I looked around at the others while our trainer was busy giving Heather a one-on-one lesson on how to use her weapon in rifle mode and the ins and outs of being a good sniper. As I considered possible plans I thought absently, “I wonder how high we are?”

-= I monitored our descent and the number of window openings beneath us before we entered the window, =- Connie casually commented. -=I believe that we are currently on the seventh floor of a building that is approximately thirty-six or thirty-seven stories tall. By my estimate, that places us roughly one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet above ground level. You were fortunate to cease our descent when you did, Snow. =-

“Thanks, Connie. We’re probably still too high for me to safely jump, right?” I inquired of my NCI.

Connie responded almost instantly. -= Factoring in your increased durability and a range of other variables such as height, possible snow depths, types of terrain, probability of rubble, and the presence of the Fenris, I estimate a 48.7% to 96.3% possibility of you sustaining some sort of injuries which would prove detrimental in combat. =-

"Better to not risk it. Hmmm, and I’d need to be closer to ground level to manipulate all that snow and ice down there,” I thought to myself before turning to our resident Tinker. “What kind of grenades did you bring with you, Lisbet?”

“Mostly high explosive, though I brought a mix of anything that sounded interesting from the specs; flashbangs, incendiary, smoke, red pepper, and impact flares. Shrapnel grenades sounded interesting but I didn’t want to risk any of you getting hit if you’re fighting something in close quarters,” the Harekin replied with a thoughtful look on her face.

“I think that I can figure out most of those, but can you give us a rundown anyway, so we know what you’re working with?” I asked.

Lisbet nodded and smiled. I had noticed that she liked talking about anything technical and explaining things that the rest of us might not know. I think that it made her feel useful and part of the team. “Well, explosives are just that, they explode and do a lot of damage. Flashbangs make a big flash of light and make your target’s ears ring, I guess the point is to take out their senses. Incendiaries are meant to set things on fire, while smoke grenades just create a cloud of smoke as a diversion or for escaping. Red pepper is mostly harmless, but it burns the eyes and nose. The impact flares are similar to incendiaries but kinda an emergency thing. They shatter on impact and the stuff inside sticks to a hard surface and ignites, then they burn really hot and bright for about two hours.”

I stopped and considered the choices for a moment and how effective they might be on the Fenris. If they see heat instead of the way that we do, I seriously doubted that smoke would be much use in this situation and the incendiary probably wouldn’t burn long on all that snow, so using the fire to mask our heat likely wouldn’t work either. I could use ice for that if I had to anyway. Explosives were out because I would rather keep them in reserve and I wasn’t sure how powerful the explosions would be, something that concerned me with us being in this high, ancient, and structurally unsound building.

Those last three could be useful though, at least to get its attention and then irritate its senses long enough for us to get into position and make our move. I was going to have to be careful not to be too close when the flashbang and red pepper hit though since my senses were extremely sharp as well and they could cause me as much suffering as the Fenris until my nanites healed any damage. I quickly turned to Karina next and asked the Devilkin, “How is your gliding? Do you think that you could manage to carry Lisbet while doing it? I know that your night vision is as sharp as the Fay or my own, and I have an idea.”

Karina considered it for a moment. “My wings did get bigger thanks to the Elixir so I can probably glide okay, it’s less effort than hovering, actually. I might be able to even fly short distances with enough practice. As long as she doesn’t squirm too much I don’t see a problem with carrying Lisbet for a short time. We might not all be as strong as you, but Devilkin are no slouches in that area and I’m even stronger since taking the Elixir too.”

“I might have a plan, girls,” I said with a grin.

Heather and our trainer had both gotten set up with their rifles in a pair of windows in the room that we had rested in, with a good view of the area below. They both had good enough night vision to see clearly and my grandmother had told us that the light amplification setting on their scopes would assist them further. Karina and Lisbet were in a room near them with a large window opening and Autumn and I were ready to leave from the large window of an adjacent living space so that none of us would get in one another’s way. It was just about time to get things started.

Before I could activate comms to say anything I felt a hand gently grasping and massaging my left shoulder. Even though it was reported as fully healed, there was still some lingering stiffness that Connie told me would soon fade and the massage felt nice. I turned to look inquiringly at Autumn and asked, “What’s up Autumn? Are you…mmmphh.”

The kiss that she planted on me was insistent and tender at the same time and I could feel a warmth building up in my belly, not to mention other places, as she wrapped her arms around me and held me close. I was a little stunned as the redheaded Fay reluctantly freed me from the lip lock and her grasp and said, “That was for luck. So that whatever kind spirits may dwell in this place might watch over us.”

“Is that a… uhh… Fay custom?” I asked breathlessly, trying to recover from the way that my heart was racing. Did I have to kiss her back? Please let me have to kiss her back.

Autumn shook her head. “No, it is not. I just figured that maybe if they like us, the spirits of these ruins will keep us safe. And… I have been wanting to do that ever since we first spoke. You are a strong and beautiful person, Snowy, and not just on the outside. Did you think that I jested when I said that you were my type? I feel… connected to you, and who knows what might happen down there. This might be my only chance.”

“I… don’t know what to say,” I managed to whisper, the only words that I could get to leave my mouth. I liked her too, she was attractive and fun, and I was beginning to enjoy her obsession with snuggling. And, by the spirits, that kiss felt like it had bathed my soul in sunshine. I was still nervously giggling from the warmth and brightness that it had infused me with.

“You don’t need to say anything… unless… I made you uncomfortable?” It was said almost timidly, with an uncertainty that I had never seen from Autumn before. She was usually the type to do or say whatever she wanted to do at the time. The only time she really held herself back or apologized was when it might hurt one of the people she cared about. It was one of the things that I liked about her, I knew where I stood with Autumn.

“No!” I barely managed to keep my objection to a whisper. “I… I’m just not very good at this kind of thing. Nobody has ever really been interested in me that way before. I wasn’t exactly…”

A finger to my lips shushed me as she caressed my cheek tenderly. “You have known a great many fools then. But their loss is my gain. If you…”

Her voice lost her usual certainty again as the question seemed to hover on the edge of her tongue. I took her hand in mine, removing the finger from my lips, and leaned forward to kiss her. I probably wasn’t as good at it as she was but I hoped that it showed my growing feelings for her. My knees felt weak and my face flushed as I finally pulled away and spoke awkwardly. “We can use all the help the spirits may be willing to give. And… if we do manage to get out of this alive, I’d like to… see where this goes.”

“Let’s go slay a Demon then,” she said with what was possibly the biggest grin I had seen on her face in our short time knowing one another. The moment that I had my sword off of my back and in hand, she picked me up in a princess carry and I felt my cheeks flush all over again. Sure the plan was for her to carry me down the side of the building, but I didn’t think that she would be doing it like that. She grinned at me and leaned forward to nibble the tip of my kitty ear, whispering softly, “Under any other circumstances, this would be so romantic, don’t you think?”

I had trouble breathing or finding my voice for a moment as my heart hammered away in my chest. “I… umm… wow… yeah… Activate comms for Storm Wing,” I finally managed before taking a deep breath to steady myself.

-= Affirmative. Storm Wing communications engaged, =- Connie reported.

I asked over comms in a hushed tone, “Are we all ready to go?”

-= Ready on our end, =- Karina called out for her and Lisbet.

-= We’re set up and ready to fire, =- my grandmother assured me. Then I heard her trying to assure the newbie sniper. -=Just remember what I told you and you’ll do fine, Heather. Relax, get your target in the center of your sights, and fire as you exhale. Just don’t overthink things. Unlike most mundane rifles there isn’t much recoil on the Shadowstrike, and the nanites connecting you to your weapon will provide targeting assistance. If for some reason you do miss the first shot, don’t get upset, just remain calm and prepare for a second opportunity. =-

-= Okay, =- Heather replied, her voice breathy and nervous sounding. -= I… can do this. =-

“Just remember Heather, you’re being taught by the best, just like you wanted. I know that you’ll do your best to have our backs, and that’s all that any of us will ask,” I said, trying to encourage her as well. She had enough issues without putting too much pressure on herself. “Time to make our move. Karina and Lisbet, you’re up.”

From our position in the window frame, I could see the Devilkin take to the sky, carefully holding Lisbet. Once they were about thirty feet away Lisbet warned, -= Nobody look directly at the flare once it ignites, you could hurt your eyes. And, firing! That was close, I almost put it through a window, it’s burning though, about three floors above you. =-

Then Karina screamed as loud as she could, -=Up here, you oversized rug! =- Ouch, I really wish that I hadn’t heard that via comms.

-= Shit! You definitely got its attention, =- my grandmother cursed. -= It’s looking right at the flare. Now, Heather, just like we planned, while you can see the red of its eyes. You get the left eye, and I’ll get the right.=-

A howl of pain that chilled me to the bone filled the night air, followed quickly by Heather’s excited voice. -= Yes! I did it! =-

-=Nice shooting, Heather. Both of its eyes are taken care of, Snow, =- our trainer said. I could almost hear the pride in her voice as the blue-white energy that had likely been originally aimed at the flare flew into the empty sky to our far right instead as the Demon thrashed and howled in pain.

That was our cue. Autumn stepped out the window and for an instant, we were falling before she switched her gravity and was running down the side of the building while carrying me. Looking ‘behind’ us, I could glimpse the bright red glow of the impact flare, though I was careful not to look directly at it. She stopped right before we reached the ground and returned her gravity to normal, which placed her lying atop me as I pulled all of the nearby snow and ice over us in a thick makeshift ice shelter. “We’re in position, let us know when the pepper cloud clears,” I let the others know.

Autumn and I needed to be ready to attack the minute that the Fenris had its senses dulled. Even blind, its keen sense of smell and hearing made it a dangerous opponent. The problem was that we both had sensitive ears and noses too so we would need to wait until after Lisbet had called the all-clear since both the red pepper and the sound of the flashbang could cause us issues as well. I just hoped that Lisbet and Karina would be okay from their position overhead. Their noses weren’t as sensitive as ours but Lisbet did have sensitive ears.

I was also really glad that our snipers were able to penetrate its eyes since we still weren’t sure how effective our weapons might be against its thick hide. We waited quietly for news over the comms system as Autumn lay atop me and her warmth and closeness felt really nice. Her warm breath tickled my sensitive ears and it made my heart beat faster as Karina’s voice said, -= We’re right above it now Lisbet, fire straight down. =-

-= You got it, brace yourself, everyone, =- Lisbet replied and a moment later a loud bang rang through the air. I barely heard it through the comms and I had to wonder whether my ice dome had protected us better than I thought from the sound, maybe it reflected it? -= Owie my poor ears, =- The Harekin mumbled, making me wince in sympathy.

-= We’re heading for ground level now, we’ll find a safe firing position for Lisbet and let you know when the pepper cloud settles, =- Karina reported. Then in a slightly panicked voice a couple of minutes later, -= Aw Hell! That thing is just firing those energy blasts all over the place now! Dust is settled enough; you need to move! =-

I pushed all of the snow and ice around us away and as soon as I had, Autumn rose gracefully to her feet. As she was pulling me to mine as well I saw that Karina’s warning couldn’t have come a moment too soon and time seemed to slow in my mind. The Fenris was facing toward us, jaws opened wide and a malevolent blue-white glow building up at the back of its throat.

I reacted instantly; shoving Autumn behind me, placing my sword straight out in front of me at shoulder level, and thinking, “Connie! Shield mode!”

No sooner had I thought it than my sword began to shift as Connie’s voice responded. -= Affirmative. Hardlight shield mode engaged. =- It all happened in what seemed like an instant of clicking, whirring, and transformative motion that I could barely keep track of.

First, the blade split in two along the edges, the two halves folding back so that they were perfectly horizontal in front of me at shoulder level, one half pointing to the right and the other to the left. Six pipe-like lengths of metal, nearly as long as the blade itself, shifted, three above and three below the two outwardly pointing halves of the blade, forming an eight-pointed star. As they were doing that, they connected with the various wires, bits of metal, and something called nano circuit boards that had also been housed within the long, wide, and thick blade. I knew that much from the blueprints and technical manuals that Sira had placed in Connie for me to look at.

I also knew that inside the tip of each half of the blade and at the tip of each length of pipe was something else that Sira called extra-dimensional energy regulators. I felt a slight draining sensation as the shield started drawing on the energy and activated. An instant later, a golden circle of light nearly ten feet in diameter formed over the eight-pointed star as I braced myself for the impact of the Fenris’s attack.

Blue-white energy slammed into the golden light of my shield but I held my ground until the blast wave was over. That was way too close for comfort. If that had hit, no more Snow and Autumn, and since it would have likely brought the building behind us down, no more Heather and Abbadine either. I was still breathing heavily from the fear that had gripped my chest as Karina landed with Lisbet behind the safety of the shield.

Lisbet squealed in excitement and rattled off a barrage of questions as soon as they touched down. “This is your weapon’s other mode? What is that light? Can I touch it? How is it produced? Just how much energy are you pulling out of the void to keep it up?”

“Later, Lisbet,” I responded, heaving a breathy sigh. “Let’s kill that thing before we have another close call. Lisbet, find cover, and change weapon modes. Autumn and Karina, let’s see if we can do some damage but be careful of its thrashing. Is everything okay up there, Heather?”

Lisbet ran full out to leap behind a pile of rubble, her weapon seeming to change as she did so and Heather’s voice responded, -= We’re fine. We’ve tried putting a few bullets into it and they seem to penetrate the skin but it’s too big and we’re at the wrong angle up here to hit anything else vital. =-

-= We’ve tried headshots but those horns are in the way. I don’t know what they’re made of but we can barely chip them, =- my grandmother added.

“Okay, don’t waste your ammunition then, we’ll take care of this,” I told them while I sent a command to Connie. “Claymore mode.”

-= Affirmative. Claymore mode engaged. =- Even as my NCI responded, the previous transformation reversed itself in a series of whirs and clicks, and in less than a minute I was once again holding my massive sword.

Lisbet was already firing some type of violet-hued energy blasts from behind her cover, trying to make an opening for us to attack. She was scoring some hits, which was good since none of us with long-range modes had any training with them yet, but the burns didn’t even seem to do any more than to piss it off and make it thrash even more. Beside me, both of my other companions were changing weapon modes as well as I threw myself at the massive white-furred Demon.

It was no wonder that our snipers couldn’t hit any other weak spots from their position, the Fenris was even bigger than I had originally thought, almost three times my height at the shoulders. With the way it was thrashing around, I wasn’t sure that I could get in close enough to do any damage. I might just end up being the one getting hurt.

Autumn’s weapon had changed from her elegant and slender blade to some form of a pistol with a slightly long and narrow barrel that fired a beam of bright red light that left a scorch mark where it had hit the Fenris’s shoulder. “Damn, I was aiming for its eye sockets, but it’s moving too much and I have never fired a gun in my life before this,” the Fay cursed as I dashed in and managed to get close enough to slash viciously at one of the Demon’s hind legs.

“We need to immobilize it so we can get in close enough to hit a weak spot, and keep its head pointed somewhere where it’s not going to blast any of us!” I called out as I slashed at the other hind leg. Demonic blood flew and the creature howled in pain once again as its rear end collapsed.

“You got it, I’ll get the head!” Karina called back. “Don’t worry, I can work with this! We use similar weapons for hunting!” I dared a quick glance as I emerged from slashing at the Demon’s other hind leg and saw her whirling one of a pair of what looked to be small crescent-shaped scythes attached to thin metal cables that emerged from her bracers. The curved blade whipped toward the Fenris and with a flick of the Devilkin’s wrist, the thrown weapon changed direction to wrap around the Demon’s large neck, one of the points of the blade digging into its flesh.

“Okay, now that is a cool weapon,” I thought as she reeled herself in to position herself on the Demon’s back using the cable. No sooner was she there than she whipped her other blade around its neck as well, pulling on the cables like a pair of reins to direct the Demon that was trying to throw her off of its back. While the Devilkin was doing that, Lisbet shot at it again from behind her cover with her pulse cannon and Autumn switched her weapon back to the sword form that she was more comfortable with.

“The forelegs, Autumn!” I called out. “You go left, I’ll go right!”

We both moved quickly, scoring deep cuts on the Demon’s upper legs while Karina reined it in and kept its deadly maw pointed up and away. As it collapsed to the ground, unable to properly support its own weight any longer I ducked under its head and thrust my huge sword into its chest with as much strength as I could muster. Even with my insane strength, I was only able to pierce its chest with roughly three-quarters of the length of the blade. It was enough though, and after a moment of wild thrashing, the Fenris finally went still.

We sat together in the shelter of the still erect building watching the corpse of the Fenris burn through the wide opening that was probably once some kind of door. Lisbet and I had set fire to it while Karina and Autumn went back up to gather our things and help my grandmother and Heather make their way down. I doubted that the horns were going to burn, and as interested as Lisbet was in what they were made of, they were far too large for us to take with us. She had to be satisfied with me hacking off a tip so she could have a sample.

Mostly we just talked about what had been, for most of us, our first fight with a Demon. Our trainer seemed proud of us, but she did want us to get some more practice with our weapons and teamwork to make sure our win wasn’t just beginner's luck. There certainly were things that we could all work on and we needed to get using our weapons but this was how my grandmother had first learned. She had had to learn to use her weapon through combat and a lot of trial and error.

Lisbet still wanted to know all about how my C-13 Goliath worked so I explained it as best I could since she was the brains of our group. There was one thing that I held back, okay two things. One was just how much energy that hardlight shield had taken to activate. It drained me a lot more than using my Seed-borne gift, but at least it didn’t seem to use much energy to keep it going once it was active and I was pretty sure that an ice shield wouldn’t have stopped that energy blast.

I had to admit that the shield mode was handy and that the weapon was starting to grow on me, but I was still a bit self-conscious about other people would see me with a weapon like that. I have self-esteem issues and it honestly hurt that people might think me less of a woman after I had finally become one because I used that huge thing. I even knew that that was stupid of me but I just couldn’t change my feelings. Maybe with enough time that would change.

Soon I set up pairs to take watches so that we could get some rest and start fresh in the morning. I couldn’t smell any other Demons around, and I doubted that many strayed into the territory of the Fenris, but I was worried that the smell of its burning corpse might bring unwanted attention to the area. Heather didn’t have a bedroll, I doubted that she had spent a day of her life outdoors before this, so I let her use mine while Autumn and I took the first watch.

We spent most of the three hours of our watch snuggling, kissing, and talking in hushed tones as we tried to get to know one another better. Not that we weren’t paying attention to what was going around us. Both of us had very sharp senses and if anything came close we would have known about it. It would have been a lot more boring without Autumn keeping me company and I found myself enjoying the time with her, especially the snuggling and kissing.

The redheaded Fay took me for who I was and made me feel loved and wanted in a way that I had never really experienced before and I found myself wanting to do the same with her. It wasn’t that hard either. She was beautiful, honest, carefree, fun, and caring. There was a lot to like, and every time that we kissed it was just like the first time, like bathing in sunshine, and that made me feel alive in a way that I had never felt before.

Eventually, it was time to wake Lisbet and my grandmother for their turn at watch. I was going to ask to borrow my grandmother’s bedroll but Autumn invited me to share hers instead. We snuggled up close and fell asleep in one another’s arms. It was the best sleep I could ever remember having and I was half-tempted to linger there with Autumn when Karina and Heather came to wake us six hours later.

“She’s purring, that’s so cute,” Karina’s voice and a follow-up giggle invaded my sleepy mind. What was she talking about? Was that what the faint buzzing in my chest was? That had never happened before, was it another change from the Angel Elixir? I opened my eyes to look up at her and Heather in confusion as the sensation faded.

“I thought that you said that you two weren’t girlfriends,” Heather said as she looked down at us with an expression that was hard to read.

“You had my bedroll,” I pointed out before blushing and looking toward the Fay still snuggling against me. “And we… umm…”

“We are exploring the possibility,” Autumn finished with a lazy smile. “You are more than welcome to join us if you wish.”

I’m not sure whose face was a brighter red, mine or Heather’s. “I’m… uhhh… no thanks,” the pink-haired former princess stammered before looking away.

“Suit yourself,” Autumn said before leaning in to give me a good morning kiss. Then her tone became more serious as she looked back at Heather. “The offer remains open whenever you feel more comfortable with cuddling or if you should desire companionship. Nobody here will judge you, either way, Heather. Don’t feel that human values need to hold you back, you are Fay now, and part of this team. We want you to be happy.”

“Wow, Snow and Autumn, I probably should have seen that coming,” Karina said with a laugh as Heather went bright red and looked down at the ground.

“Jealous?” asked a sleepy Lisbet.

“Nah,” the Devilkin replied with a shake of her head. “I mean, they’re both attractive but I’m happy just being friends with them. I’m not really interested in anything further. The occasional cuddling is nice though.”

I gave Autumn a tender kiss on the lips before yawning and stretching. “Okay, as nice as it is talking with you all, we need to eat something, pack our things, and get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover since we had to… umm… land so far away from our objective.”

With that, we all had a quick breakfast of dried fruit and meat from our supplies and water from our canteens. Soon after that we packed up our things and were heading eastward through the windy and long-abandoned streets toward our goal. It was about midmorning that we got to the edge of the Fenris’s territory and I started to sense the occasional Demons.

We had a few minor encounters with solitary Demons but they had all served as good target practice for Lisbet, Autumn, and Heather after I had used my gift to entrap the approaching Demon in ice. Karina got in some practice with her cable scythes too. And if you counted the fact that I was using my gift to do the trapping we all got a bit of practice for something.

Still, my grandmother kept casting long looks in my direction. I had a feeling about what they were supposed to mean too but I really didn’t want to talk about it with her right then. I was ready to call a halt for lunch when those of us with the sharpest eyes saw the webs. They were colossal, strung between the remains of massive buildings ahead of us like the one we had tried to land on the night before and as we got closer there were too many to count, stretching as far as my eyes could see.

“Ugh, I don’t want to meet the spiders that made those,” Lisbet said with a shudder, her ears twitching nervously.

“I don’t think we’re going to get a choice,” my grandmother muttered. “Fucking Spidren, it just had to be Spidren.”

The wind switched direction and suddenly I could smell their foul stench, there were a lot of them. Immediately my tail lowered and my ears went back flat against my hair in agitation and fear. I was about to suggest trying to find a way around them when I saw the movement. Hundreds of giant black and purple spiders as big as any of us were emerging from openings in the buildings ahead of us until the snowy street and the walls to either side were a crawling mass of them. And they were coming right for us.