Eldritch Exorcist

After the cat stopped hissing at me, I went to tell the one stewardess on board that we would like some privacy, as Q'Shar needed to make a phone call, as explaining why the animal was using the telephone would be hard.

As he went to the plane phone, I saw that Ophelia was looking more and more often at me, the question clear in her eyes.

"What do you want to know?" I finally asked, stopping my study of the new spell.

"Are cats really not from Earth, or are you making fun of me?" she asked, locking her eyes with mine.

I raised my eyebrows. It was strange sometimes to talk to people who live in the same place as you but seem to live completely different lives, as if they were from a different planet. "Yes. It's true. There are not many species that are outsiders, but cats are one of the few."

"So were they summoned?"

I slowly nodded, like a wise old man. "Yes, the pstpstpst ritual is truly powerful."

She clicked her tongue. "I'm serious."

"No, they weren't summoned." I closed the book. "Okay, since we have a few more hours, I can teach you some basics, so that you'll at least know what we're talking about." I shifted in my seat to face her.

"The world we live in is made from one main plane of existence, and many more naturally formed sacred planes, or simply side planes." I then took an evacuation manual, opened the tome, put the manual into it, and closed it back up.

"You can think of the main one like this instruction manual, and the side planes as the pages of the book. The main is in the middle of the others, and it is where free species live. Any being that lives in there receives a spark at birth, which allows us free will and to grow and change. It is also the only plane in each world that has a connection to mana veins."

I now dragged my finger alongside the pages. "The side planes represent aspects of creation and are home to sacred or spiritual beings. They are separated from us with a veil, which makes summoning them rather hard and mana-consuming, especially if you can't summon them via a mana vein and must tear the veil instead. The inhabitants of those dimensions are unlike us. The main difference is that they don't have a spark. I will not explain the details until you learn some summoning rituals, but in short, when we say something was summoned, we usually refer to those beings."

"Are the gods also in there?" she asked, curious.

"Yes, most planes have a god, sometimes a pantheon, sometimes a single deity, but always some being governing it. But gods, unlike normal sacred beings, can't enter our world," I paused and added, "Technically."

"Technically?" She raised her eyebrows.

"That's a bit complicated. Anyway, you won't encounter that many sacred beings as they can't stay here forever. It takes energy for them to take form in our world, so you won't see them just roaming around."

I threw the book onto a seat next to us. "Another type of creature is the native species of our world. Humans and demihumans. Humans, as you can guess, are the original fully conscious species of Earth. Demihumans are variations of us that usually can trace their existence to some god interfering with human form, like werewolves, or someone getting laid with a sacred being, like mermaids."

"There are mermaids?" she asked, surprised.

"There are many different species of demihuman. However, their populations are much smaller than that of humans. Demihumans and we are the main species of Earth and its original inhabitants."

"And where do the cats come in?" She tilted her head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"They're a third kind. The outsiders." I pointed at the book with the manual in the middle. "You can think of one world as this tome with its planes, and ours is one of many. Worlds are like islands in a sea of mana. Some call it the Arcane Ocean, some call it the Anima. It's the origin of all mana. Our world was, and now once again is, connected to it by veins and pathways, allowing magic to flow in."

I tilted forward, getting to the important part. "It is possible to cross and navigate this sea, although extremely difficult, dangerous, and requiring massive amounts of very dense energy. It can be done. Some species send their ambassadors to other worlds to spread their philosophy and learn foreign concepts. Species like elves, dwarves, fairies, and, most of all, cats arrived here in that way."

I checked on my broker. He was finishing the call. "Those species, although some are humanoid, are different from us and can't trace their origins to humans. But cats are unique in the sense that there are many of them. When others came here, they sent a few people, powerful and smart, to preach and study. But cats sent more individuals, but fewer powerful ones. Their relatively small size made it easier to traverse the Arcane Sea. So while the elves and dwarves have very few places to call their own, even if they've been born on Earth for many generations now, the cats spread around the world quickly."

"Why didn't the others use the same method?" Ophelia asked, her eyes focused on me.

"Because when you see an elf, you can tell it's a different conscious species. And people don't like what is different, so they were observed and mistrusted, never allowed to form kingdoms of their own. And when the church went haywire with the Inquisition, their populations were made even smaller. Cats, on the other hand, sent quite a few members with simpler, animal-like intelligence to the mortal world and were taken as useful pest exterminators and human friends. Only the few smart ones then came to the pharaohs and priests, calling themselves gifts of the gods and granting them knowledge."

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"To build the pyramids?" she finished, skepticism back in her voice.

"Among other things, yes, to build the pyramids. Nowadays, the fact that they are everywhere makes them excellent information brokers, so they have always found a way to make themselves useful."

I saw that the cat was coming back, so I finished the talk with a raised voice. "So in short, the elves and pixies came here to study arcane concepts and spread their philosophy. While cats came to push glasses off tables and vomit on carpets."

Q'Shar just rolled his eyes, jumping back onto the chair. "We came here to learn many things." He looked at Ophelia. "Not much is remembered of our land of origin, but we know it was an endless desert, the Land of Endless Sands. We were masters of fire magic and geniuses of architecture. We taught you how to chisel stone and build on sand. And in turn, our brethren in other places learned of ice magic, of the concept of freezing cold, and the icy winds. Concepts, originally completely foreign and rare for us. That's why species travel the universe, no matter how dangerous it is."

I nodded my head. "And to vomit on some carpets."

The cat gave me a disapproving look while Ophelia was mulling over the new information. I gave her time to think as I asked the cat, now back to being serious, "Did you get something on the phone?"

"I told them the rough plan. There are observers at the airport ready. If anything happens, we'll be informed. We'll also have a car ready to leave the airport."

"Good."

After the confirmation that everything was proceeding as planned, I went back to the book, breaking up my reading session with some meditation, as Q'Shar shared some stories about cat society and the brokers' network with a increasingly interested Ophelia.

We were approaching the U.S., with one hour of flight left. It was time to start getting serious. Q'Shar made a few more phone calls, preparing our trip from the airport back to the house. He finished the last call and turned to me, nodding his head.

"Everything's in place. The observer confirmed there's a good chance we'll have company."

"Any details?" I asked.

He gave a short nod. "A part of a smaller family. Three people were spotted, one of them barely at the second circle, recently ascended. He radiates mana all over the place. And two at first. At least for now."

"We'll see where it goes, then." I turned to Ophelia. "I'm sorry you'll have to go through this so soon, but there's a good chance we'll end up in a fight once we arrive."

"What do you mean by a fight?" she asked, clearly worried.

"We'll see. It might be nothing. It might be an arcane battle. I want you to stay as safe as possible and try to learn from what you see."

"First-hand experience is the best," confirmed Q'Shar.

"And don't worry too much. We know what we're doing. You'll just get some adrenaline, that's all. Think of it as a learning experience."

"Can't you leave me at the airport? Or let me get a taxi?" she asked with wide eyes.

"No. You will arrive with us," answered the cat. "There's a good chance someone might attempt kidnapping to use you as a hostage in the fight. Even if it doesn't feel like it, being where Sam can see you will be the safest place." He pointed his head at me. "It might be hard to tell with his innumerable flaws, overall assholery, and lack of any social skills, but he is still one of the best battle mages there is. I doubt anyone will go through him. And not to brag, but I can handle myself as well. We cats have many hidden talents aside from our grace and beauty."

"And humble nature."

"Most of all, yes," smiled the cat.

Ophelia nodded and went back to sitting in her chair stiffly, clearly stressed about the battle. Well, I assume it's her first time, so it's not surprising. Some adrenaline will do her good.

The plane was approaching for a landing as I was rechecking the gear. I was already in my robes, with my staff ready for casting. As the last part, I let the curse tattoos show on my arms. That got Ophelia interested, as she watched as the ink surfaced on my skin.

"Those are used for curses," I explained, not waiting for the question. "Curse weaving is a bit different from normal casting. You need to use yourself as part of the spell, so those tattoos are used in place of blood or other components."

"Will I get those too?" she asked, half worried, half excited.

"No, I don't think you are attuned for curses. But we'll see." I turned to fully face her. "Now, when we leave, and if any fight starts, I want you to know one thing. It is under control. Even if it feels like it's not, it is. So don't worry and try to do your best. No one expects you to fight well without training, but if you get the chance, remember what you are. There is pride and power that you were granted. Try to tap into them. Let your mind wander deep, and if you feel a foreign sense of power that overtakes fear, let it flow. Embrace it."

She nodded at my explanation. I could see she was stiff and pale. It was a bit too soon for this kind of experience. I was hoping we would have more time before this happened, but there's no point in fighting a banished demon. Every test is an opportunity for growth and progress, and this would be no different.

After landing, all three of us exited the plane, Ophelia carrying Q'Shar, pretending to be a normal house cat.

I felt it when we made it past the gates.

"We have a tail," said Q'Shar quietly.

"I'm pretty sure that's only you," I answered, which earned me an irritated look from the cat and a panicked one from the girl.

"Three o'clock. The massive dude in the parking lot," I whispered to Q'Shar, now back to serious, with my joke not appreciated.

"He was part of the report. There should be two more."

"Three," I corrected. "There's an assassin. He's trying to hide his mana. He's been following us since the gate."

"Should we run?" asked Ophelia, a bit too loudly.

"No, they won't try anything in a crowded area," Q'Shar whispered to her.

We walked into the parking lot with the guy following us. Q'Shar directed the three of us into a sports car with tinted windows, which prevented anyone from seeing inside.

I pointed Ophelia to the passenger seat. She got in and then froze when the cat sat in the driver's seat. She then turned to me with a questioning look as I sat myself in the back.

I just shrugged. "The cat has way better dynamic vision. And he won't let me drive his car anyway."

"Y-yes, but how—" she started, confused, and watched as the cat stuck his tail into a hole near the driver's seat, pulling out his tail with five rings sitting tightly on the appendage. The rings were silver with blue runes carved into each one.

Before she could ask another question, the first two runes lit up, and the car started. Then the second lit up along with a corresponding rune on the clutch as it moved, being pushed by some invisible power. Right after, more runes lit up. One on the gas pedal and one on the gear shift. The clutch jumped back as we pulled out of the parking lot.