Dawn Walker Novel Chapter 309: Bat Bat Broke the House VII

Chapter 309: 309: Bat Bat Broke the House VII

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Sekht let one thought rise and settle. "It is about the lesser vampire. I will talk to him later."

The system remained ready.

He did not wait. He asked, "What about Lily?"

The answer ca much faster this ti.

[Ding! SYSTEM Notification: Target Lily remains stable.

Transformation continues.

No major change detected since the previous report.]

"No change."

That line tightened sothing in him and eased sothing else at the sa ti. He did not like the waiting ti. He hated not being beside her already. But stable was still better than unknown, and the system would have told him if the blood womb had beco dangerous or if the Cruoraphim transformation had turned toward completion.

No change yet. He would have to live with that. For now.

Sekht stood from the bed at last and crossed toward the washing basin. The water was cool. The cloth folded neatly. A maid had already prepared everything among the morning chaos because of course she had to do her duty.

He washed the last of sleep from his face and neck, then paused with both hands braced lightly on the edge of the basin, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

He looked better than he had the night before.

Chaos energy nearly restored. Body steadier. No hollow sharpness under the eyes. Still tired in ways the face did not fully hide.

And now burdened with one fresh absurdity in the form of Bat Bat’s transformation.

He dried his face slowly, then went through the rest of the motions of dressing properly. Nothing ceremonial now. Nothing too relaxed either. Functional morning clothing, dark and fitted enough to move in, respectable enough for house eyes. He fastened the last layer and then took at the communication stone.

It remained quiet in his palm. No third attempt.

He fed a touch of energy into it and called Raka back.

The reply ca quickly enough to say much all by itself.

"Master."

Raka’s voice carried the roughness of a man already awake, already moving, and possibly already irritated by several things before breakfast.

"Where are you?" Sekht asked without a preamble.

A very short pause from Raka. Then the answer ca, "On the way."

No ntion of problems.

Sekht’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Did you et the man I sent?"

"Yes."

That answer ca cleanly.

No complaints. No accusation. No imdiate report of disaster.

He went on, "And."

Raka answered, "He is with us."

Still no ntion of anything that had happened between the lesser vampire and Raka’s n. Not the misunderstanding. Not a fight. Not resistance. Raka was choosing to keep his own embarrassnt to himself.

Sekht understood sothing must have happened but decided not to dig yet.

"Do not co to the house."

The line on the other side went quiet.

Then Raka said, "Where?"

"Go to the Dawn auction house," Sekht said. "Wait there. I will co to you."

That answer took almost no thought from Raka.

"Yes, Master."

Good. Efficient. No wasted questions.

Sekht added, "Bring the one I sent."

"Yes."

"And keep your n under control."

This ti Raka’s silence lasted a little longer.

Not insulted.

asured.

Then, "We will go to the Dawn auction house."

That was enough to answer.

Sekht cut the link and slipped the stone away.

One problem aligned. Not solved. Aligned.

He took one last look around the room then and headed for the door. The house outside had fully entered this morning now.

Servants moved with open purpose. Footsteps crossed the halls. Sowhere in the distance, Bat Bat’s voice rose briefly and then cut off, which ant Elena was close enough to regulate her volu. Also good.

He went downstairs.

The lower sitting room carried the layered order of a house pretending nothing extraordinary had happened in it since then, which ant it looked almost offensively peaceful. Light ca through the side windows in soft squares. Tea had been set out. Two maids crossed with folded clothes and imdiately bowed when they saw him.

And there, sitting on one of the sofas with all the restless dignity of a creature trying very hard to pretend she had always belonged in furniture this size, was Bat Bat.

She was dressed Properly, if not entirely comfortably.

Soone —Elena, most likely, or a maid under direct threat— had chosen a simple long house dress in soft dark fabric with sleeves fitted close enough not to flap and a neckline high enough to protect the emotional health of the household. Her hair had been brushed. Not tad, exactly.

Bat Bat’s hair seed to contain a lingering personal rebellion against control. But brushed enough that the wildness now looked deliberate rather than feral.

She looked up the mont he entered.

Then imdiately crossed her arms.

"You are late."

Sekht stopped before the room and looked at her. "I was busy with sothing."

"Yes," Bat Bat said. "Before that I was taken away by a hostile group of jealous won."

Three maids nearby all developed extrely professional expressions and refused to react.

Sekht ca closer.

Bat Bat sat straighter. "Also they dressed

with entirely too many opinions."

"That was necessary."

"I disagree."

"That is expected."

Bat Bat huffed. Still, despite the outrage, she looked... brighter. More settled in herself than she had at the first mont of awakening in his bed.

Human size still sat awkwardly on her in so ways. She moved like soone who had not yet accepted where all the big limbs belonged. But there was no fear in her now. Only rapid adaptation and the complete certainty that the world would eventually make room for her current form because obviously it should.

Elena sat in the chair opposite and watched the exchange over a cup of tea.

"Going out?" she asked.

"Yes."

She nodded once. "Good. Eat before leaving."

So she had already guessed he would go out.

Of course she had.

Sekht looked toward the table where a small al had been left for him. It was efficient and simple. Enough to keep the body moving. He sat and ate without making a ceremony of it.

Bat Bat watched him with bright eyes, then looked down at her own hands, turning them once as though still slightly surprised by the length of her fingers.

"Do they feel strange," he asked.

Bat Bat looked up at once. "Everything feels strange."

That answer was more honest than dramatic.

She continued, "The couch is bigger but smaller. My ears are not where they should be. My hands are very good at holding things but I still miss flying. The floor is too close and too far." She frowned. "Also big clothes are a conspiracy."

Elena said, "That part will improve if you stop fighting fabric like it insulted your ancestors."

Bat Bat made a face at her and then, rembering how the last direct disagreent had gone, changed the face into a more respectful sort of offense.

Sekht finished half the food before speaking again. "Do you understand what happened?"

Bat Bat considered that.

"I got smarter."

"Yes."

"I got bigger."

"Yes."

"I beca magnificent."

Elena closed her eyes for one second.

Sekht almost smiled.

"Mostly correct," he said.

Bat Bat brightened. "See."

Then she leaned toward him slightly. "Do I stay like this forever?"

"For now, probably."

That pleased her. "Good. Being eye-level with everyone is useful. I can judge them more equally."

Elena’s mouth moved faintly. "That was not the intended educational outco."

Bat Bat looked deeply unrepentant.

A few monts passed in relative peace after that. Not full peace. Bat Bat’s presence made that impossible. But the kind of peace that existed when a household had already survived its first morning disaster and was not yet aware of the second one still building.

Sekht rose once he was done.

He wiped his hands, adjusted the fall of his sleeve, and looked toward Elena. "I am going out."

Bat Bat reacted before Elena did.

"I want to co." Of course she did.