Days with the demon queen
Chapter 36: First assignment

Chapter 36: First assignment

Ronnie, Lily and Josh had reported for duty the next day like they were asked to. Although Ronnie felt reluctant about going, there were still things he didn’t know about his family, and the sword. He had no option but to show up. As they waited in the office, Ronnie’s eyes roamed, he tapped his feet in a random tone. Lily sat rested against the couch with her eyes closed. Meanwhile Josh fiddled with the books te found in the bookshelf by the wall. Just then, the bookshelf opened and startled Josh. The book he was holding fell to the ground.

"I didn’t say you could touch my books" commander Carpenter said.

"You’re late on your first day, well that’s encouraging" He remarked, walking to his desk.

"You’re not exactly on time either, Mr— commander" Ronnie replied.

"Oh, you can talk now. Yesterday you looked like a ghost, coffee?" the commander said.

"I was just overwhelmed, nothing more. I’ll pass on the coffee" Ronnie stated.

"I’d like that coffee thing. Certainly one of humanity’s finest inventions" Lily said, opening her eyes.

"See? she gets it and she’s not even human. You’re being hostile for no reason, Ronald. Ease up" the commander said as he walked to the table with the coffee maker.

"Sir, I have a question" Josh cut in.

"Go on" he responded.

"It’s about the orb that chose me. How am I supposed to— I know nothing about magic" Josh expressed.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention, you’ll be paired with Jayson. he’s knowledgeable in magic. In fact, that’s where his healing abilities come from" the commander explained.

"You’re splitting us up? I thought the whole squad went on missions together?" Ronnie asked.

"That only happens when there’s a special level threat. Squad members go on missions in pairs depending on the kind of mission it is" the commander answered, pouring coffee from the glass jug into two mugs".

"Who am I paired with then?" Ronnie asked.

"Zeke. You need combat training and experience" He answered.

"I’m paired to Zeke? Isn’t that the loud one?" Ronnie asked in protest.

"Zeke is— eccentric, true. However, he’s very competent and capable when it’s time for business. Like everyone else in the 12th" the commander assured, passing a coffee mug to Lily.

"I wouldn’t worry about it. Pairings rotate with each mission, they aren’t permanent." he added.

"What about miss Lilian, sir?" Josh asked.

"Wherever Ronald goes, they’re are a package deal" he replied, taking a sip of his coffee and putting down the mug.

"Before you go about your business for the day, I have to remind or inform you in case you didn’t already know; no one at the agency should know about the sword. It’s confidential to this squad alone, understood?" The commander wore a serious expression as he spoke.

"Why? Isn’t the agency a place where people can understand what I am? It’s not like it’ll seem out of place" Ronnie spoke.

"People would die to get a weapon like that. They certainly would kill for it. Nations would go to war over that weapon. Ronald, make sure you don’t pull out that sword for any reason. Do you understand?" commander Carpenter asked, staring intensely at Ronnie.

"yeah, whatever. I get it." Ronnie said, looking away.

"What exactly is the weapon?" Lily asked.

"I’m surprised you aren’t familiar with it. It’s a divine relic. A divine being’s weapon. There have been reports of only two others in the history of the agency* the commander explained.

"I see" Lily said, stroking her chin.

"Are the records accessible?" Josh asked.

"You weren’t even supposed to know about the existence of those records, let alone see them. What I just disclosed to you is classified information only accessible to higher ranking officers" commander Carpenter said.

"Oh, nevermind then" Josh responded with an embarrassed look on his face.

"You should get going. Meet up with the others in the gym. I have business to attend to" commander Carpenter dismissed them.

Josh and Ronnie walked through the passage.

"Lily, you coming?" Ronnie called out.

"Can’t a girl enjoy coffee?" Lily answered, rolling her eyes. She got off the couch and chugged the remaining coffee from her mug. As Lily dropped the mug on the table, she moved closer to the commander.

"Thank you for the delicious cup of coffee, chief" she voiced.

"I’d like to talk to you later. There’s something I’m curious about" she said in a whisper then proceeded to catch up with the others.

They got to the gym. Almost the entire squad was assembled.

"Wasn’t there a man among you? the one with the scar" Josh asked Cynthia as they entered the gym.

"You mean Mason. He’s on a mission. Good morning to you too, Joshua" Cynthia replied with a smile.

"Good morning," Josh responded with a nervous smile.

Ronnie looked at the two and smiled knowingly.

"Mission? I thought we were supposed to be in pairs" Ronnie asked.

"Not Mason. He does what he wants. A bit of a lonewolf" Jay spoke as he approached them.

"Speaking of wolves, gather round!" Cynthia called out. The rest paused their morning workouts and joined them.

"There have been several reports of animal attacks in a small town in a Russian. Wild animals mauling people to death every night. Bodies of victims are found in different pieces" Cynthia explained.

Josh and Ronnie had a look of horror on their faces.

"Isn’t that a problem for animal control? I thought we handled the other stuff" Ronnie asked.

"It is the other stuff, Ronald." Cynthia said, passing him the file the held in her hands. Josh took a look into a document as well. The document contained several blurry photographs and pictures of victims.

"This looks like a— bear." Ronnie stated.

"It’s a lycanthrope" Zeke said. He sounded calm and collected.

"what’s a lycanthrope?" Josh asked.

"Fancy word for werewolf" Dylan remarked.

"Werewolves? seriously? That’s clearly a bear. Werewolves don’t exist. That sounds like something straight out of a fantasy movie" Ronnie said in disbelief.

"Well, seeing is believing, no? Get ready, you’re going to Russia." Cynthia said.

"Zeke and Jay, you’ve been assigned to this extermination mission. Since the newbies are paired to you guys, they get to go too" she added.

"Farewell then. I wonder how I should spend my day off" Dylan muttered, walking away.

"Nice try, Dylan. You’re coming with me, we have an assignment" Cynthia said, pulling on the back of Dylan’s shirt. He let out a sigh in disappointment as Cynthia dragged him away.

"Be careful. Lycans are ruthless" she added, before going through one of the doors.

"Get ready. We leave in twenty minutes. We’ll be done by tonight, so there’s no need to pack" Jay instructed, walking away.