Chương 24: Omnimancer 19: Rat Reckoning

Jax peered down at the strange rat with more than a little curiosity. The little creature scrambled under the net, squeaking frantically as it tried to flee to no avail. In the end, desperation took over and it did what all rodents did best. It began chewing through the hemp material.

"Oh no, you don't," he said, pressing his foot down on its tail, pinning it in place. The rat let out a very un-rodentlike squeal and stared up at him with wide, intelligent eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Jax muttered.

"You're not any ordinary rat, are you?" [Threat Radar] showed its danger level as white, the same as any other rodent. That didn't mean anything, though. It was honestly one of his gripes with the spell. It was so noisy half the time its usefulness was actually hampered by it. Still, between Misu the godbear mentioning rats in passing and the strange feeling he'd had in Takora's sewers, Jax had begun paying closer attention. That was when he'd noticed something strange.

No matter where he went, whether it was an isolated alley or a crowded market, there was always at least one white blip following him. Always nearby. Always keeping its distance. It was only when he'd entered the Dead Hands' lair and that blip had been the only one to follow that he knew for certain.

"The question is… what are you?" he murmured, crouching down as he poked at the creature with a small stick he'd stashed in his inventory. If this rat really was some sort of intelligent being, it was worth questioning... assuming he could even communicate with it. Then again, it could just as easily be a puppet controlled by Mancer somewhere. There's one way to force its hand, I suppose.

"Well, better safe than sorry," Jax said, loud enough to be heard. He slowly raised his hand in a threatening manner, signaling his impending chop to its neck. The threat had the intended effect. The rat squealed and shook its head violently, crossing its tiny arms in front of it as if to say, Wait!

"You have something to say?" he asked, feeling a bit ridiculous for talking to a rodent. If anyone were to see him, he might just die of embarrassment. Good thing every possible witness had been rendered unconscious. Good thing he had practice talking to a pair of invisible teddy bears. The creature sagged, lowering its head. And then… it began to melt. Jax watched in horror as its limbs broke and bent, its flesh expanding rapidly, gaining in height, the net slipping off it.

He took a step back, wondering if he should've killed the monster while he had the chance. But then the blob formed a shape that vaguely resembled a torso with arms and finally a head. The details appeared last, and within just a few seconds later, a rather petite and incredibly dirty figure stood before him. A… girl? No, Jax realized. Just an extremely short woman with knotted-up auburn hair, an upturned, intensely freckled nose, and striking emerald eyes that glared up at him with defiance.

There was something about her sharp features, though. Something inhuman in a subtle, exotic sort of way… which all served to create a distinctly human-shaped ratlike impression to him. Or maybe a hamster? Definitely a hamster.

"Well," she said, her voice as rough as the thugs he'd just fought.

"You found me. Gratz." Yep, definitely a hamster.

"Thanks," Jax said with a smirk.

"So, who exactly are you?"

"Rat," she said flatly as she scratched her hair, as if that explained everything. He waited for more, trying not to fixate on what must have been lice falling out of that tangled web. When none came, he sighed.

"Look. Unless you've got a really good reason for me not to attack you right now, that's what I'm going to do. Everything about you screams 'smuggler,' and unless you want to end up dead like him…" he pointed toward the ringleader, "I suggest you start talking."

"All right, all right, sheesh," she said, glancing nervously at Hakan's unconscious form. Not that she'd be able to tell. To her, he looked every bit as dead as Jax said.

"You're.. not wrong. I worked for the Dead Hands. But not because I wanted to!" The Dead Hands again, huh?

"I'm—well, you know…" she stammered.

"Uh, no I don't," Jax said.

"I'm a Skinwalker, idiot!" she blurted, then immediately clapped her hands over her mouth in terror.

"Sorry! I didn't mean that! Please don't kill me?" Jax sighed, scratching his head again.

"Look, I don't know what kind of impression you got tailing me, but I'm not in the habit of killing everyone I meet." Then again, considering she'd probably been tailing him for some time, he couldn't exactly blame her for thinking otherwise. So much for keeping a low profile and all that...

"I mean, you know how it is with… my kind," Rat said, averting her eyes, looking like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Hard to find work. I take what I can. Even if it means working for filth like them."

"Riiight…" Jax replied, trying to figure out what to do with her.

"And what did you do for them?"

"Told 'em things. Information, mostly," she muttered, avoiding his eyes.

"You didn't happen to tell them about me, did you?"

"I, uh…" She gave an awkward laugh, scratching her neck.

"N-no! Of course not!" Jax began chanting.

"Wait! Wait! Okay, m-maybe just a little. Or... a lot. The coin was good, you know? Like gold good. Woulda been set for life if you hadn't, uh…"

"Trashed the place and ruined your plans?" Jax finished dryly. She nodded meekly. By all rights, he should've been furious. This Rat had quite literally ratted him out. But seeing her tremble in her ragged clothes, barefoot, scarred, and bruised, her hands calloused from hard labor? Yeah, that threw a bucket of cold water on whatever anger he might've had. She'd clearly had it rough. Had this been a few years ago, he might've judged her. Might've said it didn't matter. But he'd been around the world.

Had traveled to some of the most remote, destitute villages as part of his mountaineering journey. As much as he hated to admit it, those people drew the short straw simply by being born in places like that. They never really had a chance. Even so, he couldn't just let her walk. He wasn't that much of a saint.

"How much do you actually know?" Jax asked.

"Depends on what sort of things," Rat said warily. Then, lowering her eyes, she added, "I know a bit about everything, I guess. Some more than others. Like how all you've done here is doom yourself." Jax's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for one, if you thought this was the only faction in the city, you're dead wrong. The people who run things around here? Yeah, they're gonna be real pissed. If I were you, I'd run. Far away and never come back. Cuz if you stay, you're a dead man," she declared with her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest confidently. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Said confidence faltered not a moment later.

"Or… at least you would be," she added.

"If you were anyone normal. You monster!" Rat snapped. She tried to sound fierce, but it came off more like a Chihuahua barking at a bear.

"The way I see it, you owe me big time," Jax sighed.

"You spied on me, you sold information about me, and your actions could've gotten me killed." Rat snorted, no doubt assuming he was joking. Her eyes widened in the silence that followed and she realized he wasn't.

"I'd be well within my rights to knock you out and turn you in." Rat blinked.

"Turn me in?"

"Yes?" Jax said.

"What else am I supposed to do with you?"

"You really don't know anything about this city, do you?" she muttered agitatedly.

"Well sorry about that," he said, irritation creeping into his voice, though more so at himself than her. He was getting real tired of not knowing.

"If you mean to sell me to the authorities," Rat said, "that's the Hearthgard Brotherhood. But they're tight with the Dead Hands. Real tight. Might as well let me free for all the good it'll do."

"Wait. You're saying the city guard—or whatever this Brotherhood is—knows about the smugglers?"" Knows about them?" Rat snorted.

"They protect them. They help run smuggling routes. How else do you think the Dead Hands get their goods in and out of the city?" Jax froze. If that were true, then all the people he'd freed—victims of predatory lending practices, as he'd learned—everyone who returned to the city would've run right back into their arms.

"Fuck me," he muttered through gritted teeth. And if he couldn't turn her into the authorities, how the hell was he going to get this shapeshifting creature out of his hair? He still hadn't even processed the existence of people who could do that. Nor could he just let her go. Especially not with all she knew about him. She'd practically admitted she'd sell him out the instant she got free.

"Anyway… I'm guessing you'll want me to round up the others, then?" Rat asked dejectedly. All the fire that had been in her eyes just moments ago was gone.

"Hmm? Oh, yes," Jax said, surprised at the initiative. Imagine his surprise when he realized that everyone he'd attacked along the way hadn't died but were just knocked unconscious. As luck would have it, [Lesser Arc] just wasn't strong enough on its own to kill most Mancers. It made some sense, given the School prioritized fast-chanting spells that were difficult to avoid. As Jax was learning, every School had its tradeoffs. Its strengths and weaknesses.

Of course, overcharging with [Lux Compressor] flipped all that on its head, but Jax hadn't needed to waste the Lux on the ones he'd come across. Well, aside from that strongman who'd assaulted him. The unaugmented [Lesser Arc] had barely fazed him, forcing him to follow up with a 10x'd overcharge. Even that, it seemed, hadn't been enough to kill the guy, merely leaving him unconscious. Which meant that he was now left with a bunch of unarmed, unconscious hostages he had to deal with.

"You want them in the cells?" Rat asked.

"That… would be helpful," he replied, still thoroughly confused at her one-eighty. She's being awfully helpful, Jax noted. Either she was incredibly guilty about her actions, or she was hoping to butter him up so he'd treat her well. Likely the latter, Jax felt, which was just the saddest thing.

"Okay, but that won't keep them locked up for long. For that you need…" Rat trailed off, hanging her head as she trudged away. Jax followed her, confused, until she she grabbed a pair of shackles and manacles from a nearby storage room, which she snapped around her ankles and wrists.

"You want the Lux siphon around my neck, too?" she asked, much to Jax's horror.

"Wait, what are you—?"

"Well, of course you do," Rat said in a dead voice, clamping a very uncomfortable-looking collar around her neck, which immediately glowed green and caused Rat's knees to buckle.

"Can't have me shifting and scurrying away, can you?" she said through gritted teeth as Jax watched in horror, tongue-tied and frozen in shock.

"No, wait—""Don't worry, I'll put them on the others, too," Rat said, cutting him off.

"We don't have enough for 'em all, but I'll get the ones that matter most… oh, uh, master." Pure, unadulterated horror washed over Jax as his brain finally caught up with what was happening.

"Stop!" he shouted, and this time, Rat obeyed, though the relief that came over him was swiftly replaced by another wave of horror when he realized she'd stopped not because of his words, but because the collar had compelled her, forcing her entire body to freeze midstep before slowly collapsing to the ground, entirely unable to move.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," he said, rushing up to her.

"Are you hurt?" But Rat simply looked at him with glazed-over eyes, not even blinking.

"Fuck. You can talk! You can move!" he said, panicking, praying that would work. It did, and Rat's body unclenched and she took in heaving breaths. She can't even breathe in that state? What kind of fucked-up collar is this? Without even bothering to ask if she was okay, Jax placed his hands on her and chanted the words for [Apex Heal]. Her body glowed in ethereal light as whatever injuries she'd sustained mended in seconds, along with every scar on her body. Several of which Jax didn't even want to guess about.

Rat moaned under the wave of bliss the healing brought, eyes fluttering closed as the sensation made her fall into his arms. She sat up the moment it passed, wide-eyed in shock as she stared at her hands and felt around her back.

"W-why... wha!? Why would—" she muttered, scurrying back on all fours.

"The key," Jax interrupted, pointing to the collar.

"Where is it?"

"I-in the room," she said, pointing to the one she'd retrieved the shackles from.

"Be right back. Don't go anywhere. But you can move… and breathe… Christ, this is beyond fucked." Rat looked at him in confusion, but before she could say any more, he went and got the key, inserting it into the shackles around her ankles and hands, before finally unlocking the collar.

"I don't understand…" Rat said as she watched him toss it onto the pile with the others. Only then did Jax turn to Rat, his eyes full of rage and anguish. Rage at those who propagated this disgusting practice, and anguish that Rat had jumped to slavery as the only possible motive he'd had for keeping her alive. It spoke volumes about the life she'd lived, and all the annoyance he'd felt at her evaporated in an instant.

"I've changed my mind," he said.

"You're staying with me."

"As a slave..."

"No, not a slave! An informant. They're not anything alike!" Jax said, ensuring he got the point across clearly.

"In exchange for keeping you alive, you're going to tell me everything you know about the city. About all the factions. How things work. The culture. And you'll be paid, of course."

"But I don't have a choice…" Rat said, though her words had no bite to them. She almost looked scared. Scared of him? Or of believing in his words? He didn't know which was sadder.

"Sure you do. You can join Hakan and the others," he said, "when I dump them far, far from here in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, he's alive. So are the rest of them. You'll have a decent shot at surviving, but I can't say you'll ever find your way back here. If you don't like that, you can take my offer."

"Still not much of a choice," Rat grumbled, ruffling her hair anxiously.

"But culture, huh? Why'd you even care about…" she trailed off. Then she squinted at him.

"Hold on. You're a Trimancer, at the very least. Maybe even a Quad with those nonsensical spells you pulled. Practically an Arch, but you don't know anythin' about the city, or anything normal people would know…" she said, eyes widening as she counted on her fingers. Widening in surprise… and more than a little fear.

"You're… you're a mountain hermit, aren't you?" Jax shrugged.

"I've spent some time in the mountains," he said, neither confirming nor denying her theory.

"I knew it!" Rat said smugly, planting her hands on her hips, looking visibly relieved he was a hermit. Because she'd finally managed to place him? Or something else? He genuinely had no idea how her brain worked.

"I've heard the stories, but to think it's actually true…"

"What stories?" Jax asked, catching himself as he nearly smiled at her return to her normal self. That deadness in her eyes when she thought she'd been enslaved shook Jax more than anything. He never wanted to see that expression on anyone ever again.

"Mountain hermits," she said.

"You guys live up in the mountains, climbing peaks and practicing your magic for decades, right? Heard you can get scary strong. Even humans, apparently. Looks like the stories weren't wrong."

"Uh… yeah. Looks like it," he said, rolling with it. He felt a little bad about lying to her about his background, but he wasn't about to trust someone who'd literally sold information about him to the highest bidder. If anything, the lie worked in his favor. It gave him carte blanche to ask practically anything he wanted without arousing suspicion.

"So, erm… I'm really not your slave, then?"

"Don't even say that word," Jax replied.

"The very idea disgusts me. For as long as I live, I will never do that to someone. Didn't you see me free those prisoners earlier? Though, lotta good it did them," he added.

"No, that's… that's very…" Rat said, trembling.

"Nevermind."

"So, Rat," he said, "what's your real name?"

"Huh?" She blinked, raising her brow.

"Why'd you wanna know my name?"

"Well, if we're going to be working together," Jax said, "I'd rather not call you Rat. It sounds offensive."

"That's cuz it's meant to be," she muttered.

"Nobody talks to me like this, you know? Like, all normal and such. I guess that's part of being a hermit. You don't know anything about… well, anything. It's… kinda nice."

"You're referring to the prejudice against your kind?" he asked.

"Skinwalkers, right?" Rat flinched at the word.

"Yeah. Nobody calls me by my real name," she said quietly.

"Well, I will," Jax replied, his heart almost breaking at how she stood there trembling, holding her arms tightly against her body.

"So what is it?" She hesitated, then looked away, trying and completely failing to blink back the tears welling in her eyes.

"Tala," she said with a sniffle.

"My name's Tala."