Winged Dagger

The Future's History

When dawn broke, I woke up to Arthur's face. If I had had that knife in my hand, it wouldn't have been a pretty sight.

"What the heck are you doing in my room?" I asked, getting up and smoothing down my hair.

"That's an interesting cat you've got there," he said, sidestepping the question. He walked over to Asura who was now sleeping on the windowsill, the sun's first rays of light falling on him.

"Don't—" I warned.

Arthur, probably wondering why Asura had two tails, pulled one of them. He quickly jumped back as Asura swiped at him with his claws, not even fully awake.

"Are you crazy?"

"He has two tails."

Asura hissed at Arthur, who in turn looked at the bandages on his paw. "You should get that changed."

I nodded, and pulling my hair to the side, rummaged through the cabinet for bandages, as Arthur made himself comfy on the chair. I started changing Asura's bandages, as Arthur watched.

"That's a knife cut," said Arthur. Asura looked away, and I stopped moving for a second. "Where did you find this cat?"

"In the garden. He was injured, so I took him in." Desperate for a change of topic, I continued. "Did the woman see her assailant?'

"The most she could say is that he had black eyes," he said, looking into my own.

"I'm not the only one with black eyes, and I am a girl," I said, finishing with the wrapping of the bandages and taking a seat on the bed.

"That was hard not to notice. And you're off the suspects list anyway." He waved a dismissive hand.

"What an honor," I said, putting in every ounce of sarcasm I could muster into that one word. "So what brings you to my room?"

"There was something I wanted to ask you. Where did you come from?"

There were plenty of ways I could answer such a vague question, but I knew what he was asking. "The 21st century."

Both of Asura's tails hung down, and I looked at him as he avoided my eyes. Something about his manner told me he was guilty, but he was a cat. I could simply be seeing it wrong.

"You were stabbed when you came here too."

"So you think the murderer is someone from my time."

"Is that not likely?" he asked, leaning back into the chair.

"No, it is. But why would they be murdering people?" I asked, pulling my legs up. "And how would they have gotten here anyway?"

"Serial killers don't really need a reason now, do they? And he probably arrived the same way you did."

"Which means we don't know."

Asura swished both his tails in an almost indignant way, as if there was something he wanted to say. A sudden memory of the voice in my head crossed my thoughts, his voice a perfect match to Asura's.

'You there?' I thought, looking up.

There was no response, but Asura hissed slightly and Arthur and I both looked at him. 'What is it?' His mouth didn't move, but there was no telling that it was his voice. My eyes widened, and Arthur caught that as he looked between me and Asura.

"You two having a moment?"

I kicked his ankle lightly, and he laughed. "Get out, I need to change." Hands tucked into his pockets, he headed out the room. I watched him until he was out of sight.

"You're the voice in my head."

"That's right," said Asura, hopping onto the table.

"Who are you?"

"The demon who brought you here." He looked almost guilty as he wrapped both tails around him. "It was a mistake."

"Do you know who the killer is?"

"No," said Asura, shaking his head. "I know not his name, his face, nor what he pursues."

I shivered. "I came here after an encounter with him, didn't I?" Asura nodded, and I searched through my memories to no avail. "So why can't I remember?"

"The thing about you humans—" he hopped down the table "—is that you forget traumatic experiences. It's your way of protecting yourselves. You'll remember when you need to, doll." His eyes darkened. "Although, I don't think it will be pleasant."

I watched him hop out the window, wondering if he was going after some mice. Not only could I not remember Asura, I couldn't remember who stabbed me either. Making my choice, I grabbed a piece of paper from the closet, and wrote. I wrote down all I could remember.

My name is Mina Sage, Mina was a nickname given to me by my brother. It was short for Jasmine. Jasper was my brother, and I called him Jaz. He used to work late into the night, sometimes coming home with a strange scent on him, a perfume that seemed to be applied in an attempt to hide something else. He loved me, and I him. I wrote some more unnecessary details about my college life, descriptions of voices, people, memories, sunsets, dreams. Something tugged the edge of my memories, something dark, the way a splatter of blood on the sidewalk would be. But try as I might, I couldn't remember. I folded the paper, leaving it under a book on my desk.

Breakfast, I thought as I headed out. Anything else can wait until then.

                               *

I walked with Asura in the garden. Having perfected the art of telepathy with the cat, I pointed out the names of random flowers to him. Try as he might, he couldn't hide the fact that he admired their beauty. It made me wonder whether there was nothing akin to it in hell.

"Mina darling." I twirled around to see Arthur walking up to me.

"Yes?"

"Would you play a game of chess with me?" he asked, stepping close enough that our noses touched.

"No. I think Sir Isaac is available though, ask him."

He pulled back with a smile. "My my, are you jealous?" I coughed. "And Newt is too busy eating an apple."

"I am not!"

I choked back a laugh as an indignant Isaac walked into the scene. He pulled Arthur away, and I continued down the path with Asura, stopping before I bumped into someone who was also admiring the roses. "Le Comte."

His smile was warm as he looked at me, a smile that turned to amusement as he looked at Asura. "That's an interesting cat you have there." Le Comte's eyes seemed to glow as he gave a knowing smile.

Asura swished his tails in a gesture I assumed was nervousness, but it wouldn't make sense of a demon to be nervous of a vampire—a demon who was disguised as a cat.

"I found him injured in the gardens one day. I sort of picked him up."

Le Comte nodded as he passed me. "Sebastian wanted to see you, ma cherie."

I raised a hand in farewell. Asura decided to stick around in the gardens as I made my way to the kitchen, where Sebastian waited. "You're here."

I nodded. "You wanted to see me?"

"And me!" called Kiyomi as she walked in as well.

We both looked at Sebastian, waiting for an explanation. "We need to stock up on supplies, so I'd like you two to head into town together."

"Sure," we said, about to make our way to the door.

"Hang on." We both stopped to see worry on his face. "Neither of you are to wander off on your own."

Kiyomi nodded. "I'll protect her like my own child." I coughed and she laughed. "We'll be careful, Sebastian."

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