see them, I will back them up, no matter what."


    "Even against Sven?"


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    Joel''s face darkened. "Especially against Sven. He''s no friend of mine... not anymore, at least."


    Slowly, Pale nodded. "Very well. But if you get one of my friends killed, or are dumb enough to do it yourself¡­ I will find you, and I will make your inevitable demise even more painful than whatever they went through. Count on it."


    With that, Pale turned and walked away, leaving Joel alone.


    XXX


    Another burst left the barrel of Pale''s gun. The bullet-riddled body of a woman in a black cloak fell to the ground, and she laid there, coughing and sputtering as she choked to death on her own blood. Pale didn''t even bother to finish her off, reasoning that it would just be a waste of ammo.


    And besides, she''d caught that particular woman right in the middle of cutting a student''s head clean off. As far as Pale was concerned, she wasn''t worth sparing a bullet on for a mercy killing.


    Pale did a quick ammo check, grimacing as she did so. She was nearly out of assault rifle ammunition, having had to use another magazine as she ran back towards where the mess hall was. Somehow, more attackers kept spilling into the school; they had to be coming from somewhere nearby, she knew, especially since the fighting in the city outside of the Luminarium hadn''t yet died down, either.


    This attack had clearly been planned for some time. Most likely, all of these people had been on standby somewhere very close by, and had simply been waiting for a signal to jump into action. Most likely, that had been the explosions she''d heard at the very start of the attack.


    The only question at this point was how they''d gotten there in the first place, but that was something to worry about later.


    Pale stepped into the mess hall, and the first thing that hit her was the stench of death. A lot of fighting had taken place here; there were dozens of corpses strewn about, from both sides. Blood covered the floor and walls, so much of it that it actually gave Pale pause for a moment as she took it all in. After a second or two, she shook her head, then continued on her way, her boots squelching as she marched through the sea of blood surrounding her.


    "Hey!" she heard a muffled voice cause. "I-is someone there?! Get this guy off of me!"


    Pale paused, having recognized the voice. Without hesitation, she moved over to where she''d heard it, underneath yet another very large, very muscular man in a black cloak.


    "Nasir, it''s me," she said. "I''ll get you out."


    Pale slung her rifle, then took hold of the dead body, and with great effort, managed to push it away enough that Nasir could scramble out from underneath it. He scrabbled to his feet, panting in shock, eyes wide the entire time. After a moment to collect himself, he turned towards Pale, and gave her a nod of appreciation.


    "C-can''t believe I''m saying this, but¡­ thanks," he offered.


    Pale just nodded. "What happened here? Are you the only survivor of this battle?"


    Nasir bit his lip. "...Yeah. Most of the others were already dead when I got here. I had to use my magic, it¡­ it wasn''t pretty¡­ I think I got four of them before the last one collapsed on me and left me trapped."


    Pale blinked. "I''m surprised you''re still here."


    Nasir hung his head. "¡­I tried to run away, actually¡­"


    "Still, you did a good thing. That''s four less enemies that would have killed people." Another far-off explosion rocked the campus, causing Pale to tense as she snapped her weapon to her shoulder. "We don''t have time for this," she said. "Are you staying or going?"


    Nasir blinked. "I-"


    "Nobody will think less of you if you choose to leave. Don''t force yourself into something you''re not ready for."


    Again, Nasir bit his lip. "Actually, I¡­ I want to stay¡­ want to fight¡­"


    Pale was taken aback by his answer, but didn''t allow herself to show it, instead giving him a nod. "Okay." She motioned behind her. "Look for Joel. I want someone to keep an eye on him."


    "Keep an eye on him¡­? You think he''s involved?"


    "No, but I have a feeling someone is going to come looking for him. Not to kill him, but to take him out of here. If that happens, don''t try to save him; the person after him will kill you."


    Nasir swallowed nervously. "...I''ll do it," he said softly. "But what about you?"


    "I''m still looking for my friends," Pale insisted. "Do you know where they might be?"


    Nasir thought for a moment, then shook his head. Pale scowled, but didn''t say anything.


    "That''s fine," she offered. "Go, now. We don''t have time to waste."


    Nasir nodded, then took off in the direction she''d motioned to. Pale watched him go, then let out a tired sigh before continuing on her way.


    XXX


    Thankfully, it only took a few more minutes of searching before Pale found something promising. She stepped into a hallway close to the mess hall, and was stunned to see electric burns on some of the walls. Kayla may not have been the only Fire Mage in the world capable of using lightning ¨C the one she''d fought earlier was proof enough of that ¨C but it was the best lead she''d gotten, and it only got stronger when Pale started finding jagged rocks embedded into the walls nearby as well.


    Of course, any relief she might have felt was tempered by the fact that these remnants being present, along with the blood and corpses strewn about, meant they''d been fighting for their lives, but at least it was something.


    Pale continued on that way, facing no resistance, and it wasn''t hard to see why ¨C she passed by a multitude of bodies, both allied and not, before eventually finding a blood trail that seemed to lead to, of all things, a storage closet. Pale tensed herself for whatever was inside, then raised her rifle and leveled it at the door.


    "Kayla, Valerie, I''m here," she said. "If you''re in there, please make yourselves known."


    For a moment, there was just silence, but then she heard the door unlock, and it was thrown open. Inside, much to Pale''s relief, were Valerie and Kayla. Valerie was upright, though covered in several deep cuts and bruises along with some burns, while Kayla was on the floor, grimacing, one hand keeping a torn piece of cloak pressed up against her left thigh.


    Instantly, Pale surged forwards, already reaching for her IFAK. "How bad is it, Kayla?" she demanded.


    "It''s¡­ not great," she replied through gritted teeth. "Lots of blood¡­"


    "Probably an arterial bleed. Hang on, I''ll get it taken care of." Pale withdrew a syringe from her first-aid kit. "This is going to sting for a moment, Kayla."


    Kayla, for her part, offered no resistance as Pale plunged the needle into her thigh and depressed the plunger. In an instant, Pale saw her relax, a sigh escaping from her as the medicine did its work.


    "What now?" Valerie asked.


    "Watch her," Pale commanded as she threw away the used needle.


    Valerie''s brow furrowed. "Why? What are you planning to do?"


    "Don''t," Pale warned. "I''m still capable of fighting. Kayla needs a few minutes to fully recover, and someone needs to be here to watch over her while she does. If you''re both still intent on fighting, at least do me a huge favor and wait until she''s fully healed."


    "Then we''ll wait here."


    "We can''t-"


    "Pale," Valerie said, cutting her off. "We are not letting you go off on your own. Especially not in the state you''re in." Her eyes narrowed. "How bad are your wounds, exactly?"


    "Valerie-"


    "Pale, I swear to the Gods, if you try to argue this any further with me, I am going to knock you out, tie you up, and leave you locked in this damn closet myself," Valerie growled. "Now, be honest."


    Pale hesitated, then let out a sigh. "...I''m not doing well," she admitted. "I don''t know the full extent of them yet. My leg''s been burned pretty badly, though; if I keep moving on it, I know I''ll be limping sooner rather than later."


    "You can''t use that medicine on yourself?"


    "I need to save it-"


    "Pale."


    Pale stared at her in surprise, but could tell this wasn''t a hill worth dying on. With a reluctant grunt, she reached into her IFAK, only to shake her head when she came back with nothing.


    "I''m out," she said. "And that''s the truth. I used my last one on Kayla just now. I can''t get more until later."


    "Why not?"


    "Because if I call a resupply pod down, I''ll be drawing everyone right to us," Pale explained. "Those things aren''t exactly subtle. Even if I did call one down, my overall supply is diminishing rapidly. I didn''t have very many to begin with, and I''m going through them at an unsustainable rate."


    "Do you have anything else you can use?" Valerie asked.


    Pale hesitated. "I have some painkillers-"


    "Use them, then."


    "I would, but I''m trying to ration-"


    "Pale, this is no time to be stingy," Valerie pointed out. "If you''ve got something to take the edge off, then do it."


    Pale hesitated once more, but then nodded. She reached back into her IFAK, coming back with a small tube of medical salve, which began to apply to her burns. It wasn''t as fast-acting as the syringes were, and it didn''t do anything to actually help treat the wounds, but it did serve to numb the pain enough that she was no longer in danger of limping.


    With that done, Pale looked around, frowning as she did so. "Where are the professors?" she asked.


    "Don''t know at the moment," Valerie replied. "I saw Tomas trying to lead some students to safety outside, but that was several minutes ago, and I don''t think he noticed us, otherwise he would''ve tried to help."


    Pale shook her head. "We need to mount some kind of proper defense here. That means figuring out where everyone is getting in from, and stopping them."


    "No arguments there." Valerie motioned out a window across the hall. "I last saw him headed that way. If you want to go find him, I''d start there."


    Pale nodded. At that moment, Kayla stood up, shaking her head as she did so.


    "I''m ready to move," she said. "Let''s go."


    Pale went to take point, only for Valerie to stop her by reaching out and taking her by the shoulder.


    "Don''t do anything stupid," Valerie warned her. "If you get yourself killed, I''ll never forgive you for it."


    Pale stared at her wordlessly for a moment, but then let out a nod as the three of them took off, searching for Professor Tomas.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 59

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    Pale moved through the halls, weapon at the ready, Valerie and Kayla not far behind her. The fighting in this part of the school had mostly died down by now, though that wasn''t an indicator that the attack was over, or anything close to it; in fact, Pale could still hear the sounds of combat from outside.


    Rather, all that told her was that there would barely be anyone left alive in this part of the campus, friendly or otherwise.


    "Valerie," Pale said without looking back.


    "Y-yes?" Valerie replied.


    "Where did you last see Professor Tomas?"


    "He was headed out to the courtyard, flanked by several students," Valerie told her. "No doubt he was trying to lead them all to safety."


    "Which part of the courtyard?"


    "Just outside this building. I think he was trying to get them to the headmaster''s office ¨C if I remember right, there''s only a single point of access for that building, so they''d have been able to set up a better defensive position there."


    Pale shook her head. "That''s not far away¡­"


    "Is that where we''re headed?" Kayla interjected.


    "It is," Pale confirmed with a nod. "At this point, our focus is on trying to save as many people as possible, and finding Sven."


    A worried glance crossed over Kayla''s face. "You intend to fight him?"


    "If I have to. Hopefully, we can find Tomas before then and go into it with a bit of extra firepower."


    The three of them approached the doors to the courtyard, where they held for a moment. Through the slabs of stone, the sounds of combat were still audible ¨C the noise of spells being cast, people screaming in pain and terror, and steel against steel echoed through the courtyard outside, causing Kayla and Valerie to tense in anticipation. Pale sucked in a breath, then opened the door, sweeping out with her rifle at the ready.


    Outside, it was already a bloodbath. Dead and mutilated bodies littered the school grounds, many of them students, their blood seeping across the stones around them. And despite the veritable sea of corpses surrounding them, the fighting was still nowhere near being finished ¨C even now, Pale could see groups of students fighting for their lives against groups of cloaked assailants.


    It was enough for her. Pale immediately sprang into action, laying on her rifle''s trigger, spraying lead across the courtyard in bursts. One of the cloaked men, who''d been standing over a defeated student with a knife in his hand and a lecherous grin on his face, was riddled with bullets, his body jerking with every impacted of brass against flesh, before finally, he fell a split-second later, dead before he''d even hit the ground.


    The other cloaked assailants whipped around, no doubt surprised by the sudden chattering of Pale''s suppressed assault rifle. Spells began to fly towards her, and Pale braced herself for impact, only for Valerie to suddenly erect a solid slab of rock between her and them, allowing the incoming ice, fire, and lightning to impact harmlessly.


    "Go!" Valerie called through gritted teeth. "We''ll watch over you!"


    Pale nodded, then ran out from behind cover. She was just in time to catch several more cloaked people running towards her, readying magic in their hands or otherwise brandishing bladed weapons. She wasn''t taken aback by it, however; instead, she moved from target to target, firing a burst into each one center-mass as soon as her holographic sight''s reticle was in place. Three people fell before her rifle ran dry, and she was forced back into cover to reload.


    "Last mag," Pale reported as she ripped the remnants of her rifle''s ammunition out of a pouch in her plate carrier, then reloaded.


    "What does that mean?" Valerie asked.


    "It means my most effective weapon is about to be useless. I won''t be out of the fight, but things will get harder in a bit."


    Slowly, Valerie nodded. "Understood."


    Pale sucked in another breath. "Kayla, hold here and back me up."


    "Where are you going?" Kayla demanded.


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    "Nowhere far." Pale chambered a round in her rifle. "Just going to thin the herd a bit more."


    Kayla blinked, then gave her a slow nod. "Hurry back."


    Pale returned her nod with one of her own, then stepped out from behind cover. More spells came to greet her, and she threw herself to the ground to avoid the incoming tide of fire and shards of rock. Kayla lashed out with spells of her own, firing lightning off into the distance, while Valerie did the same with chunks of stone. Pale, for her part, hurriedly picked herself up off the ground once the incoming spells began to taper off, then took off running. She made it just a few yards before she spotted the source of the magic directed towards her ¨C several people had climbed up on the roof of a nearby building, and were raining spells down on the students below. At the sight of it, Pale snapped her rifle''s magnifier into place, then thumbed the weapon''s selector switch to semi-auto and began to return fire with controlled shots. The three men on the rooftop fell in a matter of seconds, all of them remaining unmoving from their newfound spots on the ground.


    A sudden shout took Pale by surprise, and she spun around just in time to see a curved sword coming down towards her. In a panic, she raised her rifle, and managed to block the incoming slash. Steel scraped against aircraft-grade aluminum as the sword tore a deep gouge in her weapon''s receiver, but Pale was unperturbed; as the swordsman recovered and went in for another strike, she dropped her rifle completely, then tore her handgun from its holster and began to fire out of sheer desperation. Several .45-caliber bullets ripped through the swordsman''s torso, but he wasn''t out of the fight yet; he stumbled back, a look of shock crossing over his face, as the slide on Pale''s pistol locked to the rear and the trigger went dead.


    Before Pale had a chance to reload, however, a large stone came flying towards the swordsman, impacting against his head. He fell to the ground in a heap, his sword slipping from his grasp and blood pooling around his upper body as he twitched and convulsed. Pale hurriedly reloaded her handgun, then finished him off with a single shot to the head.


    Once it was done, she stood there for a moment, panting from exertion, her hands shaking. After a second, she took a breath, then gave Valerie a thumbs-up before reaching for her rifle, only to shake her head and let out an annoyed grunt when she saw the extent of the damage to it. The swordsman had struck with enough force to cut almost clean through one side of the weapon; even now, she could see part of the bolt carrier group exposed through the gouge. Without a second thought, she unloaded the weapon and tossed it aside, reasoning that it was no longer safe to fire, and that even if it was, she was almost out of ammo for it, anyway.


    Instead, she unslung her shotgun from its spot on her back, and not a moment too soon, as a loud scream from nearby caught her attention. It had come from around the corner of a nearby building; without any hesitation, Pale sprinted towards the source of it. She had just about made it to the other side of the building when two more cloaked people ¨C a man and a woman ¨C ran out from behind it. They paused for a moment, surprised to see her so close, but it didn''t last, as a look of sheer malice crossed over the two of them and they began to hurry towards her.


    For her part, Pale returned their malicious looks with shotgun blasts. To her dismay, however, the woman had a barrier that prevented the pellets from making contact with her, while the man hurriedly erected a barrier of stone in front of himself that the shotgun couldn''t penetrate through. Pale grimaced, then slung the weapon, drawing her handgun and knife instead as she rushed the two of them down.


    Of the two enemies, the man moved first. He tried to open craters in the ground, no doubt intending to make her fall into one, but with his line of sight obscured by the stone slab he''d raised, he wasn''t accurate enough to get to her; Pale was able to sidestep each one, even if only barely, the entire time putting shots into the woman''s barrier to try and keep her stunned. The ploy worked, and the female assailant stumbled back, surprised at the sudden onslaught. Her hesitation only lasted for a moment, but it was enough for Pale to fully close the distance and lash out with her knife. To her shock, however, the woman recovered quickly enough to parry the incoming slash, and the two locked blades for a moment until, out of the corner of her eye, Pale saw the Earth Mage readying another attack. She hurriedly disengaged, then turned her attention to him and fired a round that impacted against his right arm. He fell back, screaming as he clutched at his bullet wound, which gave her enough breathing room to temporarily focus on the woman.


    And not a moment too soon, as she lashed out with a stab. Pale grunted as the blade made impact with her plate carrier; it was turned away by her body armor, but Pale still stumbled back, surprised by the sudden blow. The cloaked woman grinned a manic grin, and went to follow it up with another stab.


    She was utterly unprepared for a bolt of lightning to suddenly strike her in the head, her eyes boiling and popping for a moment before the spell finally killed her.


    Pale watched as the woman''s smoking corpse fell to the ground, but it only lasted for a moment before she seized the opportunity and put the rest of her handgun''s magazine downrange into the Earth Mage, riddling him with half a dozen more bullets before he finally fell to the ground, dead.


    Once they''d been dealt with, Pale picked up her shotgun, then rounded the corner. She found another cloaked man, holding a knife to a female student''s throat as she silently wept.


    "That''s far enough," the man said. "Drop your-"


    Pale didn''t let him finish. Instead, she racked out the shell of buckshot in her weapon''s chamber, dropped in a slug from one of her shell caddies, and then fired once. The man''s head exploded in a shower of gore, and his body fell backwards as the female student scrambled for safety, very much traumatized, but thankfully unhurt. Pale spared the student a quick look, but after confirming she was physically unharmed, she simply reloaded her shotgun and turned back around, just in time to find Valerie and Kayla running up to her.


    "Thanks for the assists, both of you," Pale said. As the two of them nodded, she looked around the courtyard; the fighting was still raging, but the enemy''s numbers had been dramatically thinned out since their arrival on the scene. "Okay, we need to-"


    "Pale!"


    At the sound of Joel''s voice, Pale whipped around. She was surprised to see him running towards them, with none other than Professor Kara at his side. As Pale watched, Kara split off from him, sprinting towards the nearest enemy, who she decapitated with ease. She wasn''t done, however ¨C she continued to move, faster than Pale thought to be humanly possible, and before long, the remaining enemies were either dead or falling back.


    "Gods¡­" Valerie muttered.


    Joel came to a stop next to them before Pale could say anything, and he stood there, panting and gasping for breath. "Sorry¡­" he offered. "I know I''m late, but I found her guarding a bunch of students and asked her for help."


    "And I was all too happy to provide it, once it was clear that the fighting had moved on from the interior of the school," Kara growled as she approached them, flicking blood and gore off her sword in the process. "Where are the other professors?"


    "Virux was still inside, last we checked," Pale reported. "But Tomas was last seen escorting students towards the headmaster''s office. No idea where Marick and Glisos are."


    "Then we''ll go after Tomas," Kara said. "All of you, with me. Let''s get moving."


    After a brief nod of agreement, the five of them took off, racing through the courtyard once more.


    XXX


    The path to the headmaster''s office was lined with bodies, as expected. And just like the rest of the courtyard, it was equal parts students and enemy soldiers¡­ at least, until they got closer to the building, when the enemy dead started to become dramatically outnumbered by fallen students. Soon enough, there were no fallen enemies anymore.


    "This doesn''t make sense¡­" Pale muttered. "Who took them out¡­?"


    Nobody had an answer for her, even as they approached the door to the building. As they got closer, Pale was able to overhear Tomas'' voice from within.


    It was muffled and pained, but it was unmistakably him.


    "I should have known¡­ it was you," he said. "Look at yourself¡­ are you proud of what you''ve done here?"


    For a moment, there was nothing but silence, but then he received his answer.


    "Yes," Professor Marick replied. "I am."


    Pale had heard enough. She threw the door open, and was just in time to see Marick standing over Tomas'' body with a sword driven through his heart.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 60

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    For a moment, none of them moved, each of them staring ahead in wide-eyed shock at what they''d just witnessed. Marick continued to stand over Tomas'' body, his sword still embedded through the other man''s heart. He stayed like that for a second or two, then roughly yanked the blade from his former compatriot''s chest cavity and brought it around to rest on his shoulder, then turned towards the rest of them.


    "Well?" he demanded. "Were you planning to keep me waiting?"


    Pale grit her teeth and went to shoulder her weapon so she could begin taking shots at him, but Kara suddenly stopped her.


    "Don''t," Professor Kara warned.


    "What?!" Pale shouted. "He just-"


    "I know what he did. I just saw it, too." Kara turned her attention back towards Marick, her gaze narrowing. "I need you to go and help the other students."


    "We can''t just leave you-"


    "You''re not, at least not all of you. Joel, Valerie, I need you both with me to provide cover." Kara''s eyes narrowed. "Let''s take this bastard down."


    Joel and Valerie both swallowed nervously, but to their credit, neither one attempted to run away or retreat. Kara motioned with her chin for Kayla and Pale to leave.


    "Go," she said, "find the others. We''ll be with you shortly."


    "How can you be sure?" Kayla asked, horrified.


    "Trust me." Kara focused on Marick again, her eyes narrowing once more. "I won''t let anything happen to your friends."


    "Bold statement," Marick announced. "Very noble of you all to stand your ground like this. I''m impressed, honestly ¨C I suppose that means I trained you well."


    Kayla suddenly reached out and took Pale by the shoulder. Pale whipped around to face her, and found Kayla giving her an uncertain look.


    "Pale," she said, "We¡­ we need to go."


    Pale grimaced, then shook her head. "I can''t just leave them-"


    "You have to," Professor Kara stated. "I don''t know how many professors are left, but it isn''t nearly enough to protect all these people. They need you more than we do. And every second you spend standing there, wrestling with the moral quandary of it all, the more of them are going to die."


    "But-"


    "Just go!" Kara shouted.


    Reluctantly, Pale nodded. She spared one final glance over towards Valerie, their gazes meeting.


    "I''ll come back for you," Pale promised. "I swear. I''m not leaving you here."


    Valerie simply nodded, and then Pale and Kayla took off running. As they sprinted away, Pale heard the sound of spells being cast, along with the screech of steel against steel, and grimaced once more. Still, she forced herself to continue running without looking back.


    Kara was right that the other students needed her, but that didn''t change the fact that she felt like she''d just abandoned one of her closest friends.


    XXX


    Trepidation soon gave way to sheer, all-encompassing rage as Pale ran alongside Kayla. Soon enough, she was gritting her teeth, her face flushed red from anger.


    It was no surprise to her, then, when the first enemy soldier she found was nearly cut in half at the waist by a flurry of shotgun pellets.


    They had nearly reached the gates of the school now, with only dead students around to greet them now. Pale wasn''t sure how many fallen Luminarium students they''d come across now ¨C it had to be well over a hundred by this point. Most of them were almost certainly her fellow first-year classmates, with a few upperclassmen mixed in for good measure.


    Not that it mattered that much to her, as she shouldered her shotgun and continued to pump shells downrange into anyone wearing those damn black-and-tan cloaks.


    They''d made it almost too easy for her, the way they wore those cloaks like a uniform. At first, she''d wondered why they were all doing it, but then she''d realized why ¨C from her experience, the people of this world were not used to guerrilla warfare. Their idea of combat was a duel, either on a small person-to-person scale or a massive army lined up like a Napoleonic firing formation back on the home world of her creators. They weren''t used to subterfuge like this; no doubt that even their assailants had needed some way to differentiate themselves from the intended victims of this attack.


    That didn''t make it any less of a turkey shoot for her, as Pale stepped through the gates leading out to the town connected to the Luminarium''s campus. Everywhere she looked, there were signs of combat. If it wasn''t someone directly engaged in a fight, then it was a dead body, or a wounded man. Pale didn''t waste any time, and neither did Kayla, for that matter ¨C they both jumped into the fray, Pale cranking off shells full of buckshot and Kayla firing bolts of lightning and streams of flame from the palms of her hand.


    It was just like old times, in the most morbid sense imaginable.


    Pale watched as a shell full of buckshot reduced a man''s head to paste. The bolt on her shotgun locked back, and she hurriedly ducked behind the wall of a nearby building, dropping a shell into her weapon''s open action and hitting the bolt release before starting to thumb more ammo into its magazine tube. Her shotgun caddies were beginning to run low; by her count, she only had about three-dozen more shells of buckshot on her person, and a dozen-or-so slugs in addition to those. If the fighting kept on going the way it had been, she was going to be down to just her pistol sooner rather than later.


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    Pale''s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a manic yell from behind her. She hurriedly whipped around mid-reload, only to find one of the enemy soldiers approaching her, a sword raised over his head, poised to strike. Pale went to bring her shotgun around, but didn''t get the chance to, as a crossbow bolt suddenly struck the man in the chest, killing him instantly. She watched as his lifeless body fell to the ground, then turned towards where the bolt had been fired. She was surprised to find Cal standing there, his eyes wide with shock.


    She was even more surprised to see that he was alone.


    "Cal?" she called, causing him to face her. "Where is Cynthia?"


    Cal bit his lip, then shook his head. "I¡­ I don''t¡­"


    Pale peeled herself off the wall, then carefully approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Did you see where she went last?" she asked. "She might still be alive."


    Cal bit his lip, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. "...We got separated early on," he lamented. "But knowing her, she''s probably looking for people she can heal right now¡­"


    Pale let out a small grunt. "That doesn''t exactly narrow it down. Do you know where she might have gone?"


    "Anywhere the wounded would likely be taken," Cal said, his voice cracking with emotion. "I guess¡­ the church, maybe? There''s one not far from here¡­"


    "Then that''s where we''ll go." Pale cleared her throat. "Kayla! Kayla, where are you?!"


    A few seconds later, Kayla came running over. Her gaze landed on Cal, and her eyes went wide with shock.


    "What''s wrong?" she asked. "And where''s-"


    "That''s what we''re going to find out," Pale stated. "Cal, do you know how to get to this church?"


    Cal nodded. "I do. Cynthia was working there on the weekends as a healer."


    "Okay, then you''ll direct us and tell us where to go. Got it?"


    He nodded again, and Pale sucked in a breath.


    "Alright," she said, "Let''s go find her."


    XXX


    "Left up here!"


    Pale went to follow Cal''s newest direction, turning around a nearby city block. As they got deeper into the city, it became more complex to maneuver. Daily life had been interrupted by the attack, it looked like, and while some people had been able to flee, many of them had been caught in the crossfire and all but executed. Overturned wagons and dead horses joined the corpses of the people who''d been milling about when the attack had started, many of them clustered into groups; it looked like they had all died en masse to planned ambushes almost as soon as the attack had begun. And above it all, the setting sun began to dip below the horizon, just barely visible through the miasma of black smoke that was rising up from the various fires burning throughout the city.


    Pale continued to sprint through the carnage, eventually turning around another corner. As she did so, she was nearly flattened by two cloaked men who were running down the alley, bloodstained swords held tightly in their hands. She didn''t hesitate, and hurriedly blasted a hole into each one''s chest. As the bodies fell, she topped off her shotgun, then after a quick look to make sure Kayla and Cal were still behind her, continued on.


    They''d been moving through the city for about twenty-five minutes now. Cal had insisted that the church was only about four blocks away, which by her estimation wasn''t that far, but this entire section of the city had turned into a war zone. Everywhere they looked, there were more bodies; every new path taken revealed fresh enemies to them. Pale had started this little excursion with just under fifty shotgun shells in total, and was now down to less than half that. By her count, she had eighteen shells of buckshot and eight rounds of slugs left; hardly enough to continue this fight with, but she couldn''t risk calling a pod down just yet. Not with this many enemies still swarming around the city.


    "How much longer?!" Pale yelled over the sounds of combat surrounding them.


    "Just up ahead!" Cal shouted. "The building with the stained glass windows!"


    Pale squinted as she focused on the road ahead of her. It was difficult to make out, but the building at the end of the street did appear to have once been a church. The windows had all been shattered by now, leaving just a few remnants and shards of stained glass behind, and part of it was already burning. It was unlikely that there was anyone still alive, but she knew they had to check anyway.


    She''d already left Valerie behind. She wasn''t about to do the same for Cynthia.


    They all emerged out onto the street, and the moment they did, several spells came to greet them, in the form of a mixture of fire and lightning.. Pale returned fire, as did her friends; shotgun pellets joined with crossbow bolts and jets of flame as they flew downrange. Pale watched as their opponents ¨C a group of four enemy combatants who had been standing in front of the church ¨C were riddled with a combination of hot lead, steel bolts, and fire; they all fell almost as soon as the fight had started, the spells they''d been casting having gone wide in their panic.


    With the fighting over, Pale took the time to reload as she surveyed the street, looking for additional enemies. Burned-out husks of houses lined the street, with only a rare few remaining somewhat intact; she could only suspect that they''d just barely managed to take the mages out before they''d gotten to those buildings, too. Dead bodies filled the road, their lifeblood seeping out onto the stones below ¨C Pale counted over a dozen of them in her quick survey, not including the men and women they''d just killed. But there was no time to dwell on it now, not when Cynthia was still unaccounted for.


    Pale hurriedly approached the church, grimacing when she saw that the front doors had been chained shut from the outside, no doubt as a way of preparing for when the building was set ablaze. Desperate, she made her way to one of the shattered windows and tried to peer inside. The thick layer of smoke billowing out from the flames impeded her vision, bringing tears to her eyes and making it all but impossible to see anything, save for the dead bodies that were lined across the interior of the church.


    She was just about to give up when she noticed something ¨C a trail of blood, leading out from one of the windows towards a nearby store. Pale''s heart skipped a beat, and she carefully followed the blood trail to the front door. The door was locked, of course, but a quick kick sent it flying open, and she entered the room, shotgun in hand, already anticipating a fight.


    She didn''t get one. Instead, she found an elderly couple standing over a young girl, whose face was so matted with dried blood that Pale couldn''t recognize her at first.


    "Cynthia!"


    Cal, however, couldn''t forget his best friend''s face, even through the blood and grime that covered it. He sprinted forwards, tossing his crossbow aside, and dropped to one knee, pulling Cynthia into a firm embrace as he openly wept over her. The elderly couple awkwardly rose to their feet, putting their hands up.


    "She managed to get out of the church just in time, we think," the old woman said. "We¡­ we''re doing everything we can for her, but her wounds are bad."


    "She ain''t dead yet, though," the old man noted. "Girl''s a fighter, through and through."


    Pale nodded in understanding, then motioned to Cal, still holding tightly to his best friend. "Can you watch them? Make sure he doesn''t do anything stupid?"


    The old man bit his lip. "Ain''t much we can do about that, given our age..."


    Pale pursed her lips, then turned around. "Kayla-"


    "No," Kayla instantly replied. "Pale, I can''t leave you."


    "I know. But you have to. Cal''s in no shape to keep fighting, and Cynthia¡­" Pale trailed off, then shook her head. "They need you now, a lot more than I do."


    "Pale-"


    "Please," Pale all but begged. "I''ll be okay, I swear. But if someone stumbles on these people, they''re done for. And I think you know that."


    Kayla stared at her for a moment, then began to tremble, tears coming to her eyes. "You always do this," she noted, her voice coming out as a small whimper.


    "I know, and I''m sorry. But it has to be done this time."


    "Don''t," Kayla warned. "Just¡­ please, do what you need to do and then come back to me ¨C to us. We don''t want to lose you."


    Pale gave her a remorseful expression, then nodded. "I promise I will."


    Kayla said nothing else, instead stepping over to Cal and resting a hand on his back. Pale let out a deep exhale, then turned and stepped back out onto the street once more.


    She''d been looking for Sven, but now she was hoping she never found him.


    Because if she did, she wasn''t sure if she''d be able to keep her promise to Kayla or not.


    XXX


    By the time Pale left the storefront, night had started to fall. The sun had nearly completed its descent, casting an orange glow down on the city, and the full moon had begun to climb high into the sky. It was a blood moon, Pale realized as she ran down the city streets.


    Apparently, the cosmos had a sense of bitter irony even in this universe.


    The fighting had actually started to die down by this point. It was still raging, by any metric, but compared to when the Luminarium had first been attacked, it was no longer as all-encompassing. She could still hear the sounds of combat as she ran, but they weren''t deafening anymore. Pale wasn''t sure if that was a good thing, though; while it could have meant that the enemy had chosen to fall back, it could have also meant that they''d simply started to run out of people to kill.


    Pale looked around as she walked. She''d started making her way back to the Luminarium, desperate to help Valerie against Marick. Already, the gates to the school were within her sights, and she was about to increase her pace to get to them even faster when an all too familiar voice rang out from nearby.


    "I was wondering when I''d find you."


    Instantly, Pale froze, then whipped around, her shotgun''s stock pressed against her shoulder. "Sven," she growled.


    As if on cue, Sven stepped out from the shadows of a nearby alley. He was covered in blood and gore, none of it his own; it was obvious he''d been busy over the past few hours. The two of them locked gazes for a moment, Sven''s one eye seeming to almost bore a laser directly through her head.


    That was when Pale fired off several shotgun blasts at him, and the fight between them began in earnest.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 61

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    Pale''s shotgun blasts forced Sven to reel back, but otherwise did nothing to him ¨C his magical barrier prevented him from taking any real damage. She''d expected this, however, and was really just trying to keep him on the backfoot for now while she attempted to come up with a plan.


    Her guns were going to be useless against him unless she was at point-blank range. Anything more than that, and his barrier would stop the incoming bullets. Of course, getting into point-blank range was easier said than done even against an unskilled opponent; someone like Sven would kill her if she made so much as a small mistake in doing so.


    Pale''s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by several large chunks of stone tearing themselves out of the pavement, then flying towards her. She threw herself to the ground to avoid them, then was forced to roll out of the way as a spiked pillar of rock erupted up from the spot she''d been laying just a moment before. Pale winced as she felt the spike tear a shallow gash in one of her legs, but hurried to her feet regardless and took aim once more.


    To her surprise, Sven simply stood there, his one good eye leveled at her. He was probing her defenses, she realized ¨C trying to see how she''d react to his attacks, and how best to counter those reactions when she made them again. He was trying to condition her to act a certain way ¨C to bend her to his will, on some subconscious level, so he''d know the best way to trip her up and then kill her.


    She was going to have to keep him guessing. That was the only way she was going to survive this fight.


    "So, tell me," Pale said as she reached for some of the last shotgun shells on her caddies and began to top off her weapon. "How did you get Marick on-side?"


    "It wasn''t hard," Sven answered. "He has some kind of racial issue with this kingdom. Apparently, it dates back hundreds of years. He''d already been working with Duke Magnus for years before this, subtly passing along information about the Luminarium and the city, waiting for the opportunity to finally strike."


    "And what about what happened during initiation? I take it that he had something to do with those creatures, too?"


    Sven nodded. "You catch on quick, as expected. Most of those creatures are not native to the area; they were specifically bred back in Duke Magnus'' kingdom and then released shortly before initiation. Again, it wasn''t hard ¨C with enough skilled Earth Mages, you can dig an underground path to just about anywhere. All we had to do was open up a path to the labyrinth, release the creatures, and then close the path before they could turn on us. The spiders bred quickly, as expected, but the other creature ¨C what did you call it? The Amalgamation? That one, we simply turned loose and waited to hear about the carnage it caused."


    "And the attack on the mountain?"


    "A probing attack, more than anything, and a distraction to get the headmaster away from the school," Sven replied. "Marick set it up masterfully, of course. All I had to do was play along with his idea. We never intended for any of those bandits or the elf mercenary to survive, not that they understood any of that, blinded by gold as they were. They served their intended purpose well, in any case ¨C a number of students were killed, but more importantly, the headmaster was drawn away from the school just in time for this attack."


    "And where do you fit in with all of this?" Pale demanded. "What''s your reason for signing on with Duke Magnus?"


    Sven''s gaze narrowed dangerously. "When you destroyed that village, my people were outraged. I was cast out and made an exile ¨C an insult of the highest order. I decided, then and there, that I would hunt you down, no matter what it took. And so I came here, to this continent, so I could search for you. I made ground in Duke Magnus'' kingdom, and when he heard my story, he offered me a deal ¨C money, resources, anything I would need to find you, and all I needed to do was assist with the attack on the school." A wicked grin crossed Sven''s face. "Imagine my sheer delight when we happened to cross paths here. Two birds with one stone, as it were."


    Pale grimaced, even as she finished reloading her shotgun. "And the Duke''s plan? Why go through all of this just to kill a bunch of people? He has to realize this is an act of war."


    To her dismay, Sven just shrugged. "How should I know? As far as I''m concerned, that''s his business, not mine."


    Before Pale could say anything else, she heard a noise from behind her. Turning around, she saw more stones hurtling towards her, and just narrowly managed to avoid being struck by them. She was less fortunate with the second round of incoming rocks, which again came at her from behind; one of them impacted against her leg, striking her right where the pillar of stone from earlier had torn a gash. Pale felt the wound open up even more as her leg was knocked out from underneath her, and blood began to seep from it and onto the ground below.


    Hurriedly, she rounded on Sven and began to fire off shotgun blasts at him again; a storm of pellets flew downrange, some of them impacting harmlessly against his barrier, but most of them going wide due to her Sven''s sudden agile movements and her own panic beginning to set in. Her weapon soon clicked empty, and Sven began to approach her as she again was forced into reloading. Out of desperation, Pale began to call down pod after pod, trying to crush him with them, but he was able to avoid every one, much to her dismay.


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    "How will I do it, I wonder?" Sven mused as yet another pod narrowly missed him, instead embedding itself into the ground a short ways away. "It would be so easy to simply tear open a hole in the ground beneath your feet and bury you alive for a slow, agonizing death¡­ but something about that simply doesn''t feel right. No, I want to see it happen."


    Pale grit her teeth, and after another look at Sven, she took off running towards a nearby section of housing as she continued to reload. She wasn''t retreating so much as trying to simply put some distance between the two of them, for all the good it would do her. Still, it was the only thing on her mind as she flattened herself against the wall of a house and finished reloading her weapon.


    "There''s no point in hiding," Sven called out. "I''ll tear this entire city down to find you if I have to."


    A nearby stone house suddenly collapsed out of nowhere, and Pale sucked in a breath to try and calm herself. She tucked her weapon''s stock into her shoulder, then stepped out from behind cover. Sven was nowhere to be found, at least not immediately.


    She was going to have to think of something, and quickly. Her ranged weapons were still useless against him, and if things continued on the way they were, he was going to overpower her very fast. She needed a way to draw him into close combat if she wanted so much as a chance of beating him.


    "Come on, Sven," she called out. "We both know there''s only one way you want this to end."


    "And what would that be?" he shouted back through a row of houses.


    Pale''s heart pounded in her chest. "You don''t want to let the environment do me in. Rather, you want to kill me myself ¨C see the life drain from my eyes, and feel my blood coat your hands. You want to put a blade in me, and rip my life away in one fell swoop."


    For a moment, there was nothing but silence, but then the earth around her began to shake. Pale didn''t waste any time; she started running away again, and wasn''t a moment too soon, as Sven soon erupted from the ground underneath where she''d been standing, his curved dagger held in one hand. He lashed out with it, trying to cut her throat as he popped up out of the ground, and narrowly missed by a few inches. Pale retaliated with several shotgun shells, each one making an impact and causing Sven to stumble back; the bolt on her gun locked back, and she wasted no time in drawing her own knife and trying to close the distance for a quick stab. Sven saw her coming, however, and parried the blow, ripping the knife from her hands and sending it flying several feet away, where it embedded itself point-first in the ground.


    Pale had no time to dwell on the loss of her knife, as Sven suddenly closed in again, this time going for a stab to her chest. Her eyes widened as the blade sank into her, only to be caught and turned by her body armor. Sven went to yank his knife free, but Pale grabbed hold of his arm with both hands, then with a quick forceful twist, wrestled him to the ground. The two of them landed in a heap; Sven ripped his knife from her armor, while she tore her pistol from its holster and began to fire. The incoming .45 caliber bullets kept Sven''s knife-hand at bay, while Pale scrambled away from him. She''d just about managed to make it completely free when he suddenly went in for a wild slash, which caught the front of her uninjured leg. Pale let out a pained gasp as she felt her flesh give way, and blood begin to seep into the leg of her pants.


    With the two of them now fully separated and several feet away, both combatants took the opportunity to catch their breath for a moment. By some miracle, Pale had ended up next to her knife; she yanked it free from the stones, then switched it to a reverse grip and holstered her empty pistol with her other hand as the two of them began to circle each other.


    "You''re not bad," Sven told her.


    "I had a really good teacher this year," Pale replied.


    "Hm. I suppose he had to make it look convincing, didn''t he?" Sven shook his head. "But no matter. I''m ending things, here and now."


    He suddenly lunged forwards, leading with his blade; Pale watched with wide eyes as he again rushed her down, his knife pointed right at her, the steel glinting in the moonlight.


    Steel¡­


    Time seemed to almost slow down as Pale realized what she needed to do. She suddenly focused all her energy on the blade of Sven''s weapon, even as he closed the distance. He made it to within fifteen feet, then ten, then five, and that was when she noticed it ¨C the subtle change in the composition of his blade. Sven himself seemed to realize that his weapon now suddenly felt as if it were a different weight, but by then, he was already in motion; it was too late for him to prevent his incoming blow.


    Unfortunately for him, Pale was also in motion.


    The two of them collided at the same time, each of their knives sinking into the other''s stomach. Both of them seized, the shock of the sudden stab wound causing them to pause. Pain blossomed across the base of Pale''s torso, coupled with a small trickle of blood around the blade of Sven''s weapon, but she could tell that, uncomfortable as it was, it wasn''t a lethal blow. Sven, meanwhile, had a look of pain on his face.


    And it only grew in severity when Pale recovered first, then pulled her knife free and began to stab him, again and again, around the same spot.


    Sven separated from her, yanking his altered blade free as he did so, only for him to nearly lose his grasp on it due to his hand being covered in his own blood. Sven stared at the knife in surprise, and out of the corner of her eye, Pale saw the curve to the front of the blade, where the softer metal had mostly been turned after she''d been stabbed.


    Then, a moment later, the blade itself went up in a small explosion. Pale''s eyes widened in surprise, and she could only watch as Sven stared in shock at his hand, which was now shredded and missing two fingers completely.


    There was little time to dwell on that, however, as the ground underneath her feet suddenly opened up, and she sank down to her waist into it. Her eyes widened, and she tried desperately to free herself, but to no avail. As she watched, Sven pulled himself up off the ground, groaning in pain and hunched over as he clutched at his stomach, which was pouring blood.


    "Bitch¡­." he growled. "You think this is enough¡­ to kill me?" He shook his head, then coughed, spitting out a glob of blood as he did so. "Now die for me."


    Pale screamed as she felt the earth around her legs begin to shift and constrict her, slowly crushing her to death. To her surprise, however, Sven''s eyes widened; he seemed shocked that she hadn''t been instantly killed, and suddenly looked to try and concentrate even harder, trying to force the earth to close up even faster.


    Both of them were surprised when, instead, the earth widened, allowing Pale to pull herself free. She scrambled up onto the pavement again, wincing in agony the entire time, her legs screaming in pain; one of them was definitely broken, and the other one didn''t feel much better. But she''d been given a chance, and that was enough.


    Pale forced herself to her feet, then yanked her pistol from its holster and hurriedly reloaded, slamming her last magazine into it and sending the slide home. Sven stared at her in surprise, then turned and tried to hobble away, only for her to fire off several shots at him. The first few were stopped by his barrier, but as Pale watched, it suddenly shattered like glass, allowing the remaining incoming rounds to tear through his upper body. Sven''s entire body jerked with every bullet that made impact, and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath and clawing at his throat; from what Pale could tell, one of her bullets had struck him directly above the lungs, and he was now essentially drowning in his own blood. It was going to be a slow, agonizing death for him.


    Pale didn''t let that happen. Instead, she simply took aim and fired off all of her remaining shots directly into Sven''s head. The .45-caliber slugs tore through his skull, shattering it and spreading his brains across the pavement behind him. He was nearly unrecognizable by the end of it, but Pale didn''t care; she fired until her gun clicked empty, and then she stood there for a moment, frozen in shock, before allowing the pistol to slip from her grasp as she collapsed.


    The last thing she saw before slipping into unconsciousness was a familiar purple cloak rushing towards her.


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 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 2, Chapter 62 (Book 2 Finale)

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    A small groan escaped her as she stirred awake, blearily cracking both eyes open, only to tightly shut them once more as the sun shined down directly into her face. Pale raised a hand to shield her eyes. A murmur of displeasure forcing its way out of her mouth as her memories came flooding back.


    The last thing she recalled was seeing Valerie rushing towards her after she''d killed Sven.


    At that thought, Pale''s eyes flew open, and she froze. That was right ¨C she''d fought Sven, and not only that, but she''d killed him, too. At least, she thought she''d killed him ¨C he''d cheated death once before already; she wouldn''t be surprised if he''d somehow done it again.


    Even with most of his brain spilled out on the ground behind him, a part of her was worried that he''d somehow survived everything. And she wouldn''t be satisfied until she''d confirmed it for herself.


    Pale looked around. She didn''t recognize the room she was in; it wasn''t a part of the Luminarium, that much was clear. It looked almost like a tavern more than anything, given how small and sparsely-decorated the room was, consisting of nothing more than a bed, an end table, and a dresser.


    She''d been stripped down to her underwear as well, she realized ¨C her body armor and other gear were all missing. At the very least, she hadn''t been bound, which was reassuring; it meant that she wasn''t being held prisoner. Out of curiosity, Pale tested her formerly-broken leg, only to find that, despite a bit of lingering pain, it seemed to have been almost completely healed.


    That settled it, then ¨C she hadn''t been captured, and she certainly wasn''t dead. That could only mean one thing.


    "The attack is over."


    Her voice came out hoarse and parched, but the thought was reassuring to her nonetheless.


    Of course, any positive emotions she may have felt about the fight having ended were dashed when she realized the likely extent of the damage. The Luminarium was almost certainly in shambles, most of its student body most likely having been killed in the attack; the city that was attached to it, even more so. There was going to be a lot of cleanup and rebuilding in the future.


    And moreover, with the extent of the carnage, Pale wasn''t sure if the school would even be able to remain open. Where she and Kayla were supposed to go in that case, she wasn''t sure, but that was a worry for another time, she supposed.


    The door to her room began to open, and Pale turned towards it. She was surprised to find Kayla stepping inside, carrying a tray of food with her. The two of them locked gazes, Kayla''s eyes widening in surprise, before she dropped the tray of food, allowing it to come clattering to the ground, then rushed Pale down, pulling her into a big hug.


    "You''re okay!" Kayla cried out.


    Pale was surprised, but didn''t hesitate to reciprocate the hug. "Kayla, it was just a broken leg," she insisted. "We''ve been through worse."


    At that, Kayla pulled away and gave her a harsh glare, her wolf ears flattening against her head. "What were you thinking, trying to fight Sven on your own?! He almost killed you!"


    "It wasn''t like I had a choice," Pale told her. "I was out looking for people I could help. He was the one who hunted me down, not the other way around. And that''s the truth."


    "Regardless, I''m still mad at you¡­ but I''m also happy you''re okay."


    "Thanks. How long was I out, by the way?"


    "About a day," Kayla explained. "The healers put you under a sleeping spell while they mended your leg and other wounds. They told me you''d be waking up at about this time, so I decided to come see you."


    Pale nodded in understanding. "And the others?"


    "Valerie is okay. In fact, she told me she wanted to see you as soon as you woke up. As for Cal and Cynthia¡­" Kayla bit her lip. "...Cal is uninjured, by some miracle. Cynthia, though¡­ she took a nasty hit to the head, among other wounds. She''s awake and speaking now, but she''s got a bad scar across her right eye, and apparently, she can''t see out of it anymore."


    "The healers can''t fix that?"


    Kayla shook her head. "They tried, but much like trying to heal a bad scar, magic can only go so far when it comes to these things. Apparently, it''s a problem with her optic nerve''s connection to her brain, or something like that ¨C magic is great at large-scale fixes like broken bones or stab wounds, but something like that requires more finesse. A really powerful healer could probably do it, but the ones we have on-hand aren''t capable of it. Especially not when there are other, more serious wounds they need to spend their mana on."


    Pale scowled. "I''m sorry to hear that."


    "Not as sorry as Cal is. He seems to blame himself for it ¨C keeps saying that if he and Cynthia hadn''t gotten separated, maybe he could''ve done something to prevent it from happening. We keep trying to tell him that it''s not his fault, but he won''t hear it."


    "What about you?" Pale asked. "How are you holding up, Kayla?"


    "Me? I''m fine," Kayla reported. A moment later, her face fell. "I mean, physically so, at least¡­ I doubt I''ll forget the things I saw yesterday any time soon¡­ I mean, that was almost as bad as what happened up north¡­"


    Pale reached out and gently took her by the hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Kayla blinked, surprised at the sudden show of affection, but Pale didn''t give her time to ask any questions about it.


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    "You''ll be okay," Pale told her. "You''re stronger than you think you are, Kayla. And I''ll be here for you, too."


    Kayla blinked, still surprised, but eventually gave her a thin grin and a small nod. "I know. Thanks, Pale."


    Footsteps from outside the room caught their attention, and they both turned to look at who it was. Valerie was standing there, looking inside the room, surprise etched across her face.


    "Hope I''m not interrupting anything," she tentatively offered..


    Kayla shook her head, then stood up. "You aren''t," she assured her. "In fact, I have to go get her some more food, anyway¡­ I kinda dropped the last tray¡­" She shook her head again. "I''ll be back in a few minutes."


    With that, Kayla left the room, leaving the two of them alone as she squeezed past Valerie. Valerie hesitated for a moment, then approached Pale''s bedside.


    "How are you holding up?" she asked.


    "Been better, been worse," Pale grunted. "You?"


    "Same." The corners of Valerie''s mouth quirked upwards. "I saw you take down Greymane."


    "I owe you one for that," Pale said. "I figured your magic was why he wasn''t able to crush me to death, not to mention the reason I was able to get free. Your timing was impeccable on that, I have to say. Any longer, and I would have been killed."


    "You''re just lucky I still happened to be nearby and saw those things come down from the sky. It was hard to miss something like that, thankfully. I think we should both be thanking the Gods for that. And you even managed to put Greymane in the dirt, too."


    "So, it''s confirmed, then?" Pale questioned. "Sven is dead?"


    Valerie gave her a nod. "He is."


    Pale breathed a sigh of relief. "Good¡­ that''s good." A thought suddenly occurred to her, and her eyes widened. "Professor Marick-"


    "Also dead," Valerie assured her. "It was a hell of a fight, I''ll tell you that much, but Professor Kara ended it decisively. I watched his head roll across the ground, myself. Last I checked, there''s nobody who can survive something like that. Shame it nearly cost Kara her life to do it."


    "What do you mean?"


    "The two of them traded blows. Kara took his head, but Marick got her almost as badly; he nearly stabbed her right through the heart," Valerie told her. "The only reason he missed was Joel using his Wind Magic to knock the blade off-course by a few inches at the last second. She''s still in bad shape, though ¨C last I checked, some of the healers have been working on her non-stop since yesterday. I think she''ll pull through, but still."


    Pale nodded in understanding. "What about Joel?"


    To her surprise, Valerie''s face fell. "...We got separated after Kara killed Marick," she said. "Joel said he was going to go find a healer for her, and told me to come find you, then took off running into the city. I never saw him again after that. I''ve been asking around, trying to find someone who might have seen him, but nobody has."


    Pale blinked. "...That''s unfortunate," she said.


    Valerie let out a slow exhale. "That''s one way of putting it," she stated bluntly. "Honestly, I always thought he was an asshole, but he seems to have softened up quite a bit over the past few weeks. I''d hate to find out something bad happened to him." She shook her head. "Anyway, do you need anything from me? Otherwise, I''ll let you get some rest."


    "Actually, I do," Pale said. "What happened to my clothes?"


    Valerie let out a small, amused grunt. "Those things were a wreck, Pale ¨C they were burned, stained with blood, and otherwise shredded, and your armor wasn''t much better. The healers cut it all away from you so they could better get to your injuries."


    "The armor will have to wait, but I''ve got some spare clothes in my room at the Luminarium," Pale said. "Assuming you''re willing to head back there-"


    "That won''t be an issue," Valerie said. "Besides, we can''t exactly have you running around naked, can we?"


    "I have underwear on."


    "Details, details," Valerie said dismissively. "I''ll get that taken care of for you."


    "Thanks," Pale said. A thought occurred to her, and she turned towards Valerie again. "So what''s going to happen next?"


    "Honestly? That''s a good question," Valerie answered. "But just from what I''ve heard¡­ this was a deliberate attack by a neighboring government. I''d be surprised if this wasn''t considered an act of war between the two. And all I''ll say is this ¨C if they start enlisting people, I''m not going to wait to be drafted."


    Pale stared at her in shock. "You''re planning to volunteer?"


    Valerie nodded. "Yeah. I''ve got my own personal reasons for it, of course, but mostly, I don''t want to just sit around and wait to be assigned to some shit-tier detail. I''d rather volunteer and get better options than that."


    "They let you pick?"


    "No, but I figure I''ve got a better chance of getting something good than I would if I waited to be drafted. Plus, like I said¡­ I''ve got other reasons, too." Valerie shook her head. "What about you? Planning to enlist?"


    The thought gave Pale pause. Her first instinct was to say no, for obvious reasons ¨C this wasn''t her war, for one. But on the other hand, she didn''t want to let Valerie go off on her own, and there was also the chance that she would be impressed into service, too.


    Besides, it wasn''t like war was anything new to her.


    After a moment, Pale shook her head. "I don''t know."


    "No shame in that," Valerie told her. "Think on it a bit, I guess. No sense in rushing to a decision for something as pivotal as this."


    With that, Valerie stood up, and after one last gentle squeeze of her hand, turned and left the room. Pale watched her go, a thin frown crossing over her face as she did so.


    A few seconds later, Kayla entered the room again, a new tray full of food in her hands. She must have caught sight of the look on Pale''s face, because her own expression suddenly changed to one of worry.


    "Pale?" she asked. "What''s wrong?"


    Pale hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh. "...Have you heard about what''s happening around here? About how the kingdom is likely going to war, I mean."


    Kayla stared at her for a moment, then gave her a slow nod. "I have. And¡­ I''m thinking of enlisting."


    Pale stared at her, shocked. Kayla''s ears flattened against her head as she turned to stare out the nearby window. Pale followed her gaze, and for the first time since the attack had ended, saw what the city looked like. Destroyed buildings lined the streets, many of them now little more than charred husks, with smoke curling up from them and into the sky above. The stench of death permeated the air, even through the walls and the window of the room. Off in the distance, Pale saw people moving about, helping the wounded or otherwise moving dead bodies around.


    Kayla looked back towards her, then let out a small sigh. "...It just hits close to home, you know?" she asked.


    "I understand," Pale answered. "You want to make them pay for all of this."


    "Yeah. Plus, I''d be drafted, anyway. At least this way, I''ll be with friends."


    "You will?"


    "Mhm. Cal and Cynthia have both already signed up. Cal did it as soon as it became clear what was going to happen, and Cynthia wasn''t far behind."


    "I''m surprised they let her join up, given the problem with her eye."


    "I''m not," Kayla answered. "She''ll most likely be a dedicated healer, and nothing more. She won''t see direct action, or at least, she shouldn''t."


    "What about you, though?" Pale asked, concerned. "I''ve been through war, Kayla. I can handle it because I''m not human. You, on the other hand¡­ you have that sense of empathy that I wasn''t designed to have. You might think you''re ready for it, but you aren''t."


    "Are you trying to talk me out of it?"


    Pale shook her head. "I''m just trying to put things into perspective for you. I don''t think there''s any way to prevent you from going off to war ¨C like you said, they''ll just draft you if you choose not to volunteer. But you need to be ready for the things you''ll experience during war."


    Kayla hesitated, then pursed her lips. "...You''re right," she admitted. "I just¡­ I can''t sit idly by while all this is happening. At least if I sign up now, I can try to get assigned to the same unit as Cal and Cynthia."


    "Then I suppose you have your answer," Pale said. And without hesitation, she added, "And I''ll be right there with you, too."


    Kayla gave her a surprised look, but Pale just rolled her eyes. "Come on, I thought it was clear by now. Wherever you go, I go."


    Kayla''s surprise faded, replaced instead with a look of sheer relief. "Good¡­ that''s good," she said. "I guess we''ll head out and sign up tomorrow, then. But for now¡­ you should eat something and get some sleep, Pale."


    "I will. Thanks, Kayla."


    Kayla gave her a small nod, then set the food tray on the nearby end table before leaving, shutting the door behind her. Pale let out a small sigh, then turned her attention up towards the ceiling. In the back of her mind, she did her best to focus on the radio buoys she''d released into space a few months ago.


    They remained silent as the grave. And, against all odds, she was thankful for it.


    Idly, Pale considered turning them off completely, finally severing her last connection to her creators and her old war. After a moment of hesitation, she brought up the prompt in her mind to do exactly that, only to stop at the last second. She grit her teeth, then gave a sigh of resignation before dismissing the prompt, allowing the radio buoys to stay active.


    Perhaps it was a lingering sense of duty, she supposed, or maybe she was simply afraid to give up on the thing that had driven her so far. There was no way to tell; all she knew was that, despite her connections on Sjel, she still wasn''t willing to completely give up on her past life. Part of her hoped that she''d remain undiscovered forever.


    Because despite everything, she still wasn''t willing to make a choice between her two lives yet.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 3, Chapter 1

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    Even days after the battle was over, the stench of death still lingered in the air. Pale''s brow furrowed as she walked through town, still slightly favoring one leg over the other. In the days since the end of the invasion, she''d had a number of healers take a look at her broken leg, and while they''d managed to fix it enough that she could walk on it without pain, there was unfortunately still some remaining discomfort. That was fine, though ¨C given the extent of the fighting, she was just lucky to still be alive.


    A thought occurred to her, and she ducked into a nearby alley to check her internal clock. Sure enough, it was as she''d thought.


    "One year already¡­"


    That was rounded down, of course; the actual number was 377 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes, and 35 seconds since she''d made landfall on this planet. That was after several decades of drifting through space, her true body ¨C the ship currently stuck in the planet''s orbit, thousands of miles up above ¨C having been nearly destroyed over the course of a battle against her original enemy.


    It was hard to believe, of course. Even a year later, Pale still found herself waking up in disbelief at everything she''d gone through since being awoken from her self-induced hibernation.


    At this point, she''d spent almost as much time in her human avatar''s body than she had as a warship. The thought was sobering to her; humanity had created her to fight the Caatex, a genocidal alien race who had just about succeeded in wiping humanity from the galaxy before their desperation had led to her development. And now she was stuck on this foreign planet, where magic was real, and her war with the Caatex was little more than a distant memory.


    War in general, though¡­ if recent events were any indication, then she was going to be re-familiarizing herself with it before long.


    Pale shook that thought from her mind, then took her attention away from her internal systems and directed it back to the world around her. She stepped out of the alleyway, pausing only to adjust the rifle slung across her front. She still got the occasional weird look from the citizens of this town, unfamiliar with firearms as they were, but most of them had stopped doing so sooner rather than later, having seen how brutally effective she''d been with them over the course of the attack.


    Pale started walking through the ruined city again, gritting her teeth as unwanted memories once more came flooding back. It had all started when an invading force from a neighboring nation had crossed the border and launched a surprise attack against this kingdom. Pale had been attending a magic academy nearby, trying to find a magical solution she could use to repair herself, and had been drawn into the fighting as a result when the school itself had come under attack as well. There was still no known motive for the attack, though she was certain historical tensions between the kingdoms had something to do with it. Not that it mattered to her; as far as she was concerned, these people had tried to kill her and her friends, and that made them her enemies by default.


    Still, she had to admit, the entire thing had been executed well. Nobody had seen it coming, and that was why the city was in such bad shape, even after several days of repairs.


    "Pale!"


    At the familiar voice, Pale paused, then turned towards a nearby street. She caught sight of a head of white hair, along with a set of wolf ears and a tail, and a thin smile crossed her face.


    "Hey," Pale said as the other girl came running over to her. "I was wondering where you''d ended up."


    "Oh, you were looking for me?" came the response. "I was helping around town."


    "Yeah, I can see that. You''re covered in dirt and grime, Kayla. And you smell like the gym, too."


    The girl, Kayla, gave her a baleful look. "Yeah, well, you shouldn''t be walking this much yet. The healers said you were supposed to rest for at least another day or two."


    "My systems indicate I''ll be fine with my current level of physical exertion."


    Kayla let out an annoyed huff. "You''re too stubborn for your own good sometimes, I swear¡­"


    Pale simply gave her another grin, then motioned for Kayla to follow her as she started walking again. Kayla fell in alongside her, and the two continued on.


    They''d known each other for about as long as Pale had been on the planet itself, give or take a few minutes. When Pale had first come planetside, she''d ended up just outside of Kayla''s village, which was in the middle of being raided by a berserker tribe from the north; Pale had helped Kayla fend off the remaining berserkers as well as track down her father, who''d been taken as a slave, in exchange for Kayla serving as her guide during her time on this new planet. They hadn''t been able to save her father, unfortunately, but the two of them had grown close over the course of their journey.


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    So close, in fact, that Kayla had become Pale''s first friend, as well as her best. It was still surreal to think about sometimes, how she''d been developed as a living weapon designed for nothing more than snuffing out life, and yet she''d somehow stumbled into a friendship along the way. She didn''t doubt that it was something her creators never would have imagined for her, and yet her relationship with Kayla was something she''d have a hard time letting go of.


    Which only made the question lurking in the back of her mind like a sword of Damocles that much harder to answer.


    "Something on your mind?" Kayla asked.


    Pale blinked, surprised. "That easy to tell, huh?"


    "I''ve known you for almost a year now, Pale. I can tell when you''re lost in your own head."


    "Actually, it''s been just over a year."


    "Has it really?" Kayla paused, then sighed. "I don''t know why I questioned you just now¡­ of course you''d know, your memory is almost perfect¡­"


    "It''s a blessing and a curse."


    "I know¡­ but still, something''s bothering you. Is it the usual?"


    Pale let out a small sigh. "Yeah, it is."


    Kayla pursed her lips. "...There''s still time to think about it," she urged. "You don''t have to make a decision yet."


    "I know. I''m just worried about what I''ll do when the time comes. Choosing to stay or go¡­ it was so easy to make that decision at first, but now¡­"


    Kayla hesitated. "If it''s any help, I wouldn''t fault you if you chose to leave," she offered. "I''d be sad, of course, but I''d understand."


    Before Pale could say anything, Kayla paused, then straightened, the wolf ears atop her head perking up.


    "Valerie is over there," she noted. "Did you want to go speak to her?"


    Valerie was another of Pale''s friends, and one who''d started off as a bitter enemy before circumstances had forced them together. In time, they''d grown close, and now, Pale considered her second only to Kayla, and only because her and Kayla had been through so much together. Valerie had even saved her life a few days ago, during the attack.


    It was just a shame that her and Kayla had opposite magical affinities that prevented them from getting as close to each other as they both were to Pale.


    Slowly, Pale shook her head. "I don''t want to leave you-"


    "You''re not leaving me," Kayla insisted. "Especially not when I need to go take a shower. I mean, you just said I was filthy, right?"


    "Well, yes, but-"


    "No buts," Kayla told her. "I''ll see you back at the dorm in a bit."


    With that, Kayla took off, leaving Pale alone. At that moment, Valerie turned towards her, and having spotted her for the first time that day, gave her a warm smile and beckoned her over. Pale didn''t hesitate; she crossed the street over to where Valeire was leaning against the remnants of a nearby burned-out building.


    Valerie was a tall, olive-skinned woman in her early twenties. She had flowing brown hair and an athletic build, which she generally kept hidden under a purple cloak. Pale had searched her database for a term to properly describe her, at least compared to someone like Kayla, and had eventually found one in the form of ''Tomboy''; to her, at least, Valerie seemed to fit the term like a glove.


    The two of them had initially gotten off to a very rocky start, to say the least ¨C they''d gotten into a fight during the Luminarium''s entrance exam, and Pale had mistakenly believed Valerie was trying to kill her. Her mistake had led to her retaliating in kind, and before she''d known it, Valerie was sporting two fresh bullet wounds in her knees. Naturally, that had earned her Valerie''s hatred for quite some time afterwards; it hadn''t dissipated until the two of them had eventually been forced to fight alongside each other against bandits, and had mutually saved the other''s life.


    It was funny to think about, Pale couldn''t help but acknowledge. She was obviously thankful to be Valerie''s friend, though she also wished desperately that she could have changed the way their initial meeting had gone. Valerie had assured her there were no hard feelings about it, at least not from her, but still, Pale couldn''t help but blame herself.


    "Hey, good to see you," Valerie greeted as she came up, shaking Pale out of her own thoughts.


    "Same to you," Pale replied. "What have you been up to?"


    "Same old ¨C using my Earth Magic to clear debris, mostly. You know how it goes. How''s your leg?"


    "Getting better," Pale reported. "Another round with a healer and I should be all set."


    "That''s good to hear," Valerie said. "I can send Cynthia your way if I see her."


    Cynthia was another of Pale''s friends, though admittedly, she was closer to Kayla than she was to Pale. Cynthia herself had a close relationship with another student, Cal, to the point where the two were nearly inseparable. It had come as no surprise to her that when Cynthia had been injured in the attack and been blinded in one eye as a result, that Cal had immediately signed up for the military as soon as it became clear that this attack was going to be treated as a prelude to war.


    Even less surprising was that Cynthia herself had opted to sign up alongside Cal, too.


    "Birds of a feather¡­"


    "What was that?" Valerie asked.


    "Nothing, just an old saying where I''m from," Pale told her. "But yes, if you see Cynthia and she still has a bit of mana left over, send her my way, please. I could use one more round of healing magic."


    "You''ve got it." Valerie crossed her arms. "So, I have to ask¡­ have you and Kayla enlisted yet?"


    The question took Pale by surprise, but only for a moment. A second passed before she shook her head. "Not yet, but we will."


    "Yeah, well, if you''re going to do it, you might want to do it sooner rather than later. It''s only a matter of time before they start conscripting people, and by then, you''ll have wished you''d have just signed up ahead of time instead."


    "I bet." Valerie let out a tired sigh, bringing a hand up to rub at her eyes. "Shit, I just¡­ I don''t like any of this."


    "Valerie?" Pale asked, surprised.


    "It''s just so stupid. These morons invaded us, and to what end? All they did was burn down a city and kill a bunch of people. Whatever conflict they had with us, it was dead and buried years ago, so why resurrect it now? It doesn''t make sense."


    Pale didn''t have an answer for her. She stayed silent, even as Valerie let out another sigh.


    "...It just sucks," she lamented, a tinge of sadness seeping into her tone as she slumped over slightly. "We should be studying and taking exams right now, not prepping to go to war. Hells, I can''t remember the last time this kingdom was involved in an all-out, full-scale war. I doubt anyone here has the experience necessary to deal with it."


    Pale chose not to comment.


    Valerie shook her head, standing up a bit straighter as she did so. "Anyway, sorry, but I have to get back to work. My apologies for ranting."


    "It''s no problem," Pale said. "I''ll see you back at the dorms."


    "Yeah. Catch you later, Pale."


    Their conversation having ended, Valerie went back to using her magic to clear debris, the sorrowful look having been wiped from her face entirely as she dedicated herself to her task once again, while Pale turned and started walking back to the dorms, her mind racing the entire time.


    She may have left one war behind her, at least temporarily, but now she was about to get involved with another. It would have been a sobering thought if she were human, but as it stood, she felt nothing. After all, this was what she''d been created for in the first place.


    At least this time, she''d be fighting for her friends.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 3, Chapter 2

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    With a small grunt, Pale stretched her leg out over her bed, then began to flex it, trying her best to see if there was still anything wrong with it. After a few seconds of no pain, she turned towards Cynthia and gave her a nod.


    "Nothing feels out of the ordinary," she reported. "Excellent work."


    Cynthia merely gave her a nod. "That''s good. If you feel any kind of sudden pain or discomfort, come find me immediately. I''ll get you fixed up."


    "How likely is that to happen?"


    "Not very; magic tends to be pretty thorough about this sort of thing. A broken leg is easy enough to fix, too. Still, I want to be sure it''s healing the way it should." Cynthia stood up from her bedside, dusting herself off in the process. "I wouldn''t expect anything to have gone wrong during your healing process, but again, keep an eye on it for now and try not to do anything too strenuous for the time being ¨C at least a few days. Think you can do that for me?"


    "Sure," Pale confirmed. "Thanks again, Cynthia."


    "Mhm."


    As Cynthia turned to walk out of her dorm room, Pale couldn''t help but visually trace the scar running over her eye. Cynthia had been severely wounded in the attack, and while it had been easy enough to fix the more minor aspects of the injury ¨C the bleeding and cut, for one ¨C her eye itself had somehow been damaged, and unfortunately, that was apparently something that even magic couldn''t fix. As far as Pale knew, Cynthia was now completely blind in one eye, and had a nasty-looking scar across it as well. The healers had offered to at least patch up her scar, but for some reason, she''d refused. Pale didn''t know why, and Cynthia hadn''t offered an explanation to anyone as to why.


    For their part, neither Pale nor any of their other friends had seen fit to pry into it. Something about it was clearly very personal to Cynthia, and nobody had been willing to peel back that particular scab just yet.


    The sound of the door to her room opening and then closing snapped Pale out of her own thoughts. She hurriedly pulled her pants back on ¨C having had to lower them so Cynthia could take a closer look at her injured leg ¨C and was just finishing zipping them back up when the door to the room opened and Kayla stepped in.


    "Cynthia told us you''re all clear," she reported.


    "Mostly," Pale replied with a grunt. "I''m on light duties for the next few days, according to her."


    Kayla''s brow furrowed. "I don''t understand why you can''t just use one of those¡­ what did you call them? Injections?''


    Pale crossed her arms. Kayla was speaking about a series of medical devices Pale had on-board her ship ¨C small syringes full of a very potent healing medicine that she''d been using since her arrival at the Luminarium. Truthfully, Pale had been tempted to use one on herself, but had held off for a variety of reasons.


    "Because I don''t have that many left, for one," Pale told her. "I didn''t exactly have a massive stockpile to begin with, anyway. And now I''m wishing I hadn''t used so many this early on."


    "You can''t make more?"


    Pale shook her head. "That would require specialized equipment that doesn''t exist on this planet yet. I could do it, of course, but that would take a lot of time, which we don''t have, obviously."


    "Mm¡­ I suppose you''re right."


    Kayla took a seat on the edge of Pale''s bed, then let out a sigh. "...I take it Cyntha didn''t tell you anything about her scar?"


    "No, and I didn''t ask."


    "But-"


    "Kayla, whatever the problem is, she''ll tell us when she''s ready," Pale insisted. "I don''t think it''s worth the risk of antagonizing her over something that''s obviously this personal to her."


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    Kayla pursed her lips, but nodded. "...Yeah, you''re right," she conceded. "I just wish she''d talk to us, you know? I mean, at this point, she almost reminds me of you back when you first arrived here ¨C all closed-off to everyone but Cal, all of a sudden¡­"


    "Give her time," Pale insisted.


    "I know, I know¡­"


    At that, Pale stood up, pausing only to slip her handgun back into its holster at her belt line. Her weapons had initially been lost during the final stages of the attack when she''d passed out, but they''d been recovered and returned to her after a few days. For her part, Pale had been quite uncomfortable with just her knife at her side, especially given the severity of the attack on the school and town.


    She''d managed to make it through the assault with just her pistol, rifle, shotgun, and knife, but it hadn''t been easy; there had been a number of close calls, not to mention her fight with Sven.


    As the memory of Sven crossed her mind, Pale couldn''t help but scowl. Sven Greymane had been the leader of a group of Barbarians to the north. His men had launched an assault on Kayla''s home village and taken her father hostage; the two of them had attempted to rescue him, but had failed. All Pale had succeeded in doing was wiping Sven''s camp off the map with an orbital bombardment. Naturally, Sven had wanted revenge, and to that end, had thrown his hat into the ring with a local Duke from the neighboring kingdom, the Otrudian Empire ¨C the ones responsible for the attack.


    She still wasn''t entirely sure how Sven and the Otrudians were connected beyond a vague sense of how they''d found each other and launched into what they believed to be a beneficial relationship, but at this point, it didn''t matter ¨C Sven was dead, and the Kingdom of Zaniel, where they were located, was soon to be at war with the Otrudians.


    "Pale."


    Pale turned towards Kayla, who was staring at her. Pale shook her head.


    "Sorry," she offered.


    "What were you thinking about?" Kayla asked, unperturbed.


    "What makes you believe I was thinking about something?"


    "Because you always stare off into space and get this weird look on your face whenever you''re deep in thought. Trust me, it''s not hard to tell. So, what was it?"


    "Nothing."


    "Pale-"


    "I mean it, Kayla," Pale insisted. "I was just reflecting on some of the things that happened over the past few days."


    "Like what?"


    Pale frowned. Kayla had certainly gotten bold over the past few weeks. In the past, during the early days of their adventures together, she was much more content to simply let issues lie where they fell. Not anymore, it seemed.


    Then again, perhaps that was what it meant to truly be best friends with someone. Pale herself had never experienced friendship before coming to this planet, Sjel, so to say it was all new to her would have been an understatement.


    Just another adjustment she''d have to keep making, she supposed.


    Reluctantly, Pale let out a small sigh. "Just trying to see how Sven fits together with the Otrudian Empire."


    "Didn''t he tell you that himself?"


    "He told me he essentially fell in with them almost by chance. I don''t know if I believe that, though."


    "No offense, but does it matter?" Kayla questioned. "He''s dead now. If what he said wasn''t actually the truth, then the reality of the situation, whatever it happens to be, followed him to the grave. As far as I''m concerned, there''s really no point in worrying about it right now."


    After a moment of hesitation, Pale gave her a nod. "...I suppose you''re right."


    Kayla flashed her a small, reassuring grin. "Try not to dwell on it too much, Pale. Sven''s gone, after all." She rested a hand on Pale''s shoulder. "Anyway, now that you''ve got a clean bill of health, let''s go look around. I think I saw Professor Virux out near the front gates."


    That got Pale''s attention. She perked up slightly at the thought of getting to speak to her teacher. Like her, Virux was an Alteration Mage ¨C together, they were both some of the very few who were active on Sjel. Alteration Mages tended to keep their magical Affinities a secret out of fear of people trying to exploit them, and Virux was no exception; nobody had realized what his Affinity was until he''d told her, not helped by the fact that his class of choice was history rather than any kind of practical magical application.


    Of course, perhaps that had less to do with his desire to keep his Affinity a secret and more to do with the fact that, as a Dragonborn, he was more inclined to the historical than not. Being long-lived certainly had to spur his interest in such a subject more than not.


    In any case, Pale gave Kayla a nod, and then the two of them rose to their feet and exited the room, looking for Professor Virux.


    XXX


    As Pale stepped out into the hallway, she couldn''t help but look around, one hand drifting to her holstered pistol as she did so. The Luminarium was still in ruins, she knew, but this particular building had fortunately been mostly untouched,.


    "Everything okay?" Kayla asked.


    "It''s fine," Pale reported. "Just¡­ still a bit on-edge."


    Kayla''s face fell, her ears flattening against her head. "I know what you mean. It just doesn''t quite feel like home the way it used to before the Otrudians attacked, does it?"


    Pale nodded. "I''ve heard a similar thing happening with people whose houses have been broken into and burglarized. It''s like¡­ no matter how much you may continue to live in the house, or whatever changes you make to it, it will never feel as safe as it did before. The sanctity has already been violated."


    Kayla shuddered. "Yeah, that makes sense, unfortunately¡­"


    Pale pursed her lips, then motioned for Kayla to follow her. "Come on. Let''s go see if Virux is still out there."


    Kayla nodded, and the two of them set off together, aiming for the front courtyard. They walked for several minutes, taking care to avoid the more damaged sections of the school as they did so. The bodies and blood had been cleaned up already, of course, but the memories remained, unfortunately, particularly for Pale.


    Being a computer had its perks most of the time, but this was the first time her eidetic memory had truly backfired. She could still remember seeing her fallen classmates lining the halls, even watching several of them die in front of her because she simply wasn''t fast enough. The thought made her blood boil.


    A sudden hand on her shoulder snapped her out of it, and she turned to find Kayla staring at her with concern.


    "Hey," she said. "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine," Pale answered instantly, gently shrugging Kayla''s hand off her shoulder.


    "Are you sure? Because-"


    "Kayla," Pale said. "I will be okay. Let''s just keep going."


    Kayla blinked, but reluctantly nodded. Pale sucked in a breath before continuing on her way.


    She wasn''t sure what was coming over her, truthfully ¨C she''d never felt as apprehensive or on-edge as she had now, and all she was doing was wandering through her old school.


    Whatever was happening to her, it was alarming. But at the same time, it wasn''t something she could afford to dwell on.


    Not when she was about to get herself involved in another war.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 3, Chapter 3

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    After a few more minutes of walking together, Pale and Kayla both made it out to the courtyard. As Pale expected, it was still a disaster in the midst of being repaired, though at the very least, it was getting better with every day that passed. The bodies, blood, and gore had been cleaned up already, and the deep craters and scores in the ground that had been made by various magic attacks had also been repaired. The buildings and structures that made up the courtyard were still heavily damaged, but people were working on them, and with any luck, they''d be back up within just a few weeks.


    A glint of something on the ground nearby caught Pale''s attention, and she bent down to pick it up. It was a spent shell casing, one that had apparently been missed during cleanup. Pale stared at it for a just a moment before her expression narrowed and she let it fall from her fingers and onto the ground below, where she ground it even further down underneath her heel.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked, concerned.


    "I''m fine," Pale again insisted. Before Kayla could protest, she began to look around. "Do you see Virux anywhere?"


    Kayla looked like she wanted to argue, but didn''t get a chance before Pale spotted him a ways away, just across the courtyard. She couldn''t help but brighten up a bit at the sight of him.


    Professor Tomas had been the professor she was closest to, but with his death at the hands of Professor Marick, that title now fell to Professor Virux instead. That wasn''t to imply that Pale had never been close to Virux, but Professor Tomas had been the one to really take her under his wing and begin tutoring her in the use of magic.


    Of course, that was before she''d learned that Virux was an Alteration Mage like she was, which was apparently something he''d kept a secret from even the rest of the staff. Not that it was hard to see why ¨C she''d done the same to her peers, with only Kayla and Valerie knowing the truth so far.


    Professor Virux spotted them coming out of the corner of his eye and turned to meet them, a thin smile crossing his face as he did so.


    "Ah, good to see you both," he said. "Pale, how are you feeling?"


    "Much better," she reported. "Cynthia has me on light duties for the next few days, though."


    At that, Virux''s expression faltered. "Ah¡­ how is-"


    "She''s¡­ handling it, I guess," Kayla said quietly, her ears drooping slightly.


    "So she hasn''t told you-"


    "No," Pale interrupted. "We''re trying to give her space at the moment. We figure she''ll tell us when she''s good and ready, and not a moment before."


    "Yes, well¡­ my door is always open to her as well, of course," Virux offered. "The same as it is to any of my students. Though, I wish more of you would take me up on the offer¡­"


    "How many have?" Kayla asked, curious.


    Virux shook his head sadly. "Not many, unfortunately. Last I checked, it was eight people, which bothers me, to say the least ¨C you all went through something truly horrific just a few short days ago. I understand not everybody was wounded, but some injuries aren''t necessarily just external." He let out a sigh. "But that bit of unpleasantness aside¡­ I hear that Cal and Cynthia have decided to enlist."


    "They''re not the only ones," Pale told him.


    At that, Virux whipped around to face her, his eyes going wide with shock. "You as well?"


    "Kayla, Valerie, and I," Pale informed him. "We haven''t made it official yet, but we will."


    Virux stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes and letting out a small exhale, then shaking his head again.


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    "...I suppose there''s nothing I can say to talk you all out of it?" he asked.


    "Unfortunately, no."


    "I was afraid of that."


    "If it makes you feel any better, this won''t be my first war," Pale offered.


    Virux winced. "No, that doesn''t make me feel any better. Quite the opposite, actually."


    "Oh. My apologies, then."


    Kayla frowned. "Professor, I understand your misgivings about this situation-"


    "Respectfully, Kayla, you do not," Virux countered. "Obviously, you all are adults and capable of making your own decisions regardless of what I have to say on the matter, but in my eyes, this is tantamount to you trying to throw your lives away. I am a Dragonborn ¨C I''ve lived through more wars than I can remember, including the Undead Crusades. And I can tell you, there is no such thing as a ''good'' war. They all lead to the same place, in the end; nothing decent ever comes out of any of them."


    "With all due respect, Professor, from where we''re standing, our options are to either sign up ourselves or wait to be conscripted," Pale informed him. "I know they haven''t officially announced conscription yet, but that''s all the people around here are talking about. And between volunteering myself or having someone else volunteer me, I know which one I''d prefer."


    Virux''s expression darkened. "Yes, I suppose you do have a point, loathe as I am to admit it¡­" He let out another tired sigh, shaking his head again as he did so. "...You know, I have been an educator for centuries now, and it never gets easier, seeing young people forced to fight and die in wars started by their elders¡­"


    "Not like we have much of a choice in the matter," Pale reminded him.


    "I know, I know. Just¡­ if you''re going to go, please be safe about it. I''ve lost enough good students over these past few days as-is, I don''t need to count any of you among them as well."


    With that, Virux turned back towards the other people he''d been supervising and continued helping with the cleanup detail. Pale and Kayla exchanged a look with each other before walking away.


    "Well," Kayla offered once they were both out of earshot. "He was certainly honest with his feelings about it."


    "He''s just upset," Pale said without looking her way. "I can''t say I blame him for it, either ¨C I''d be worried if I was in his situation, too."


    "Still, did he have to be so¡­ candid about it? He made it sound like he expected us to die or something¡­"


    "Put yourself in his shoes, Kayla ¨C like he said, he''s been alive for centuries by this point, and lived through countless wars. Odds are, he''s seen plenty of his students die in pointless conflicts already."


    "Pointless?" Kayla echoed.


    Pale nodded. "On some level, yes, I''d call this pointless. We still don''t know why the Otrudians attacked in the first place; they''ve made no demands of us, at least to my knowledge. From what I can see, this is just another one of those long-simmering cultural conflicts that''s finally gone hot after spending several decades lurking underneath the surface. But, then again, at this point, I''m just another grunt, so who am I to question my orders?"


    Kayla bit her lip. "You know, you never really¡­ talked about your experience fighting in that first war. I mean, you''ve certainly mentioned it, but you never really explained the in-depth circumstances behind it."


    "Trust me, it''s not as complex as you might think," Pale told her. "The Caatex wanted to exterminate my creators, so they decided to exterminate them back. They created me for specifically that purpose. I never questioned my orders because I was never given a reason to do so."


    "And¡­ is that how you''re going to fight this war? With that mindset, I mean."


    Pale thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Truthfully? No. And not just because the circumstances are different. This time, I''ve got people I care about and need to protect."


    Kayla paused, looking at her with wide eyes. Slowly, the thinnest of smiles split her face.


    "...I probably shouldn''t feel as happy as I do about you saying that," she confessed.


    Pale shrugged. "It''s the truth, Kayla. Back during my old war, I didn''t have anyone I truly cared about on a personal level. Obviously, I cared for my creators, sure, but that wasn''t personal in the way my relationship with you all is. I''m signing up alongside you all because I want to keep you all safe. Nothing more, nothing less."


    Kayla nodded in understanding. She went to say something else, but a flash of slate gray out of the corner of Pale''s eye caught her attention at the last second. Pale turned, and was surprised to see Nasir walking towards them.


    Nasir was another of the students from the Luminarium. Him and Pale had a very rocky relationship as a result of a rough encounter they''d had during initiation; he''d never forgiven her for taking advantage of him and nearly cheating him out of his spot in the Luminarium. They''d had a few other run-ins since then, including one during the attack on the Luminarium where they''d begrudgingly helped each other out, but for the most part, they tended to keep their distance.


    Until now, it seemed.


    "Pale," Naisr greeted as he came over to her. He was short for an elf, barely matching Pale''s height, but she knew from firsthand experience that his Blood Magic was downright lethal.


    "Nasir," Pale replied. "What can I do for you?"


    To her surprise, he bit his lip and lowered his head, then muttered something under his breath. Pale frowned, then looked over to Kayla, who merely gave her a confused shrug. Pale frowned, then turned back to Nasir.


    "What was that?"


    "I said¡­ I want to enlist!" Nasir finally announced.


    Pale, for her part, was surprised. Nasir was not the kind of person she''d expect to see signing the contract, so to speak. Sure, his conscription was an inevitability given his powerful magic, but even then, she''d suspected he''d have tried to put it off as long as possible.


    "Okay," she offered. After a moment''s hesitation, she added, "What do you want me to do about it?"


    Again, Naisr bit his lip. "I¡­ I was wondering if you''d come with me. I mean¡­ I heard you and Kayla want to sign up, too, so¡­"


    Kayla caught on instantly. "You don''t want to sign up by yourself," she surmised.


    Nasir nodded. "Yeah¡­ I-I mean¡­ I didn''t have very many friends in the Luminarium to begin with, and the few I had are all dead now, so I was just hoping¡­ someone would go with me? A-assuming you''re both planning to enlist as well, of course¡­"


    Kayla''s expression softened. She turned towards Pale, who returned it with a blank look of her own. Kayla, for her part, was unperturbed, and turned back to Nasir.


    "Sure," she said. "Come with us, we can sign up together."


    Nasir instantly perked up at that, staring at her with wide eyes. "T-thank you! I¡­ I assume they won''t put us together, but¡­ thanks anyway."


    "Of course." Kayla turned back to Pale. "Well, no better time than the present, I suppose."


    "So it would seem," Pale replied. "Lead the way, then."

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 3, Chapter 4

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    Finding the recruiters was easy enough ¨C they had set up in the center of town; all the three of them needed to do was follow the crowd of people headed in that direction, and before long, they were standing just a short ways away from several men and women clad in plate armor, carrying weapons and catalyst staffs.


    "Mage-Knights," Kayla informed her. "With any luck, they''ll be picking some of us to follow in their footsteps."


    "What makes them so special compared to a standard Mage?" Pale asked.


    "You mean aside from the specialized training they get to wield both martial weapons and deadly magic? There''s the fact that they answer directly to the King, himself."


    That got Pale''s attention. She turned towards Kayla, the surprise on her face must have been palpable, because Kayla gave a small giggle.


    "Sorry," she said. "I''m still not used to you emoting so much¡­ but anyway, yes, the Mage-Knights take orders directly from the king himself."


    "Hm. So the position is prestigious, then?"


    Kayla nodded. "Oh, yes. The only position more prestigious in the entire military is that of the King''s Champion, and only by virtue of there only being a single one of those."


    "What do you mean?"


    "It''s complicated," Kayla offered. "Honestly, I wish Virux had delved more into the history of this area rather than just discussing old wars and stuff¡­ to put it simply, this ties into the dominant religion of this world more than you think."


    "What, like some kind of divine right to rule?"


    Kayla tilted her head, confused. "I suppose so? Truthfully, I don''t know a whole lot about it, myself ¨C my family worshiped the Gods, of course, but not in accordance with any organized religion on Sjel. Anyway, to begin with, it involves this one particular valley-"


    Just then, one of the Mage-Knights cleared his throat and gestured towards them.


    "You three, up front," he commanded, his voice carrying over the noise of the crowd.


    Pale scowled. "Guess that''s our cue," she said. "Ready to sign your life away?"


    Kayla let out a small sigh. "Do you really have to phrase it like that?"


    "Yes, Kayla. You need to understand what you''re getting into. Once we agree to this, we''re not autonomous anymore."


    "I know, I know¡­" She let out another sigh. "Let''s do this, then. I''m ready."


    Pale nodded, and together along with Nasir, they approached the small group of Mage-Knights. There were six of them, all clustered around a table, on which stacks of paper had been laid out. Pale could see several quill pens and inkwells laid out across the table as well; frankly, she was surprised at how official the whole thing looked.


    From what she understood of her own humanity''s history, during their feudal times, it had never been any more official than a bunch of armed men showing up to a village and declaring all young men had to go with them under penalty of death. Then again, if one thing was abundantly clear to her at this point, it was that Sjel and Earth were both very different from one another ¨C the fact that Sjel didn''t seem to discriminate against allowing women in their feudal military was proof enough of that.


    Then again, magic tended to level the playing field quite a bit in that regard, so it wasn''t exactly difficult to see why.


    In any case, Pale stepped up to the table alongside Nasir and Kayla. Two other Mage-Knights began speaking with them, while Pale stopped in front of a young woman, seated on the other side of the table with her helmet off. She had flowing brown hair and dull amber eyes; Pale didn''t have much time to take in her features before she cleared her throat.


    "So," the woman began, "you''re pledging your life to the king?"


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    "It''s either this or be conscripted," Pale replied. "I''d rather do this on my own terms."


    The woman shrugged. "You''re not wrong," she admitted. "Alright. Sign here."


    She reached for one of the papers in the stack, then passed it over to Pale, who read over it in an instant. Everything about it seemed to be in-order; it was little more than a short contract stipulating that she would serve for a year, but that she could be called back into service as a conscript if the war continued on past that point. There was also a short clause about her compensation ¨C it wasn''t much money, of course, but then again, she wasn''t doing this for the money.


    Finally, at the bottom, there was a spot for her to sign her name. Pale eyed the space for a moment before turning back to the woman.


    "Does this contract contain everything I need to be aware of regarding the terms of my service?"


    "Does it matter?" the Mage-Knight replied in a bored tone. "Like you said, it''s either this or getting conscripted."


    Pale''s brow furrowed. "I just want to make sure this contract isn''t magically binding in some way."


    "It isn''t." As if to emphasize her point, the Mage-Knight reached out for another contract, then signed her name onto it with a quick flourish; nothing seemed to happen, at least from what Pale could tell. "See? Nothing to it. This is really just a formality ¨C a way to track who came willingly and who didn''t. You are, of course, free to refuse to sign, but it won''t do you much good at this point, as I''m sure you''re aware already."


    "What about my duty station?" Pale asked.


    Again, the Mage-Knight shrugged. "You get what you get. Not much I can do to change that."


    Again, Pale''s brow furrowed. She''d known that the people of Sjel weren''t used to fighting wars the way her people were ¨C they didn''t have the organization down to a near-exact science like her creators did. But this was almost too haphazard ¨C it was like the people in charge of forming the army either didn''t know or simply didn''t care how best to organize their own troops.


    At this point, she got the distinct impression that this was going to be a very rough approximation of two feudal armies warring, just on a large scale and with magic thrown into the mix ¨C lots of barely-trained conscripts duking it out in an open field until one side had enough and threw in the towel, then retreated from that particular battle. Needless to say, it didn''t inspire confidence, but then again, it wasn''t like her opposition would make a difference, not when she could see Kayla already signing the contract out of the corner of her eye.


    With a reluctant, tired sigh, Pale did the same, signing her own name onto the contract that had been handed to her before giving it back to the Mage-Knight. The woman accepted it, looking over the page with a raised eyebrow.


    "Pale?" she asked. "That''s your name?" Pale nodded, and her brow furrowed. "I swear, the new meat gets weirder every year¡­" She shook her head. "Anyway, I''ll just need one more thing from you."


    At that, Pale couldn''t help but bristle. "You just told me there was nothing I needed to be aware of aside from signing my name."


    "Oh, relax, would you? This is hardly something to worry about. I just need to know what your Affinity is."


    And there it was. Pale grit her teeth in anger as she stared the Mage-Knight down. Truthfully, she should have expected this to come up sooner rather than later, but she''d been hoping to have had more time to come up with a way to weasel out of it, at least temporarily. Now she was being put on the spot in front of everyone.


    And judging by the way the Mage-Knight and her group were now looking at her, this was going to be difficult to lie her way out of.


    "Why do you need to know my Affinity?" Pale demanded. "You just said there''s nothing you can do to change my duty station."


    "No, I said there wasn''t much I could do about it," the woman replied. "Why do you want to know? Do you have a particularly valuable Affinity? The king could always use-"


    "I''m a Water Mage."


    The woman stared at her for a moment before cracking a wry grin, then shaking her head. "Nice try. Now, would you like to go for another lie, or are you going to tell the truth this time?"


    "Does it matter?"


    "Pale, just tell her," Kayla whispered.


    "Yes, please do," one of the other Mage-Knights replied, crossing his arms. "And you can consider that an order, soldier. Unless you plan to defy a direct command?"


    "Fine," Pale spat. "You want to know? I''m an Alteration Mage."


    Immediately, a heavy silence fell over the entire group. The Mage-Knights exchanged surprised glances with each other for a moment before looking back towards her.


    "...Alright," one of them said. "Keep her there ¨C I''ll send a message to the king, and-"


    At that, Pale slammed her fist onto the table, silencing them all. They turned to stare at her again, their hands drifting to their weapons, as she leveled a harsh glare at the female Mage-Knight.


    "Do not try to separate me from my friend," she warned. "I signed up to fight alongside her and that''s what I intend to do. I don''t care how valuable you think my Affinity makes me, I''m not leaving her alone."


    "That''s not up to you to decide," the Mage-Knight answered calmly.


    "Too bad, because I''m making that decision anyway."


    "On what grounds?"


    "Pale¡­" Kayla muttered.


    Pale ignored her, instead locking eyes with the Mage-Knight once more.


    "On the grounds that I can either be your ally or enemy, and it''s up to you to decide right now which you''d rather have me as."


    Again, a heavy silence fell over the group. The Mage-Knight''s eyes narrowed dangerously, and she opened her mouth to respond, but she never got the chance to.


    Because right at that moment, someone clamped a hand around Pale''s shoulder and gently pushed her to the side.


    Pale''s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden movement, and she turned to give her would-be assailant a piece of her mind, only to freeze when she saw it was Virux. He was standing before the Mage-Knights, looking none too pleased with them.


    "I am a professor for the Luminarium," he stated. "I have been for over a century now." He gestured to Kayla and Pale. "These two are my students."


    "So?" the Mage-Knight asked.


    "So I know them very well by this point. And I can promise you that this one," he motioned to Pale for emphasis, "still has much work to be done with her Affinity before she is of any use to the king off the frontlines. As a warrior, however? You will struggle to find one better than her."


    "And how are we supposed to believe you?"


    "Because, like her, I am an Alteration Mage, too," Virux insisted. "I''ve seen what she''s capable of, and I know that she isn''t any good for what your king would need one for. So, instead, I will offer you a deal ¨C you need an Alteration Mage? I will do it. But in exchange, do not split her up from her friends."


    The Mage-Knights blinked in surprise before turning to each other and discussing something in whispered tones. After a few minutes of talking, they turned back to Virux, and one of them gave him a nod.


    "Very well," the man grunted. He gestured to Pale. "Besides, this one clearly isn''t disciplined enough for what we need her for. If she wants to head onto the front lines, then so be it."


    Virux nodded. "Thank you."


    Pale stared at him in shock. "Professor-"


    "Not now, Pale," he said without looking back at her. "I think it would be best if you and Kayla went and got some rest, now, wouldn''t you agree?"


    Pale didn''t know what to say. She turned towards Kayla, but to her dismay, Kayla merely nodded.


    "I agree, professor," she said. "Come on, Pale. Let''s go."


    Pale didn''t get a chance to argue before Kayla took her by the hand and began to pull her away from the group of Mage-Knights, heading back towards the Luminarium.

 Ballistic Coefficient - Book 3, Chapter 5

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    The next day, Pale was awoken by someone banging on the door to her dorm room. She immediately sat bolt upright, reaching for the pistol on the table next to her bedside. Across from her, Kayla sat up as well, hurriedly blinking the sleep from her eyes.


    "Pale¡­?" she asked groggily. "What''s going on¡­?"


    Pale didn''t get a chance to respond before a voice cut through the door.


    "Hurry up, you lot!" someone shouted. "The military caravan leaves in an hour! If you''re not on it, I''ll mark you down for insubordination!"


    With that, the pounding on the door stopped, and a moment later, Pale heard the distinctive sound of heavy footfalls moving away from their dorm. She allowed herself to relax, taking her hand off her gun as the stranger left them behind. On the other side of the room, Kayla''s ears lowered, and she let out a sigh of relief.


    "Good¡­" she muttered. "I was worried we were being attacked again¡­"


    "As was I," Pale agreed. She motioned to the restroom. "If you were planning to shower, you might want to do so now. I doubt we''ll get any hot water for some time."


    "I can''t just heat the water?" Kayla asked. "I mean, I am a Fire Mage-"


    "I doubt they''ll give you enough time for it, unfortunately," Pale said.


    Kayla stared at her in surprise, and Pale returned it with a look of disbelief. "Kayla, you didn''t seriously believe you''d still be given the creature comforts you''d gotten used to in everyday life once you joined the military, did you?"


    "No, of course not," Kayla confirmed. "It''s just¡­ this is all happening pretty fast, isn''t it? I figured they''d have given us at least a few days to prepare¡­"


    "Perhaps they intended to, and something moved their time frame up," Pale mused. "Either way, it doesn''t matter. If you want to enjoy that hot shower, I suggest you spend the next few minutes doing exactly that. Because otherwise, if the military here is anything like the one where I come from, it''s going to be a lot of cold water and communal baths."


    Kayla shuddered at that. "Eugh¡­ is it too late to get myself discharged?"


    "Yes, it is." Pale stared at her. "I know you''re trying to make a joke, but you and everyone else need to understand what you''re getting into. This is the real deal, Kayla ¨C war isn''t something romantic or fun. It''s a lot of killing and dying, separated by moments of sheer boredom and quiet. You need to know what you''re getting into, because otherwise, it will blindside you in the worst way possible."


    Kayla swallowed nervously. "U-um¡­ wow. That was, uh¡­ effective, I think is the word."


    "You don''t need to be afraid," Pale emphasized. "They''re keeping the two of us together, at least. That means I can protect you, and you can protect me. And as our travels have shown, we make a good team together."


    Kayla still seemed unconvinced. Pale let out a small sigh.


    "Look, just stick with me, okay?" she insisted. "I will keep you safe if it''s the last thing I do. Trust me, I''ve been through all of this before. Not as infantry, but you get the idea. Nothing here will be new to me in the slightest."


    "You shouldn''t be saying that like it''s a good thing¡­" Kayla muttered.


    "On the contrary, Kayla ¨C if it means I''ll be better able to prepare you for what''s to come, then I fail to see how it''s anything but a good thing," Pale insisted. She shook her head, then motioned to the bathroom once more. "You should probably hurry up, though ¨C we don''t have much time."


    That was enough to get her into gear. Kayla stepped out of bed, grabbed herself a change of clothes, and stepped into the restroom, closing the door behind her. A moment later, Pale heard the water start up, and leaned back in her own bed, interlocking her fingers behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling in thought.


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    Kayla was right that things were moving very quickly. It had barely been a day since they''d signed up, and already they were being put into a caravan and sent on their way, presumably to some kind of training camp. The thought caused her eyes to narrow. There wasn''t going to be any option to hide her weapons anymore. She''d known that going into this, and had ultimately decided that particular cat had been let out of its bag long ago, especially when it came to protecting her friends. If worst came to worst, she''d just lie and claim she''d built them all herself; after all, it wasn''t like she didn''t know exactly how to make them. All she''d need to start pumping them out was a workshop with the proper tools, which would be easy enough to produce in approximately-


    Pale''s eyes suddenly went wide, and she blinked in surprise before grimacing and shaking her head. She''d save that particular thought for later; it''d be a useful bargaining chip if she needed to take herself and her friends off the front lines, for whatever reason. But until that day came, she''d hold it close to her chest.


    These people were dangerous and powerful enough without her giving them access to kinetic weapons. And besides that, if she started passing them out, then it was only a matter of time until some of them ended up in the wrong hands, and just like that, her biggest on-the-ground advantage would be gone. And with her ship''s primary weapons systems offline and its secondary weapons either depleted of ammunition or too indiscriminate or outright destructive to consider using, that meant she''d be in real trouble.


    Much as she hated to admit it, she was going to have to keep her knowledge of warfare and advanced warfighting technology a secret for now, because the alternative was too dangerous to consider at the moment. That being said, it probably wouldn''t hurt to take a look at her kit at some point between now making it to the front lines¡­


    Pale''s gaze slid over to her assault rifle, propped up against the wall in a nearby corner. Her first rifle had been lost during the attack, but in the days afterwards, she''d managed to sneak out of town and call in a pod to resupply with a new one and additional ammunition for it. She currently had a full combat load in her plate carrier, along with a second load in her backpack, and a third in Kayla''s backpack as well. That''d be enough to get her through most of what this world could throw at her, short of something like another vampire, or even worse, another Sven.


    "Alright, Sjel," Pale muttered to herself as she turned to stare out the window. "Time to see what you''ve got, I guess."


    XXX


    The two of them made it to the caravan just in time, thankfully ¨C the Mage Knights were in the process of loading people onto carriages and wagons when they''d arrived. Pale had shown up in her usual regalia ¨C that was to say, she had on all her gear, and was making no effort to hide any of it from prying eyes. That earned her a few odd looks, a not-insignificant number of which came from the very Knights who were loading them up, but thankfully, everyone seemed to be far too busy to try interrogating her about anything she was carrying.


    "Are you sure about this?" Kayla asked her quietly. "People are going to ask questions eventually if they see you carrying that stuff¡­"


    "Then let them," Pale replied. "I can''t keep these things a secret forever, and you know it. Might as well get a head start on explaining them now."


    "If you''re sure¡­"


    "Pale, Kayla!" Valerie suddenly shouted from a few carriages down the path. "Over here, hurry!"


    Pale shifted at the sound of her friend''s voice, a thin smile working its way across her face. "I suppose that would be our ride," she observed, honing in on the wagon in question. Sure enough, Valerie was already there, along with Cal and Cynthia, and curiously enough, Nasir as well. Pale didn''t bother to question it, though ¨C Nasir has said the few friends he''d made had died in the attack, and besides that, she was more than happy to let him tag along, given how powerful his Blood Magic supposedly was.


    In any case, the two of them hurried over to the carriage, where the others helped them up. Pale gave them all an appreciative nod, then settled into her seat between Valerie and Nasir, while Kayla found her place next to Cynthia.


    No sooner had they both taken a seat than did the carriage start to move, apparently spurred on by the few ahead of it beginning to leave. Pale turned to look out the opening in the rear, watching as the ruined city began to pass by around them.


    "Guess this is it," Cal declared. "We really are going to war, aren''t we?"


    "We are," Pale emphasized. "Which reminds me¡­ I already gave Kayla this talk, but you all need to hear it, too ¨C this is the real deal. Got it?"


    "We know," Cal replied.


    Pale shook her head. "No, you don''t. You might think you do, but trust me, you don''t. What happened at the Luminarium a few days ago was just the tip of the iceberg, as far as I''m concerned."


    "So what are you trying to say, then?" Valerie asked.


    "I''m just trying to ask you all not to be heroes or do anything stupid," Pale emphasized. "And I mean that. Take care of yourselves and your friends first and foremost."


    Valerie''s brow furrowed. "Sound advice, of course, but unfortunately, I can''t exactly sit in the rear line-"


    "Oh, don''t worry," Pale said as she turned to start out the rear of the carriage again, watching the wisps of smoke continue to curl up from the burned-out buildings that lined the city streets.


    "Something tells me that there''ll be plenty of combat to go around," she insisted.


    XXX


    The caravan traveled on for several hours before finally coming to a stop, waking Pale from her slumber in the process.. As it stopped, the Mage Knights who''d been traveling with them jumped down onto the ground below and began demanding the new recruits follow after them. Pale blinked the sleep from her eyes, then looked around, only to find all the other occupants except Nasir doing the same.


    "Nasir¡­?" she ventured, getting his attention. "You didn''t sleep?"


    The dark elf bit his lip, then shook his head. "No¡­ nerves were too intense."


    "Hm. Then you know where we are?"


    He nodded. "We''re not at a training camp, if that''s what you were wondering."


    "What?" Pale asked. She stood up and stepped over to the rear of the carriage, throwing the flap open enough to look outside. What she saw only confused her even more.


    True to Nasir''s word, this wasn''t a training camp at all. If anything, it looked more like an outpost or checkpoint, and a very fortified one at that. From what she could see, this had once been a small frontier town, but it had since been commandeered by the military and taken over. Spiked barricades of stone and wood lined its outskirts, forming an impromptu wall of sorts, and armored men and women milled about, all of them carrying weapons.


    The students who''d already stepped out of their wagons and carriages and were now standing outside looked just as confused as she did, and their confusion only grew as one of the Knights stepped forward to address them.


    "Onward, you lot!" he shouted. "The Knight Commander''s waiting!"


    The students flinched at his tone of voice, but did as they were told, heading off in the direction they''d been pointed to. Pale watched them go, still unsure of what to think even as she pulled her head back into the wagon.


    "Pale?" Kayla asked. "What''s going on?"


    "I don''t know," Pale told her. "But whatever it is, I get the distinct impression that it''s nothing good.


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