A booming sound rang out and took the lights with it. The walls and floor shook violently as items fell from the shelves. Danniel braced himself as best he could as everything shuttered around him. When the shaking stopped, the panicked wolf called out for Lily and got no response. As he called for Lily again, a soft glow from the right side of the room started to show. Turning to face it, he was greeted by a strange sight. The purple gem on the featureless black door emitted a pulsing dim light with shimmering runes dancing around it. Danniel tilted his head while moving closer to it. Before he could get too close, he could hear Lily muttering something. The lights turned back on just then. After a quick examination of the room, a few things had fallen to the floor, but nothing was broken. He turned his attention to the still muttering Lily.
Lily’s expression was completely vacant. Her head was laid to the side, and her shoulders were slumped. Her arms hung limp while her fingers spasmed and twitched. The rabbit’s mouth whispered nonstop. Danniel moved closer to try to make it out and felt the air get warmer. A few steps away from the rabbit, the air around her was visibly shimmering.
“Alright, this is new,” Danniel whispered as he got close to her. He found himself recoiling as the next segment of incomprehensible whispering came with licks of flames shooting from her nose and mouth. Then, without warning, the whispering stopped, and a light sprung to life behind her eyes. They glowed as if a flame was burning inside her pale orange eyes while they locked onto Danniel. Though they had moved, the pair were still as vacant as a doll's eyes.
“Li…lac…” Lily spoke as her head slumped forward. Her body followed as she started to lean.
Reflexively, Danniel stepped back forward to catch her. Though she was mentally vacant, her body moved and put a foot out to stop her fall. Danniel, despite the intensifying heat Lily’s body was giving off, caught her by the shoulders. Alongside the heat, Danniel’s grip could feel motion coming from within the rabbit’s body. For lack of a better term, the rabbit was vibrating. Small pulses with a second or two between them echoed from somewhere within her.
“Lily?” Danniel asked, leaning close.
“vuk viri̊gyoar…” The rabbit answered while thick black clouds spilled from Lily’s mouth and nose. Before Danniel could process what he saw, he watched as Lily’s maw fell open. A snow-white fire erupted seconds later, clipping Danniel above his right eye. Thankfully, the flame only made contact with the wolf’s thick locks, though a small flame sprung from where it made contact. Danniel stumbled back in a panic and quickly patted it out. Though it was gone in a matter of seconds, there were some effects. The dreads obscuring that part of his face were badly burned, and as he pulled his hand away, a handful of formerly attached locks fell from his face to the ground.
Danniel returned his attention to Lily and, unsurprisingly, saw a concerning sight. Lily was still spewing fire from her maw, and the pillar of flame was hitting the ceiling. Though he was unsure of the actual temperature, judging by the expanding scorch marking and now cracking wood, it had to be intense. From around the apex of the flame, the smoke clung to the stone and formed creeping tendrils that slithered among the constellations.
Between the flame, rabbit, and still glowing jewel, Danniel could do very little to make sense of his current situation. As his mind started to race, a buzz from his pocket became a welcome distraction. After retrieving his phone, Danniel found Gonzi asking what was taking so long. Danniel opened the message and started to type a response but paused. A quick change of mind caused him to take a picture of the fire-spouting rabbit and send it off with a simple, ‘This.’
While awaiting his boss's reply, he turned back to Lily. Thankfully, she was standing stock still. From her mouth was the same alabaster pillar that was now starting to crack the stone above their heads. While studying the flame and the rabbit it was currently spewing from, Danniel noticed that the sphere of heat around Lily was still growing in range and intensity. From where he stood, the heat was nearly unbearable and quickly worsening.
“Think, damn it,” Danny thought aloud. A fire extinguisher was nearby, but Danniel was unsure of its usefulness against magical fire. That left magic as the only recourse. He took a few steps back, outside the heat bubble, and aimed his ringed gauntlet at the Lily. The bands spun and clicked into place while sporting a new set of runes carved into them.
“Null Sombre,” the wolf called as a large magical circle appeared over Lily's forehead.
With a snap of Danny's fingers, the flame erupting from Lily’s maw stopped. Her eyes blinked away their glow as her body went limp. Again, working on instinct, Danniel darted to catch the falling rabbit. As soon as her body came in contact with his, the searing heat radiating off of Lily’s body caused him to tense in shock. While trying his best to maintain composure, Danniel lowered her to the floor before stepping a few feet back.
Danniel looked over at the unconscious rabbit as his boss finally got back to him. A few quick-fire messages flashed across the screen upon checking his phone.
“What?!”
“Is that why the power went out?”
“I’m coming down. Don’t move! I’m bringing Isabella.”
It wasn't long before the elevator doors opened, and out marched Gonzi. When he exited the hallway and entered the basement proper, the horse was greeted by the sight of Danniel leaning over a sphere of water floating close to the ground. Getting even closer, he saw that Lily was floating inside. From her fur, thin lines of constant bubbles drifted from all over her body to the surface. Though her mouth was moving, no bubbles of air came out.
“And what's this?” Gonzi asked as he stood over the wolf.
“It was the only thing I could think of to do. I knocked her out with a stun spell, and this water keeps her cool.”
“Cool? You are going to explain that to me, Eleven.”
“I would if I could, sir, but I haven't got the foggiest idea of what's happening. All I know is she spit fire, and her body feels hot. Anything else beyond that is up to the elders.” Danniel adjusted his ring-clad hand, which rested atop the water. As he looked up at the horse, Danny spotted Isabella stepping out from behind Gonzi before moving close to the orb.
“You said, like, her body is hot?” Asked Isabella as she rested her hand on the water. Danny nodded and unknowingly caused a shudder to run down her spine. “How hot?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but he lifted his hand instead. When the wolf’s hand left the surface, the orb of water was gone in a puff of burning hot steam. The instant burst of heat caused the three to recoil. The formally cool space was suddenly sweltering. Though the water was cleared out due to the rabbit’s rising body heat, Lily remained suspended in the spot the bubble had held her in. With the water cleared away, the rabbit’s twitching hands and fingers could move with more freedom. So much so that their movement now threw runes into the air around them.
“Hell, Danniel!! Contain her!” Gonzi yelled while turning away from the blazing heat.
Danniel clapped his hands together before folding his hands into his index thumbs, fingers, and thumbs into a triangle. He whispered, “Aquiou,” and a blue orb of light formed in the middle of his fingers. It flew through the shimmering air and positioned itself over Lily’s forehead. Danniel held his hand out, and a massive orb of water appeared around Lily again. The room soon returned to its previous temperature, though slightly more humid.
“I have to keep pumping mana into it. It isn’t much so that I won’t run out of mana anytime soon, but I can’t do it forever.” Danniel sat beside the bubble, dragging his hand down its surface.
Isabella watched the floating rabbit with growing discomfort. She returned to the water and looked at Lily's still-moving mouth. The exchange at the old bat’s door replayed in her head. It was a warning. Something about an elementless rabbit set off Esmeralda’s alarms, but, as usual, she was illusive about why. The only thing that she would tell Isabella was to inform her if anything ‘untoward’ happened.
“Clovis,” Gonzi called the bat’s name, which caused her to tense up. “You’ve been with Thorne all day. Did anything seem off with her?”
Isabella stayed quiet for a moment before letting out a sustained groan. “Like, yeah. You better get the old woman here. The whole book run was weird and-”
“And she spoke Quili?” Danniel cut in. Isabella looked at him before rolling his eyes.
“She said something? She couldn’t keep a secret if you paid her. Yeah, she said her family knew it or something. The book was strange, too. Every time she touched it, it warmed up, and the old woman freaked out when Lily said she couldn’t use magic. Screw it, she’d rather hear from me anyway,” Isabella returned to the elevator while pulling out her phone.
*******
The elevator bell dinged roughly a half hour late. Sandra was out the door before the two had fully opened. She made haste while moving through the basement and made a beeline to Danniel and the water containing Lily. The other passengers, Isabella and Sandra, stepped off with far less urgency. As Isabella joined a panicked Sandra being filled in by Danniel filled her in on the goings-on, Esmerelda slowly approached Gonzi.
“Gonzi, why didn't you think to tell me about the long ear without elemental magic?” Esmerelda hissed while watching the orb of water.
“Why would I?” Gonzi asked.
“Does the word Quila mean anything to you, you blasted war beast?!” the words slipped out of through Esmerelda’s clenched teeth. The horse cocked his head slightly while shooting the bat with a confused look. The bat lifted the cane off the ground and wound back, lining up the rough amber top at Gonzi’s metal leg. After quickly moving her head, she brought it down flush on his forearm. This drew a few neighed profanities from Gonzi while gripping the place of impact. Bringing the cane back to the ground, She cleared her throat and spoke again in a hushed tone. “What about Kino Grimhart? What about that?”
Though her voice was low, it was just loud enough to catch Danniel and Isabella’s attention. They shot a look at Gonzi, expressions all showing worry at the mention of the name. As the horse looked back at Esmerelda, Danny and Isabella side-eyed each other.
“Yeah, I know who Kino is,” Gonzi spoke normally. “What does that have to do with the girl?”
“Because the invoked worm food was a Quila. Based on what the runt told me and the fact she is running a fever in the triple digits, you have been employing a potential fiery apocalypse.”
“Clovis, did you bring Esmerelda here for a reason, or did you intend her to yell and hit me all day?”
Isabella turned to the grumpy bat and fired off a round of clicks and chirps while gesturing toward the orb. Esmerelda fired back more of their sounds before the two quickly devolved into what sounded like a heated argument. Eventually, Esmerelda fell silent before giving Isabella a sour scoff.
Esmerelda took her sweet time walking over to the water-bound rabbit, playing up her weak hip to justify her slow walking speed. While Danniel paid her no mind, Isabella made her unhappiness clear with narrowed eyes and a bitter frown. Of course, this only made Esmerelda smile and slow down a little more while passing directly in front of Isabella.
Once Esmerelda had finally made her way to the containment bubble, she snapped her fingers, and the sound of a rattle filled the air. The solid stone floor directly behind her began to crack and emit an eerie grin light. The cracks quickly broke open into a sizable rift that billowed smoke matching the color that filled the room. From the rift rose a massive chest made of wood and gold. Once completely free, the rift disappeared as quickly as it had come. She turned around and smacked the top of the chest with her cane, which caused it to split in half. The lid split in two and slid open. Among the contents of the strange chest were multiple shelves and racks containing crystals, dried plants, scrolls, and a plethora of books. She ran a bony finger along said books before stopping and removing one with a sky-blue cover.
Turning back to Lily, Esmerelda flipped open the book and leisurely leafed through the book. She stopped several times, thinking she had found what she sought. Yet, each time, further reading would have her flipping further into the tome. Eventually, the bat found what she was looking for
“Bella, make yourself useful and get me a chunk of quartz, a vial of sunflower oil, and my container of cinnamon.” Esmerelda began to trace the designs from the page in the air, leaving dark green lines of light behind. Isabella rolled her eyes before moving to the chest and retrieving the ingredients and a small bowl. Though she was quick with grabbing the items, Isabella had to wait while Esmerelda finished tracing the magic sigils. From there, she poured the oil into the bowl and dumped cinnamon on top. Esmerelda mixed the two with the piece of rough quartz until the bowl began to emit smoke.
The bat retraced the pattern from the book, an eight-point star with a circle in the space in the center, this time with the crystal. The design appeared over the bubble of water in the same green light as before. Once she had completed the design, the color shifted to pale orange, with the quartz doing the same. It drifted from her hand and positioned itself in the center. Danniel felt his arm tense up as the light from his rings grew brighter. The bands themselves began to spin while runes shifted and changed at random.
“What are you doing?” Danniel growled while pushing more magic into the orb. He could feel the temperature of the water suddenly spike. He watched as a line of pale orange light lifted out of Lily’s chest and into the crystal. A second and third line came from the rabbit’s mouth and forehead. Once all three had broken the surface, the faint smell of cinnamon filled the air. Eventually, the lines reached the crystal and were absorbed. It shifted into a prism and emitted an orange glow. The temperature started to drop again as the last traces of light left the bubble for the crystal.
“Stop your yelping, child. I needed a containment field to complete the rabbit’s realignment. Now, the long ear won’t go boom.” Esmerelda answered while mimicking an explosion with her hands and saying, ‘Boom.’ The bat turned and snapped her fingers again. The chest returned to its original form before splitting down the middle. It churned, popped, and clicked before splitting in half and revealing a large cushioned seat with a tall wooden, cushioned back. She gingerly lowered herself onto the chair before tapping it with her cane. The wooden chest-turned chair rumbled and sprouted metal spider legs that lifted her off the ground. “You are welcome, by the way. Oh, and you can stop feeding energy but don’t break it. It’ll stifle the shockwaves of that spell she’s casting.”
Danniel didn’t say anything but, instead, slowly lifted his hand from the water’s surface. Unlike the last time, the orb held its form. He stood up and finally let out a sigh of relief. “So, now what?”
“We wait until she wakes up. Now, hurry up and grab that crystal before it falls into the water.”
Danniel rolled his eyes as he reached up to the geode just as the sigil faded away. When his hand grabbed hold of it, he immediately recoiled in pain. What Esmerelda had failed to let him know was that quartz was blazing hot. The flinch and subsequent yelp drew a mocking laugh from the bat while Danniel simply growled.
“Still hot, I see.” Esmerelda guffawed before pulling a black handkerchief from inside her long sleeve. She cast Shovi and brought it to the cloth, which she wrapped around it and stuffed under her headwrap.
The spider legs creaked back to Gonzi while Danniel and Isabella moved to the opposite side of the room, closer to the hall, back to the elevators. Sandra was the only one stuck close to the water, watching the unconscious rabbit closely. About thirty minutes later, a loud gurgle emitted from the sphere before it ruptured and dropped the rabbit back to the floor.
