To Rule In Shadow

Miranda followed Adrian into the small conference room, already cursing him in her mind. She didn't know anything about this 'Akula' she was supposed to be babysitting, but the phrase 'a colleague of Pavuk's that lacks his experience and decorum' had done little to reassure her.

They were immediately greeted by the sight of destruction. The conference table had been overturned and broken in half, and several of the chairs now lay in pieces on the ground. Long gouge marks covered the walls, and the window at the end of the room was broken. Judging from the lack of glass on the floor and the shape of the hole, it was clear that something had been thrown through it.

The perpetrator of this chaos was casually perched on a pile of broken debris, lazily staring at the ceiling. At first glance, she didn't appear to be a demonic monstrosity in service to an ancient evil, so Pavuk had evidently succeeded in convincing her to don her human form.

She was clothed in loose fitting, light grey pants that were vaguely reminiscent of a martial artist's garb. An idea reinforced by her simple black shoes that had the sleek efficiency of athletic wear. Much of her upper body was exposed, with only a tight-fitting tank top covering her c.h.e.s.t. This strip of grey cloth did little to obscure the lean musculature of her arms and stomach or her tanned skin.

The woman's angular face looked youthful, and Miranda would initially have guessed that she was in her early twenties, but there was an ageless quality to it that made her unsure. Pale, blonde hair was pulled, somewhat haphazardly, into a ponytail that framed her bored, slack-jawed expression which somehow managed to show off far too many teeth.

Despite her obviously relaxed posture, Miranda couldn't shake the feeling that she was looking at some deadly predator on the verge of springing into action. This sensation intensified greatly when the destructive woman's eyelids cracked open and a pair of baleful blue orbs fixed on her.

"Brought me dinner, have you?" Akula murmured, the corners of her mouth tilting up in amus.e.m.e.nt, or perhaps eagerness. Much to Miranda's horror, the woman rolled to her feet in a graceful motion and began walking in her direction.

She felt herself becoming increasingly paralyzed by fear. Slowly, inexorably she found her gaze drifting down to the terrifying woman's mouth which was now hanging slightly open in an eager grin.

"She's a bit stringy, but I'll make do-Ouch!"

Adrian lowered the roll of papers he'd used to smack Akula while frowning. "Down. Bad demon."

"Hey!" The woman huffed, rubbing her forehead. "What was that for?"

"Miranda here is a valuable employee of mine, and I will not have her treated like a meal. For that matter, you will not be eating humans unless I give you my permission. Is that clear?"

Akula grumbled something quietly.

"I said, is that clear?" Adrian repeated, a dark note entering his voice and causing the lights in the room to dim slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. I'll just starve or whatever. No need to get pissy about it."

"While we are on the subject of irrational displays of emotion, would you care to explain what happened to this room?"

Glancing back at the wave of destruction, Akula shrugged. "There was a fly. It took some effort, but I eventually got it."

There was a brief moment of silence as Adrian stared at the woman and her smug grin of accomplishment before he sighed. "Right, well, I'll add the repair cost to your tab."

"What?! No fair! I was defending your property from vermin. If anything you should be paying me!"

"What was the first thing I told you after you were awoken?" He asked quietly.

"Um...if I broke something important, I would have to pay for it?"

"And what did you do to this room?"

Akula looked around, a bit sheepishly this time. "Broke it?"

"That's right. Just like the door to the bathroom, the sink, the three random windows, and Vance's car, you broke it so you will be paying for it. I suggest you reevaluate your behavior going forward or you will be in debt for the rest of your considerably lengthy existence."

"But didn't you say that I could reduce the debt by doing a good job?"

He nodded. "Of course, but I have yet to see you do anything even remotely productive. And no, the fly doesn't count."

She lowered her hand and closed her mouth, head hanging in depression. The threatening aura from earlier was completely gone, and Miranda was even beginning to feel a bit sorry for the woman, despite her better judgement.

"As you can see, she's quite the problem child."

It took Miranda a second to realize that last comment had been directed at her. Quickly reorganizing her thoughts, she recalled what she was here to do and answered with only a slight delay. "That's clear enough."

Adrian turned to face her fully before continuing. "I'm not expecting any miracles, and I know this is a bit of a risk, but I really need her ready to operate in the modern world. Do whatever you have to do to make that happen. Let me know if she causes any problems, and I'll punish her accordingly."

Akula flinched at that last bit. Evidently, she'd already gone through a few of his lessons.

"I'll do what I can."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll expect a report on your progress by tomorrow. Call me if you get into any trouble." Turning towards Akula, he added. "I'm putting Miranda in charge of you from this point onwards. Treat anything that she says as having come from me."

"Yeah, yeah."

His gaze intensified, causing another wave of unseen pressure to fill the room.

"I mean. Of course." She answered quickly. "No problem...uh, sir."

"Good. Well, then I'll leave you to it." He announced before leaving with a dismissive wave.

Resisting the urge to flinch, Miranda felt those blue eyes swing back towards her as Akula asked. " So, what now?"

Taking a deep breath, she did her best to maintain a neutral expression as she answered. "I have a few things planned for you today, but first we are going shopping. You will need appropriate clothing in order to properly blend into human society."

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The demon woman frowned down at herself. "So, what's wrong with what I've got on?"

Miranda's eyes briefly flickered up to Akula's reflection in the car's rear view mirror. "You mean besides looking like a villain character from a B list martial arts movie? Well, for starters, it is the middle of winter. While you might not be bothered by the cold, you will at least need to wear something warmer to avoid attracting undue attention."

"Ugh, do I have to? Heavy clothes are so annoying. What if I have to fight someone?"

"You shouldn't be fighting anyone! We are in the middle of a city, in broad daylight. If we run into any trouble, which is highly unlikely, then we'll call the police and let them deal with it."

"Ehh? You'd really trust the local constables to deal with bandits and the like? Things really have changed."

"Constables? Didn't you get that infusion of information from Adrian? Aren't you supposed to understand what the modern world looks like, at least intellectually?"

"What, you mean the Resonance? Yeah, we did that, but it's only sorta helpful. My vocabulary got an update and I know things like what a 'hot dog' is, but I have no clue how this city operates."

"That's...hmm...that's unfortunate."

Akula waved her hand dismissively. "How much could things have changed. Just make sure to not piss off the local nobility or the church and you're good."

"...Out of curiosity, when was the last time you left the Hall?"

The woman frowned in thought, and expression that made her sharp featured face take on a threatening cast. "Not sure. I remember there being some kind of plague going on that was killing a bunch of humans..."

[Well, that honestly doesn't narrow it down all that much. I'm just going to assume she's talking about some time in the Middle Ages.] Miranda thought while allowing the conversation to die.

They were on the way to a department store that Adrian's family maintained a special relationship with. A quick phone call was all it took to ensure that they would have VIP treatment once they'd arrived, to include having the women's section closed off for their exclusive use. A few months ago, this kind of privilege would have left heady with excitement.

Now, it just felt like a hollow display of power with little actual merit. Of course, she was definitely thankful for the privacy it afforded, since she was not quite ready to take her protege out in public just yet. She simply didn't think it was all that big of a deal in the face of what she now knew Adrian was capable of.

The remainder of their trip passed silently and uneventfully, and Miranda was soon walking between racks of clothes in a frustrated haze while Akula refused her every possible suggestion.

"What about this one?" She asked for the dozenth time, hoping against hope that the insufferable woman would just make up her mind.

"Are you kidding? There's no way I could move easily in that kind of jacket. A little shrug and it would be bursting at the seems."

"These aren't meant to be combat clothes! We are supposed to be finding you a few outfits to wear so that you might better blend in with modern society. After all, it's not like you have Pavuk's capacity for stealth. If you want to avoid attracting unnecessary attention, you will need to dress the part."

Akula scowled. "Ugh, don't bring up that smug asshole. Look, I've agreed to change my outfit, but I refuse to wear constricting or unwieldy clothing. It would be annoying."

Gritting her teeth, Miranda did her best to maintain her professional demeanor. "I understand that, but surely there must be something in this store that meets your standards. It doesn't even have to be all that fashionable so long as we avoid making you stand out too much."

"I did like that fluffy garment from earlier. It would not stand up to the rigors of combat, but it would be easy to shed at the start of a fight."

"That was a bathrobe, and wearing one would completely defeat the purpose of what we are trying to accomplish here."

"Hmm." Akula grunted thoughtfully, hand on her chin. "Then I will accept another kind of robe. One more suited to day to day activities."

"Listen here you...." Miranda started before trailing off when she realized that they were being watched.

A black haired girl was staring at them from the aisle, head tilted slightly as if she was a bit confused. Her doll-like face, complete with large, dark brown eyes, was not exhibiting any clear emotion. She was dressed completely in black, with pants, a jacket, a scarf and a pair of boots all in varying shades of the color.

At first she simply seemed to be a lost customer who'd somehow gotten past the attendants blocking off this section of the store, but something about her demeanor seemed unnatural.

"Hey, I'm afraid this area is closed. You really shouldn't be in here." Miranda offered, hoping that the slightly creepy would simply leave.

"...I followed the scent, but it's not right. Hmm, you aren't the ones I'm looking for, but why do you smell like it?"

"I don't know what you me-" Miranda started but was cut off as Akula stepped in front of her.

The demon woman sniffed the air, a toothy grin forming on her face. "Wel, well, well. A myrkálfar. I didn't think your kind ventured this far into the mortal realm. This is great, I've been needing a warmup."

The stranger returned Akula's grin while sinking into a balanced stance. "I don't know what you are, but clearly you are related to my target. Perhaps a beating will loosen your tongue."