Based on instructions from Mrs. Bagley at the end of the morning’s lectures, once lunch was done, everyone returned to their lodges, to retrieve their weapons.

  Yasu strapped on the shoulder holster she kept her primary gun in, which was a Glock 22, then strapped on the holster for the little snub-nosed .357 Magnum revolver she always kept on her ankle. After that, she put on a traditional Japanese belt known as an obi, in a black shade, which was more like a sash than a belt. It was a very plain example intended for a man, without the pretty and decorative qualities of those intended for women, because she’d chosen it for utility, rather than appearance. She tied it rather tightly, with a very secure knot. She felt odd, because she’d never worn her guns and the obi at the same time.

  Next, she slid her katana through the outermost layer of the obi on her left hip and secured it in place with the sheath’s sageo, a length of cord that matched the hilt wrapping’s color, which was a green shade so dark, it was nearly black. The wood of the sheath matched that, an effect achieved through a dark lacquer with only a hint of color.

  Next, she slid a Japanese dagger, known as a tanto, between herself and the obi, securing it similarly to the katana, though somewhat forward from it. It matched the katana’s appearance in all aspects, aside from length. She left her wakizashi in her suitcase, because she never found it to be a useful companion to her Katana and didn’t care for the extra weight, though she’d always found her tanto to be handy, because there were so many uses for a knife. The only reason she’d brought the wakizashi was as a backup to her katana, in case it broke.

  Back in her high school years, in Japan, Yasu had practiced extensively with a bamboo sword and won many Kendo competitions. Having observed her talent, her father had insisted she go further and paid to have her trained in Kenjutsu, the Japanese art of swordsmanship. The old family katana, along with a matching wakizashi and tanto, had been gifts for the completion of her training.

  The others stared with wonder and awe as Yasu straightened up and checked how her gear hung.

  Nina asked, “Shime, are you a ninja?”

  Yasu grinned, “Maybe,” once the girl’s eyes were suitably wide, Yasu laughed, “but I’m closer to being a samurai than a ninja, though I’m also a New York detective. Many of my ancestors were samurai, however, at least on my father’s side.”

  “What about your mother’s side?” Emily asked.

  “New Yorkers, though if my granny’s tall tales are true, then one of my female ancestors was an infamous Irish pirate.”

  Nina strapped on a noticeably more western short sword, hanging it from a heavy, leather belt. Emily hauled a shotgun from her bag, while the other two strapped on gun belts with dual pistols and slung rifles on their backs.

  “You any good with that sword?” Yasu asked the teen.

  “Kind of,” the girl shrugged, “my mom taught me a little, before demons got her,” she sniffed a little, which indicated the loss was still relatively recent, “but I’m actually here to learn magic from Mrs. Bagley, since we share some talents.”

  “What’s that mean?” Yasu asked.

  “My family has traditionally been very talented with Fire magic, but I’m better with Wood and Earth, which happen to be some of Mrs. Bagley’s specialties, particularly Wood.”

  Trying to subtly direct the conversation away from family, since the girl was obviously still grieving, Yasu asked, “Would you like to spar a bit, later? I’ve always been interested in western swordsmanship, but I’ve never had a chance to learn much about it. If you like, I can teach you a little about the Japanese sword arts, in exchange.”

  “That sounds fun!” The girl nodded, enthusiastically, “After we’re done training?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Yasu returned to the amphitheater, expecting to see their next instructor waiting for them, but there was no one there. There was, however, a small black cat lazily basking in the sun on the stage, which was most certainly a female, based on size, though she definitely wasn’t a kitten. She had unusually blue eyes.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Nina approached to pet the cat, which merely hissed and swiped at her with a paw! The girl decided the leave the unfriendly animal alone, then rejoined the group. Weirdly, the cat followed her, but at a lazy pace.

  Everyone sat down and waited for a time, then a conversation started on the subject of their missing instructor. The cat sat on the stone floor between the stands and the stage, about five feet from the group.

  Sensing a subtle wrongness to the situation, born from years as a cop, Yasu stood and took a few steps back from the others, giving each of them a quick glance, but her observational skills weren’t quick enough to spot the intruder in their midst, before a woman with frizzy, blond hair rose with a grenade in hand!

  Yasu drew her Glock and raised it to fire, only to be suddenly bowled over as the little, black cat leaped and exploded into black mist, out of which emerged a huge, black panther! Yasu’s gun slipped from her hands and clattered away as the creature pinned her with superior mass!

  At the same time, the woman with the grenade laughed and pulled the pin, then released the spoon, though she held on to its body! Everyone tried to jump her in an attempt to get the live grenade out of her hands, but her eyes glowed orange and she acted with incredible strength, swatting her attackers aside with minimal effort! Yasu looked on, helpless to intervene, because the panther was too heavy! Some of the recruits tried to run, but there wasn’t enough time to reach cover! Their only hope was to get the grenade away from their attacker, to hurl it far away!

  The grenade exploded into a shower of expertly-made paper-mache fragments, which went the furthest, harmlessly bouncing off of a few heads, while confetti and glitter went about fifteen feet in every direction, followed an instant later by droplets of blue paint, all propelled outward by the explosion of a firework, which produced a rather loud crack!

  The woman that had terrorized the group with the fake grenade, who’d incidentally been hit by most of the paint, solemnly declared, “Had I been an actual demon, every last one of you would have been killed and none of you noticed in time to do anything, aside from Detective Yasu.”

  The panther got off Yasu and exploded into black mist again, from which emerged the smaller cat. That changed into the familiar shape of Artemis, though she was only a foot tall. In her tiny hand, a torn piece of mushroom appeared, which she bit into, with careful precision. She shot upward like a weed, almost instantly returning to her normal size, while everyone stared with shock and awe.

  Artemis offered Yasu a hand up, though she grinned in a really evil fashion as she did so, like someone with a joy buzzer hidden in their palm. Yasu carefully examined the girl’s hand, but saw nothing. Nonetheless, the girl’s expression of evil delight remained.

  “I don’t think so.” Yasu shook her head and got up on her own, leading the girl to frown with disappointment.

  The woman that assaulted the group walked toward the stage, moving with the gait of a career soldier. She changed form as she walked, her hair reshaping itself into a tight bun as her eyes turned green, while her clothes came to resemble the fatigues the soldiers wore, though without the usual markings for rank or a unit patch. That probably meant she wasn’t actually military, despite her bearing and the stiff way she put her hands behind her back as she turned to face them.

  She spoke like a power-mad drill sergeant of the sort no one wants to be trained by, “I’m Lara Simmons, Earth’s last fairy, and my job is to make sure you worms survive field work! I give full marks to Detective Yasu, but as for the rest of you? You’re the saddest bunch of recruits I’ve had the displeasure to work with! Have you no fighting spirit or even survival instinct?” She spoke with anger, “Why are you people so relaxed? Do you think you’re on vacation?” She growled!

  After a moment to think, Yasu turned to the woman and shot back, “No! We’re here to learn, but we’ve relaxed, because you lot made sure there’s no demons here! Based on the lengths you took to ensure this place remained secret, I’m willing to guess there’s other protective measures in place.”

  “Yeah,” Nina supplied, as she wiped paint from her face, “like the magical barriers I’ve been sensing from the moment we entered this valley. The magic behind them is like nothing I’ve ever encountered. It’s almost like standing inside an oven, it’s so strong!”

  The grim expression of their instructor melted away, replaced with surprise, “What? You can really sense that?”

  “Yes!” The girl grumbled, “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “No.” Lara shook her head, “Those spells are among the very best in the world at masking their nature, an ancient magic witches haven’t wielded for thousands of years. What about Artemis? What do you sense from her?”

  The girl turned and squinted at Artemis, taking a moment to stare extra hard, before she turned back to their instructor, saying, “That’s some very weird magic, shaped like a woman in a purple Victorian dress with black lace, standing behind her, who’s staring at me with surprise. Is that her mother? She’s giving me an annoyed look and starting to fade out.”

  The eyes of Artemis went wide with shock!

  “That shouldn’t be possible.” Lara again stared with surprise, then turned to Artemis, “Go get Verda!”

  Without a word, Artemis shot into the air like a superhero, flying with one fist forward, her black skirt flapping in the wind!

  Within a few minutes, Mrs. Bagley and Artemis returned at a jog. After a whispered conversation with Lara, Mrs. Bagley led Nina away.