Storm's Break (Completed, Editing)

Chapter 5

A/N once again, creds to original artists, the image is of Eld except that he has way longer hair, ombreying from black to bronze and his wings are mechanical. he has wires and gears running through his body as he is a half man - his shoulder joints, hips and neck are visibly mechanical. he's also rocking a pretty good  tan

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Shinra

    It doesn’t take long to track down Jazon’s scent. I find him talking with Ren. Killing two birds with one stone. Though Jazon looks like a completely different person.
“Hey J. Everything good?” I ask quietly.

    I gotta give the guy credit. [Yes, yes, don’t let it go to your head Jay] I was downwind and walking silently. He didn’t even jump.
“Ya, just a large group of Slayers moving into the area around Shigris High School. I’ worried, they have a large population of supernaturals...” He mumbles.
“They’re the next city over right? should we be worried?” I ask.
“Possibly... for now we’re good though.” He mutters.
“Right. Your a strong fighter, I know that much. I already have Ren’s number – stole it when I visited his history class – you need to work on mental defences – but can I get yours? I ask Jazon.

    He writes it down and I thank him before turning to Ren.
“And you. Your coven was talking about a problem regarding the Slayers. Can I get any information?” I ask him.
“Uh, yeah. Um, a group of slayers – the one gathering close to Shigris High School has been linked to a problem we’re having. Familiars have been going missing. And the owners have been unable to call them back. We haven’t been able to look into it since we’ve been hunting a Slayer leader – the one who made J an Isogai.” Ren explains.
“Thanks. I can look into that if you want, text you the details and -”

    I shove Ren down as a Shadow steel barb passes a hairsbreadth over my head.
“Stay down – make it look like we were hit. Can you tell where they are?” I whisper from my position prone on his left.
“Six o’clock and closing fast. Two of them.” He whispers.
“They’re after me. Make a show of shoving my ‘body’ off of you and running. One will go after you and the other come for me. You’ll know the signal when you see/hear it. Act like a colt vampire – that’s likely what they’re expecting.” I whisper back.

    He does as I say and makes a show of shoving my ‘limp, dead body’ off of him, scrambling to his feet and bolting like a colt vampire. One of the hunters goes after him and the other goes to scoop me up. I use that moment to do two things. One: realize that a second barb embedded itself in my shoulder and two: Sweep the Slayer’s feet out from under him. My shoulder screams.

    I’m glad I sent my familiars away, Aizen is terrified of the Slayers – they tried to make an Isogai out of him the day I met him. The slayer gets to his feet and growls. Before speaking into a comm.
“Target Acquired, what should I do?”

    He listens to his boss before attacking. The slayer is fast. I’ll give him that. Ren takes his out seconds after me and together we run off. Jazon appears beside us, having gone invisible man when the Slayers showed up.

    We split not to long after. I head home and relax. 

I’m silent as I pry the barb out of my shoulder. It burns my fingers - like iron to the Fey and Ash Wood to the Fae. I start to ask Aizen to pass me my needle and thread. Or try. I can’t when I realize something.
“WHERE’S AIZEN!” I yell at Esté and Eld.

    They shrug. I curse. The communication bond is dead and I can’t call him back. I fire off a text to Ren.

@Shinra: Ren, it’s Shinra
@Roseheart: Shinra. What can I uh... do for you?
@Shinra: My familiar is gone, comm bonds dead, can’t call him back.
@Roseheart: Which one?
@Shinra: Aizen
@Roseheart: The slayers are hiding on the city boundary between Samson and CC. Check it out when you can.
@Roseheart: My familiar went missing three days ago. Same deal. If you find a glitch tell me.

    With that we both hang up and I head to bed. It doesn’t feel right without Aizen lounging in his Angel of the Shadows form sleeping in the corner of the room. The next day can’t come quick enough and it takes little to call in sick and skip school.

    I run, heading as fast as I can to the forest. Taiga High is right on the border between Samson and CC, so it takes a few minutes of Vampyre speed to arrive in the woods. From there it’s easy to track the Slayers down – going by scent. They smell nasty – as always.

    I take to the trees tracking the scent. I make it to a clearing and stop dead. Rows upon rows of cages line the clearing, stacked fifteen high. Some cages are big enough to hold (and do hold) creatures such as a lion – in one case a bear. There are smaller cages holding everything from Sparrows to falcons.

    Some cages are covered – likely a nocturnal creature. Each cage is locked with a Shadow Steel bolt. One cage contains a mass of shadows with golden eyes. A true Shadow Hound. Another a storm sprite. A massive Storm Gryph – like the one in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – unbonded – is in another cage. Beside it is a glitch in human form, partially lines of code and digital codes breaking up it’s human body.

    That must be Ren’s Glitch. And above the Gryph? A mass of shadows with blood red eyes. Aizen. Without a doubt. I can sense his energy pushing against the cage, trying to reach me.

    I’m about to make my move when all goes to shit. The slayers must have had a way to sense vampires set up, because suddenly they’re flooding the clearing. They fire their weapons into the trees, some sort of weighted hook trailing Shadow Steel cables. Pure bad luck has about four of them wrapping around the tree I’m perched on.

    The cables wrap around my legs and torso and the bolts embed themselves in the wood. Thankfully they know they caught me, just not where I am. That and my arm is free enough for me to reach my phone and fire off a text to Ren.

@Shinra: Ren, can you get me into a group chat with as much of the school vampire population as possible? I have a serious situation.
@Roseheart: Can do

    A moment later it’s done. The contact list is about four-hundred forty-five people.

    On a whim I summon Eld. He’ll be able to bust through the locks with ease, Shadow Steel doesn’t affect someone made out of metal.

@unknown_unnecessary: My name doesn’t matter right now. I’m a Century Vampyre with three familiars, one of which has been captured by the slayers. I’m in need of help, in the forest at the border of CC and Samson the slayers have captured more than sixty familiars. And me. Ren, I can see your glitch as well as various other familiars I have seen at Taiga. Any help available would be appreciated.

They have shadow steel weaponry and locks.