Last of My Kind

Author's note.

******

Big thanks to TheTemptressWordsmith for breathing life into this chapter. Her edits were sharper than Clara's sensors and saved this draft from certain doom.

Apologies for the delay--I got caught doing that thing writers do best: tweaking a "finished" chapter 37 times. But hey, perfection is a process, right?

Anyway, welcome back to the chaos. Magic machines, mystery bloodlines, and conversations that raise more questions than answers? Yeah, you're in for it.

Here are some things you should note

- All characters in this story are of ages 18 and above, and if they're not human, then they have reached the age of sexual maturity for their specie.

- There are no ties to real life incidents or people it's purely fictional.

- (this might be disappointing to y'all) im not sure about the future of this book yet, in the erotic aspect that is. Never written anything of the sort and not much experience to go off also. But that's just a thought, if i can get a chance or inspiration to write that aspect for y'all then you'll get your fix. So. worry not.

- Lastly, don't forget to comment and rate, they tell me how im doing so far ( new guy!!). And help others find my work. of course your constructive criticism and honest opinions are also welcome.

Yours magically,

-- Jayflux

CHAPTER 2

Egypt

★★★★★

I followed Linda, feeling a tad nervous. I poked the portal--tentatively at first--and it shimmered slightly, giving my finger a refreshing sensation, similar to the healing spell from earlier. With one quick step, I was through.

The rapid change in temperature dazed me for a moment, but I quickly regained my bearings. The land of pyramids was exactly how I imagined--if I ever had. Dry desert, an arid atmosphere and all that stuff. Not much to describe, really.

The portal opened in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but rolling dunes and dry sand stretching out as far as I could see. Not that I could see much, what with the sky being as dark as it was.

"We're about half a mile from Wadi El Rayan. It's a natural reserve," Grey stated.

"Uh, not that I don't like the idea, but did we really come to Egypt for that? And even if we wanted to go to this reserve, that could've waited till daylight, right?"

"Good heavens, lad. Calm yourself. We are not here for the reserve, yes. You'll know why we're here in a mo-- Ah, there she is!"

The familiar buzz of a helicopter reached us before the aircraft appeared, rising over the ridge and heading our way. Whoever chose this place as a meeting point deserved a very sound kick in the ass.

As the helicopter approached, it kicked up a serious amount of dust--more like a mini sandstorm--assailing my unprotected eyes and ears.

The aircraft touched down a few feet from us. Out stepped a feminine silhouette, her sleek contours highlighted by the landing lights. She sauntered toward us, and as she got closer, her features sharpened--a young lady, probably in her early twenties, with immaculate tanned skin glowing under the moonlight.

She had jet-black hair, the ends dyed midnight blue, reaching a few inches below her shoulders. I wasn't quite sure about the length, though, as her shoulders were wrapped in a shawl, so...

She definitely exuded that irresistible, badass Latina energy.

"Meet my great-granddaughter, Mia Delgado," Grey said.

"Yeah right, like you even have a wife," Linda replied with a snicker.

"Sup, kids. I'm Mia, Mia Delgado," the lady said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm Jason Walker. Nice to meet you, Mia," I said, reaching for a handshake.

"And I'm Linda Walker," Linda said, doing the same. "I like your hair, by the way; it suits you perfectly."

"Why, thank you. I like yours too. Now let's get going. It's not safe out here."

The aircraft hovered in front of a waterfall, and with a low hum, the water parted like a curtain. We coasted in and came upon a sprawling complex that resembled a factory--albeit a massive one--with many chimneys jutting from the rooftops.

The surrounding greenery was astonishing--rich and lush. If I ever went hiking and came across this sort of vegetation, I'd definitely camp there for days.

The expanse was surrounded by towering rocks, like small mountains linked end-to-end, forming an imperfect circle around the land.

Oh, did I mention I couldn't see the sky? Yeah, you got that right--this was one hell of a cave. (I don't know what else to call it, so I'm sticking with cave.) We landed a short distance from what appeared to be the entrance and disembarked. I've got to admit--I was a bit disappointed. Some part of me expected the door to be grandiose and extravagant. It wasn't. From what I could see, it was just a normal door."Welcome to the Batcave," Mia said dramatically.

"The Batcave? Really? This is the Batcave?" Linda asked, skeptical.

"Nah, just kidding, gal. I call it the Nest," Mia deadpanned.

"Well now I think the Batcave is a better option," Linda muttered.

"He thinks 'The Hidden Crucible' is a fitting name," Mia said, gesturing at Grey.

And of course, he didn't reply--just gave his signature creepy giggle. Mia reached for the handle, which slid into a recess with a beep.

The door looked ordinary until it opened. Mechanisms rumbled to life and it slid open with a hiss. It was thick. "Fortress thick." I'm pretty sure it'd take a nuke to bust through it.

Then Linda, God bless her little heart, finally asked the question we'd all been waiting for.

"What is this place?"

"Huh? The Nest?" Mia replied, like that explained everything.

"I know it's the Nest. But what do you do here? Like, what's it for?"

"Oh, that. You should've said so. It's my base. I built it myself--with a little help from the old man, of course."

"Ahem, 'a little' you say?" Grey interjected.

"Well... maybe more than a little. He's the reason this place is up and running."

"The number of people it must take to run this--my god. You must be filthy rich," Linda said with a laugh.

"Yes, I'm quite... wealthy. But this doesn't use any staffing at all. It's self-sustaining. Magic," Mia replied with a grin.

"This is M.A.N.A.--short for Magical Affinity and Neural Assessor."

"Wait, there's tech for that? Something that can measure magic stuff?" I asked.

"There wasn't--until I created it. Tech is tied to my magic, so this sort of thing is possible for me. I'm a Tier 5, you know?" she said, pushing some buttons on M.A.N.A. The machine whirred to life.

It looked like a standard machine--for a magical assessor, that is. Most definitely not what you're imagining. It was about the size of a phone booth, albeit a glass one--or at least it looked like glass. I wasn't even sure anymore. Complex runic etchings ran all over the surface as far as I could see.Thick vines and other green rope-like materials ran neatly into the floor, while thinner ones funneled into a pipe that disappeared into the ceiling. Yeah, yeah--that's probably more like what you were imagining. Who cares? Anyway, the booth was connected--surprisingly--by actual wires to a waist-high control panel, which I presumed Mia was operating.

"What's a Tier 6?" I asked.

"You don't know about the Tier system?" Mia retorted.

"Nope. Not at all. Linda?"

"No idea," Linda replied, still admiring the machine.

"Then what the hell did that old man even tell you about magic?" Mia asked, hands on hips.

Uncle Grey, at this point, had wandered off to who knows where.

"Has he shown you anything at all? About magic?"

"Well, yeah. A couple things actually. He showed us Hell's Eye, and he opened a portal to... well, Egypt," I replied.

"He did that healing stuff too," Linda added.

"Argh, that man is insufferable. Dumping Tier 2 magic and portal magic on newbies in one night!" Mia exclaimed.

"Alright, we can do questions later. For now, let's test your mana capacity."

"Uhm... I can't do magic, actually, so..." I said.

"Right now? No. But we'll be correcting that soon enough. You *do* have magic--Gramps here wouldn't have brought you if you didn't," she replied, typing on the console. "Now let's get you tested. Get into the machine."

I did as she asked and stepped inside. The interior was immaculately designed--smooth dimensions, flawless surface. It looked like a plain glass box--if you didn't count the runic etchings. Those were expertly done, by the way. Not that I knew the difference.

"Okay. Clara, initiate M.A.N.A. diagnosis--full range scan. Prioritize capacity and affinity. Let's see what you've got," Mia said.

"DIAGNOSTIC PROTOCOLS INITIATED. CALIBRATING AMBIENT FLUX... SCANNING FOR CORE ACTIVITY... SCAN COMPLETED," REPLIED A DEEP, MONOLITHIC VOICE.

"You can come out now, boy. Clara, what's your verdict?" Mia asked.

"THERE ARE A FEW ABNORMALITIES. SUBJECT TIER: 2. MANA CAPACITY: 2.5 OUT OF 10. ACTIVE CORE: NOT FOUND. AFFINITY: UNDETECTED. FORTITUDE..."

"Fortitude? Clara, what's his fortitude?"

"RECHECKING FORTITUDE... FORTITUDE: 4.6."

"Then why the pause?"

"MY APOLOGIES. HIS FORTITUDE IS RELATIVELY LOW FOR SOMEONE OF HIS TIER."

"Hmm. True. Thanks for the scan. Jason, you can step out now."There was silence for a moment after I exited.

"So... you have an intelligent computer. What's the deal with my Tier? Is it too low? Am I faulty?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. Step in, girl. Clara?"

"ON IT. DIAGNOSTIC PROTOCOLS INITIATED. CALIBRATING AMBIENT FLUX... SCANNING FOR CORE ACTIVITY... SCAN COMPLETED. SUBJECT TIER: 4. MANA CAPACITY: 0.9. ACTIVE CORE READING: 8.2. AFFINITY: WHITE. FORTITUDE: 4.9."

"Thanks, gal."

"YOU'RE MOST WELCOME."

"You both better get some rest. We'll discuss your results over dinner."

"Won't I get lost in this place? It's... huge," Linda asked.

"You won't. Here, this is a mini-map of the place. Your room is on the second floor--two doors from the living area. Jason's is right beside yours. It's en-suite."

"Sweet. What's for dinner?"

"I don't know. Maybe pizza? Just... you'll know when the time comes."

And with that, she left us to our own devices.

The room was just as she'd said--comfy-looking king-sized bed, a dressing mirror, and most importantly, a computer set. And it was connected. Well, I don't see why I can't stay here for the summer.

As I flopped onto the bed, my mind went into overdrive. I hadn't really had the chance to digest everything.

I mean, it's not every day you get told magic is real. If magic is real, does that mean all those stories are real? All those creatures? Dragons, fairies, elves! I definitely hope elves. Is Jesus real? Will I get to meet him? Maybe dwarves are magical. Do lydes exist?

An electric bell sound snapped me out of my spiral--which, surprisingly, I'd been going down for a couple hours.

"Come on down, kids. Dinner's here," Mia buzzed through the intercom.

I'm loving this place already."What is Jason's Tier?" Grey asked as he sat down.

Dinner, unsurprisingly, consisted of pizza and some little sandwich things with meat fillings. The taste was... exquisite, the meat enveloping my tongue with flavor. It had a slightly spicy tinge to it, but was still perfect for my spice-challenged palate.

"He's a Tier 2. Linda is Tier 4," Mia replied mid-chew.

"That... is unexpected. Tier 2, a human with no magical ancestry. Tier 4 is impressive--but not unheard of."

"Uhm, what's your Tier, Uncle Grey?"

"He's a Tier 1--first-rank Tier 1," Mia replied.

"Wow. Then it shouldn't be surprising."

"What shouldn't be, boy?" Grey asked.

"Well, my uncle is a Tier 1--it makes sense I would be high Tier too. Maybe it's a firstborn male thing? What are these things called anyway?" I asked, slicing another piece of pizza.

"It's called hawawshi. It's an Egyptian delicacy. Like it?" Mia asked with a smile.

"Love it."

"Jason, cupcake. It's high time you know this. I'm not your father's brother."

Linda and I shared a quick look.

"We know that. Why would we think you are? You're Mum's brother."

"Yeah. Elder brother, to be precise," Linda added.

"I'm not your mum's brother either."

"What? That's not possible! Mum said you're our uncle, and Dad always called you a friend. So we figured..."

"I am your father's friend. I met him a few months before he got married to your mum--a year before you were born, that is. We met at a fair... I can't recall where. But he intrigued me. He has a very interesting personality for a human. We met after I completed the Hidden Crucible with my granddaughter here."

"Uhm, how old are you, Mia, if you were born before then?" Linda asked.

"Haha, how old do I look?"

"Well, to me, you look twenty at most," I said.

"Why, thank you. I'm due forty-two in two months."

"Okay, now I'm confused. Uncle Grey keeps calling you granddaughter. I could have sworn you're twenty. And you said you're not Mother's brother?"

"I thought you guys were going to answer our questions. So far, you've only brought more.""It's just as I said, lad. Mia is indeed my granddaughter. My great-granddaughter, to be precise."

"That doesn't answer anything!" Linda yelled, throwing up her hands.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to... you know."

"Hehe, we know, girl. I'll give you the answers you want. The old man sucks at that sort of thing," Mia interjected.

"Alright, it all boils down to this: He is a Zhakarei."

"A what now?"

"Zhakarei. Dragon kin. Don't interrupt me, lady," Mia snapped.

"Sorry!" Linda squeaked.

"They're cousins to dragons. Four-legged, winged, with the head of a lion and, of course, horns. Unlike dragons, though, they're a secretive bunch."

"Long story short, he's immortal."

"Immortal like... undying? Or...?"

"He doesn't age. He *can* be killed, though. He met my great-grandmother when he first arrived on human lands. They fell in love, had my grandma... and the story goes on."

"And all his children know what he is?" Linda asked.

"Hmm, no. Only the second-born. Although I don't know why--and I'm not sure I want to know."

"Well, it makes sense now. At least a bit. So... what's wrong with me being Tier 2?"

"Well, to answer that, you need to understand the Tier system. There's some more hawawshi here if you want."

"Thank you," Mia said, reaching for the jolly sandwich.

"So, as I was saying, the Tier system consists of six ranks--or placements, whichever you prefer--with Tier 6 being the lowest and Tier 1 the highest." She paused to let us take that in.

"Tier 6 beings are called Blessed--or Touched. They're humans who have the spark of magic within them. They excel at whatever they specialize in. We're talking fortune tellers, clerks, doctors, soldiers, and of course, scholars and geniuses. Like me. I can enhance my mental strength and capacity with magic. Sounds boring, doesn't it?"

"I mean... in front of immortality?" Linda said with a shrug.

"Yeah, it does. Except he's not human--and I am. I engineered my own cells, activated telomerase, modulated epigenetics--you name it. I even enhanced my cellular rejuvenation with senolytic agents. And thankfully, it worked. I've increased my lifespan to 200 years. As long as I stick to my routine, I'll look like this until I die," Mia said with a smug smile."CAPTAIN, I HAVE NEWS YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE," Clara said.

"Well, bring it up."

A holographic screen appeared in front of us, just to the left of the dining table. About a hundred inches wide.

"AN ENORMOUS BLACK LEOPARD WAS FOUND CROSSING THE HIGHWAY IN THE CITY ABOUT 10 KILOMETERS NORTH OF HERE. IF YOU TAKE THE RANGER, IT'LL BE A 10-MINUTE DRIVE."

"Why do you assume I'd be interested, Clara?" Mia asked.

"THE CREATURE IS 40 INCHES AT SHOULDER HEIGHT, 140 FROM TAIL TO SNOUT--WHICH IS ENORMOUS FOR MALES OF THE SPECIES--AND EXPRESSES COMPLEX EMOTIONS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THERE IS A RUNIC CREST ON ITS RIGHT SHOULDER. I HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THIS IS A WERE-BEING."

"I do not know why a werecat would reveal itself in this form," Grey said, breaking his dutiful silence.

"Huh. Isn't that just a panther though?"

Mia and Linda looked at me like I was crazy. Even Uncle Grey.

"Clara, keep tabs on the leopard. We'll check it out tomorrow. I need sleep," Mia said, rising.

Grey followed after her, with Mia hot on his tail.

Back in my room, I sat at the computer and searched:

"What's the difference between a black panther and a black leopard?"