《The Cursed Witch Arrives (A Dark Portal Fantasy)》 Chapter 1 A large, bland man stands in front of me. His eyes glitter from deep within his grey hooded cloak. His lifeless hair is combed flat away from his forehead, looking more like a beat-up rug than anything approaching hair. ¡°Funny,¡± I say. ¡°Was that supposed to be a joke?¡± He crosses his arms. ¡°No, but it''s what I''m willing to offer. You should take it. You can''t do better.¡± Close your eyes. Repeat the mantra. They never think I can do better. Crease lips into a smile, take a breath in, and slowly let it out. As I lean forward, I give him puppy eyes and pout out my lower lip. ¡°You¡­ you don''t think I can do better?¡± ¡°I don''t.¡± Comfortable authority floods into his slack, doughy features. ¡°In fact, I think this is the best price you''ve ever been offered for that witchstone.¡± His tongue snakes out, leaving behind glistening thin lips. ¡°Am I wrong?¡± ¡°No. You''re not wrong.¡± The man smiles, a cat with mauled prey. ¡°Then again,¡± I continue, ¡°you''re also not correct. I haven''t been offered anything for this witchstone. That makes you the only customer.¡± The man nods as though he knows every single stray thought floating around my skull. ¡°So you want to sell it to me.¡± The corners of his mouth twist upwards. ¡°If I''m the only demand, and you''re the one supplying, then I set the market.¡± ¡°If I was hard up for money, sure. I mean, maybe.¡± I am hard up for money though. I''m lying and hoping I''m doing a respectable job of it. I need to sell the witchstone, any witchstone, and desperately. The witchstone we¡¯re both haggling over is mostly clear. It¡¯s speckled through with blue and red, and is about the size of a quarter, but much thicker. All it does is amplify a caster''s innate magick. Silvy appears on my shoulder in a puff of smoke. Meet Silvy. She''s my familiar. Imagine a cat the size of a teacup with a tail striped in black and white that comes to a sharp point in the shape of a spade. Silvy''s fur appears black at first, but the color shifts between dark purple, midnight blue, forest green, and black depending on the angle of the light. Her eyes glow with a soft white light edged in faint yellow. I can''t tell where her mouth is, but her ears stick straight from her head like spiteful horns. The man doesn¡¯t react to her sudden appearance. Probably better. If she''s keeping herself invisible from him, at least I don''t have to explain what she is. ¡°Just sell it to him.¡± Silvy''s voice hisses acid into my ear. ¡°Sell it to him, take his money, and then let me open his throat a little, darling. Taste a bit of his blood. No one will know. I''ll take care of the body. Dump it in the Shadow Vaile. No one will know.¡± ¡°Mr. Carruthers,¡± I say, trying to wedge in a bit of pleasantness. ¡°What''s your first name?¡± ¡°Renald,¡± he answers. ¡°Ronald. Let me tell you what I can do¡­¡± ¡°Renald,¡± he corrects. ¡°Roneld?¡± ¡°Renald.¡± ¡°Renal. Like renal failure?¡± ¡°No,¡± he snaps. ¡°Renald. Renald¨CRenald¨CRenald.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say. ¡°Right. Renald. Got it. Sorry.¡± Renald grumbles something that I can¡¯t quite make out. ¡°So, the problem here, Renald, is that I know what the market is. This witchstone that you want to buy is worth far more than you¡¯re offering me. I appreciate that you want a good deal, and I''m not above giving you a deal, but I''m not about to let you lowball me.¡± His face shifts into a hue of red I would call tomato. Here it comes. Gonna call me witch or a stick. Maybe both. ¡°Look, stickwitch, I''m offering you more than anyone else is.¡± ¡°Sure, again, I''m not arguing that,¡± I say, ¡°and as a caster, you should know that what you''re offering me is well under market value.¡± ¡°I came here because I was told that this was the best witchstone shop in all of Anara. That¡¯s what we call the Magick World if you didn¡¯t know.¡± Neat. Now tell me that you know a wizard. ¡°You know, I know a wizard.¡± I don¡¯t know why casters do this. It''s not even a real threat. ¡°You know a wizard, I know a wizard, we all know wizards. That doesn''t help us make this deal though, right?¡± ¡°$5,000,¡± he spits, ¡°and that''s because I''m being nice.¡± ¡°What¡¯s rude look like? ¡°What?¡± ¡°$5,000 isn''t enough. That''s only $200 more than you previously offered. It¡¯s barely a start. This isn''t a charity. Where do you think you are?¡± ¡°Blackhart,¡± Renald hisses through clenched teeth, ¡°is the worst witchstone shop I¡¯ve ever been to in my life.¡± ¡°I mean, okay. I like opinions too. Did you know that we also sell stuff other than witchstones? Arcana? Cursed items? Maybe you would like to look at something more in your¡­¡± Hex, don''t do this. Really. Don''t do this. ¡°Price range.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. You did it. Renald¡¯s face darkens from tomato and shifts into the purple range. Eggplant-like you could say. I should eat lunch soon. Salad sounds good. ¡°How dare you, you dumb, cursed witch.¡± ¡°Points for accuracy.¡± I shrug. ¡°But I¡¯ve heard worse.¡± ¡°You deserved it.¡± ¡°Two points.¡± ¡°You shouldn''t even be here.¡± ¡°Three.¡± ¡°You''re not one of us. He¡¯s on a roll. ¡°Four.¡± ¡°You don''t belong in Anara.¡± ¡°Five points, although that one only squeaked through because of a teensy technicality.¡± ¡°You¡¯re nothing more than vermin and you should''ve been exterminated.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I say, shaking my head. Renald pauses, lifting his eyebrows. ¡°Point for me,¡± I say through a smile. ¡°Five to one. My serve?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how tennis is scored, you gutter rat.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t take you for a fan of stick world sports, but yeah, I''m a witch. You got me.¡± On both sides of my head I have an inch-long magenta horn that looks like the tip of a knife. I take this moment to flick the one on the right three times. It sounds the same as if I¡¯d flicked the flat side of a chef¡¯s knife. ¡°What gave it away?¡± ¡°I know what those horns mean,¡± he says. ¡°That I used them to murder a magick wielder?¡± Renald¡¯s mouth falls open. ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I say. ¡°I was there.¡± Casters always think bringing up the fact that my horns are visible instead of invisible like most witches is a gotcha. It isn¡¯t. It''s like walking up to someone with a tattoo, pointing at it, and saying hey, you have a tattoo. Like¡­ why? I take a deep breath and try to steer the interaction back to business by pulling out one of the tools of my trade. To a normal person, it looks like a glass disk. When I place the witchstone on top, the disk lights up, enhancing the colors held within the witchstone and casting them across the ceiling. About six inches above the witchstone, colors begin to swirl and form in small eddies of fog and smoke. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Renald asks. ¡°Showing you the purity. That''s why it costs so much. There''s no hint of a curse. Look at the luma yourself.¡± Renald leans forward, examining the different colors and their proportions. There''s no yellow luma, the color that corresponds with curses, to speak of. There were strong green and white plumes, with only a hint of black. ¡°As you can see, $5,000 doesn''t even begin to cover it,¡± I say. ¡°I''m fine with selling it to you. In fact, I would love to sell it to you. It''s kind of what I do. Sell witchstones. You know, Blackhart: Witchstones, Magick, and Arcana, like it says on the sign?¡± ¡°I''m not going to pay more than $6,000.¡± The stone is worth $20,000 at least. I need the $5,000 he''s offering, but there''s no way I can take that much of a loss on the stone. It doesn''t make sense. I open my mouth to tell him no, but before I get a chance, his hand shoots forward. For a moment I think he''s trying to punch me, but his hand veers toward the counter and closes over the witchstone. He turns towards the gateway he entered through. I close my eyes. This again? How many times is this going to happen before word makes it around that it¡¯s a mistake? I rub my eyes for a moment before skimming my fingers across the hidden witchstone on the underside of the counter. The gateway from Blackhart to Anara melts away into nothing. Renald makes it to what is now an empty, wooden wall and tries to find a doorknob. I guess he thinks it''s invisible? ¡°Are you about finished?¡± I ask the back of his head. He freezes, as if he¡¯s forgotten I''m there, and whirls around to face me with a glare. ¡°Open this gateway, stickwitch, or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± And then his hand does a curious thing, something he will soon come to regret: It slips into one of his cloak¡¯s pockets. My hand, already in my pocket, already fingering the witchstones in my witchstone holster there, jumps into action. I slip out a witchstone that will give me exponentially quicker reflexes and prepare to squeeze it as hard as I can. Once the shell breaks, the magick will flow through my body, filling me with speed and agility. I don''t know yet what sort of witchstone Renald is preparing to use, but I''m sure it will be something nasty that I''ll need to dodge. Casters always seem to think of magick duels in an attacking sort of way, never in an evasive sort of way. When Renald brings his hand out of his pocket, I squeeze the witchstone in mine as hard as I can. Whoa. The magick courses through my veins, rushing with pure energy from head to toe. Renald throws what looks like a pebble. I jump to the left. Unfortunately, I haven''t yet practiced using this witchstone and jump too far, crashing right into the wall and bringing down a shelf of witchstones on my head. It all happens in the blink of an eye. Good job, Hex. I hit the ground hard, roll, and get back up. The pebble Renald threw curves through the air, following me. ¡°Heat seeker?¡± I ask as I keep moving. He doesn''t answer. I jump again, this time at Renald. Unfortunately, I miss again. The particular witchstone I''m using is fairly common. It''s colloquially called a jumpstone in Anara. From my research on the jumpstone, I know what I''m supposed to do: look at where I want to go, blink, and then appear there. Apparently, casters use it to travel huge distances by rapidly blinking their eyes. For me though? Not so much. I end up on the other side of Renald, but for all he can tell, I''ve disappeared. It isn''t where I meant to jump, but now that I''m here I see an opportunity. I slip my hand in my pocket and find the witchstone I need. After pulling it out, I slip the bluish stone under my tongue. The magick flows out from the stone and I spit the now clear witchstone into my hand. The magick contained in this witchstone is silence. Any sounds I make, outside of speaking, will be completely erased. I have plenty of practice with silentstones thanks to all my dealings in the Red Market. I stay behind Renald. Crouching down but staying close as he looks around. Renald is still looking around Blackhart for me when his original spell, the witchstone he threw, hits him in the shoulder. What¡¯s it going to do? My eyes widen when it happens. The shoulder the pebble barely grazes crunches and then buckles. Renald opens his mouth wide and howls a scream of pain. Frowning, I watch as the pebble drops to the ground, bounces once, and then is still. Had that hit me in the face, it would''ve killed me¡­ Renald used a serious witchstone, something specifically designed to kill. It''s probably outlawed by the Austerium. I try to speak in an even voice. ¡°Take the witchstone you tried to steal from me, put it on the floor, and get the fuck out of my shop.¡± Renald swallows audibly and struggles to sit up. Once he makes it that far, he lets go of the witchstone and stands, struggling to shamble over to the naked wall. Once there, he looks back at me like a child waiting for their parent to let them out, or maybe a dog. I chew on my lip. Time to shoot my shot. ¡°$20,000.¡± Renald doesn''t respond. ¡°It''s a good deal,¡± I say. ¡°In fact, it''s better than good. There''s no markup on it. $20,000.¡± Renald doesn''t respond. ¡°You won''t find a better deal in all of Anara. You''ll either pay more for a witchstone with less potency or less for a witchstone that won''t even come close to the effects you¡¯re expecting.¡± ¡°Just let me go. Just let me leave.¡± He lets out a whimper and then mutters the word he''s been using throughout the whole conversation. This time though, the word isn''t flavored with disdain or disgust. This time it''s laced with fear. ¡°Witch.¡± I sigh and skim my fingers across the hidden witchstone. The gateway reforms on the wall and opens onto the Night Market. Before Renald goes through the gateway and leaves Blackhart, he turns back for a single moment. ¡°This isn¡¯t over, witch. Blackhart belongs in the hands of Anara. I''m going do everything in my power to ensure that happens.¡± ¡°Guess you haven''t heard the saying about Blackhart then, have you?¡± ¡°That''s just an urban legend, gutter rat.¡± I shrug. ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Silvy repeats, her voice coming from everywhere and nowhere, three octaves lower than normal. Renald jumps. She let him hear her. Nice. Renald¡¯s eyes search Blackhart, trying to find where the voice came from, but when he can''t find it, he decides to get the hell out. ¡°This isn''t over,¡± he hisses as he stumbles through the gateway. I take a moment to stare longingly at the world I can see on the other side of the gateway. The world I''m forbidden from entering. Chapter 2 ¡°Nice job,¡± Silvy purrs. ¡°Wasn''t that money required for something?¡± ¡°He got what he deserved,¡± I mutter. I slip the empty witchstones out of my pocket and put them into the basket beneath the counter where I kept all of the used ones. A lot of people in Anara just throw away witchstones once they''ve used the magick within, but I can''t bring myself to do that. I''m still working on a way to refill empty witchstones, but I haven''t yet figured out how to do it. ¡°He never wanted to deal,¡± I tell Silvy. ¡°He just wanted to rip me off. Maybe he just wanted to fight.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Silvy says. The sarcasm in her voice doesn¡¯t go unnoticed. She watches me pick up the witchstone he''d been interested in and place it back in its cubby hole on the wall behind the counter. I shake my head. So many casters have been in to Blackhart since I took over, but never had I been attacked like that. People threaten me all the time. People promise that they are going to kill me. This is the first time a caster had actually used a witchstone though, used magick, to attack me. It would''ve been worth it had some of those dollars been left behind. That''s where the real problem is. I need money. Desperately. Rent is coming due on the gateway to Blackhart, and if I don''t have a gateway to the magic world¡­ ¡°I need money,¡± I tell Silvy, ¡°but I don''t have a lot of options. I can stay here, hope someone comes in with enough money, or¡­¡± Silvy leans forward. ¡°Yes?¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°You know what else. Or we can go to the Red Market.¡± ¡°The second option is obviously the most palatable,¡± Silvy says. Outside of the Shadow Vaile, the Red Market is just about her favorite place. It''s sort of like the night market only the goods are a bit¡­ tainted. In the Red Market, you can buy dark magick, curses, and occasionally even blood magick (which is banned, obviously). It''s an interesting place for sure, but one you don''t want to stay in for very long. I cross my arms. If I stay here, in Blackhart, I might be here all day and still sell nothing. If I go to the Red Market though, I can definitely sell something, but who knows who I''ll be selling to. Silvy stretches. ¡°Isn''t the lease on the gateway is due by the end of the week?¡± I take a deep breath and sigh. ¡°Fine. We''ll go to the Red Market.¡± After reloading my witchstone holster and putting it back in my pocket, I pull my parka closer around my body and shiver. That''s one of the ¡°perks¡± of being a witch. You never feel warmth. Except in the Shadow Vaile. Why don''t you just go to the Shadow Vaile? you''re probably asking. Because there are monsters there that would suck the marrow from my bones. That''s why. ¡°I really don''t want to go to the Red Market,¡± I mumble, pulling out a satchel with pouches filling the inner walls, as well as hidden pockets with more pouches. Silvy giggles. ¡°That''s because you have no class, darling. They can smell it on you. The lack of class, I mean.¡± I ignore this, walking along the walls of Blackhart and pulling various witchstones from their cubbies. Nothing too powerful, just in case I end up selling it to someone who wants to do something nefarious. The witchstones do have to be powerful enough to be sold though. I can''t get away with selling weak spells. The return would be too low. I tap the hidden witchstone underneath the counter twice and a cellar opens up to my left. I crawl into it and grab several items. The whispering down there isn''t too bad today. The curses must be in a waning cycle. Sometimes when I go down there''s screaming from the curses possessing some of the objects. I crawl back out, double tap the hidden witchstone again, and the cellar insurance disappears. A buzz sounds from the gateway. A witchstone I mounted to the top of the gateway''s frame glows green. Someone''s hit the buzzer on the stick world side of the gateway. Nightsbridge, Texas to be exact. The small suburb outside of Houston that the Austerium has imprisoned me within the borders of for two entire years and counting. Frowning, I stow my satchel under the counter and walk over to the gateway. The sticks that stumble into Blackhart typically only do so to browse. The prices are too high for them and I''m not willing to sell them outside of a few harmless trinkets. To a stick, Blackhart is essentially a shop filled with poison. If a stick uses a witchstone, they instantly age ten years, and that''s assuming they use a witchstone containing the weakest, most inconsequential spell. If they use a witchstone containing a strong enough spell, they''ll die instantly. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I upon opening the gateway, I find myself face-to-face with a puffy-faced woman with red curly hair. Her eyes are bloodshot and her mascara drips down her cheeks. I raise my eyebrows. ¡°Uh, hi?¡± ¡°Are you her?¡± the mousy woman asks. I glance back at Silvy and mouth the words, Am I who? ¡°You are,¡± she says, not waiting for an answer. ¡°You are her. Oh God, you have to help me. Oh God. Please.¡± ¡°I don''t know who you are.¡± The words come out much harsher than I mean. I bite my lip. ¡°I don''t know what you want?¡± The image of my satchel, only half-filled behind the counter, comes to me, urges me to get this woman out of Blackhart so I can go about packing my stuff for the Red Market. ¡°They say¡­ they say¡­ they say¡­¡± Her stutter is cut off by a sob. People on the Nightsbridge side of the gateway stop to stare. ¡°Fuck,¡± I mutter. When I go to get groceries, I already get enough raised eyebrows. I don''t need any more. ¡°Come in,¡± I say, stepping back into the shop and pulling the gateway wide open. ¡°Come in, come in, come in. Hurry.¡± The woman shakes her head no and just stands there on the sidewalk. Really? ¡°Then I''m going to shut the door. Just come in.¡± ¡°Not until you tell me that you¡¯re her,¡± the woman says. ¡°Lady, I don''t know who you think I am and I don''t know who you are. Who exactly do you think I am?¡± ¡°If she thinks you¡¯re an embarrassment,¡± Silvy suggests, ¡°she¡¯d be correct.¡± I glance back at her. ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°But I didn''t say anything,¡± the woman says and the tears begin to flow. ¡°Who do you think I am?¡± I ask. ¡°Hexana. Hexana Covington? You went to school with my sister. My little sister.¡± I''d grown up in Nightsbridge, but I didn''t recognize this woman, and I had no idea who her sister was. ¡°Okay. Is she in trouble? Your sister?¡± ¡°No.¡± The woman rubs at her nose with a tissue. ¡°My daughter.¡± A man walking by the open gateway stops and looks between the crying woman and myself. ¡°Is everything okay here?¡± he asks the woman. ¡°Why are you asking her that?¡± I ask. ¡°I work here. I just opened the door.¡± He glances over at me and turns his nose up. He grumbles something I can understand before turning his attention back to the woman. ¡°Ma''am? Are you okay?¡± She nods and shooes him away. After some more grumbling and another few dirty looks, he does what she says. ¡°So you know who I am now,¡± I say. ¡°Will you please come inside?¡± She nods and steps into Blackhart. She does the same thing that every stick does when they first walk into Blackhart. She shivers. From the answers I¡¯ve gotten over the past two years, it''s not from cold, it''s just a sudden spontaneous shiver. It''s almost like stick bodies can sense that they¡¯ve passed over into a realm that isn''t their own. ¡°Take a seat,¡± I say, closing the gateway and gesturing over to the tiny waiting room I had. The waiting room is nothing more than two antique chairs and a little coffee table. The woman takes a seat, continuing to dab at her eyes and her nose. I sit down opposite her and cross my arms. ¡°What''s your name?¡± ¡°Marist.¡± ¡°So, what''s wrong, Marist?¡± ¡°My daughter. She''s missing.¡± ¡°Okay, I''m not the police.¡± For the first time Marist really looks at me. Her face grows stiff and she nods. ¡°I know, that''s why I came to you. The police say they can''t do anything.¡± ¡°What do you mean they can''t do anything?¡± ¡°She''s eighteen,¡± she says. ¡°As far as they''re concerned she''s an adult.¡± ¡°Okay. So your eighteen-year-old daughter, an adult, is missing. How do you know she didn''t just¡­¡± ¡°Run away?¡± Marist snaps. ¡°She didn''t run away. It''s Friday night. We always watch Filmore on Friday nights. Together.¡± I shrug. ¡°Maybe it''s a rerun tonight?¡± ¡°It''s always reruns. That''s the point.¡± I don''t get it. ¡°Okay, so you had a standing date that she missed.¡± ¡°No,¡± Marist says, shaking her head violently. ¡°We didn''t miss it. It''s tonight. The night before though we pick the episode we¡¯re going to watch.¡± ¡°Okay, and she didn''t show up to that? Last night?¡± Marist nods. ¡°I don''t know why you came to me,¡± I say. This is a lie. I have an idea. ¡°People talk about you in town. People who have... used you... in the past.¡± ¡°What people?¡± I ask. ¡°People,¡± she says. ¡°It doesn''t matter who, but they said they were pleased with the work you did.¡± I close my eyes. Someone who I''d helped in the past had given a recommendation to their friend. I occasionally moonlit as a¡­ not a private eye, but something else. Helper? Someone who can find things? Solve problems? Maybe that is a private eye. I don''t really know. When you''re trapped in the town you were born in for two years and can''t leave, you try and find ways to alleviate the boredom. Besides, it''s not like I advertise. ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°So I''ve helped a friend of yours.¡± ¡°Acquaintance,¡± she corrects. ¡°Fine, acquaintance. It doesn''t matter. I''ve helped someone you know. And you want me to help you now.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°I want you to help my daughter. She''s missing. Find her.¡± I take a deep breath, hold it in for a few moments, and let it out slowly. I imagine all the sales I could have been making at that moment in the Red Market all disappearing, running through my fingers like sand. ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°Fine. I''ll help you.¡± ¡°How much?¡± she asks. ¡°How much?¡± I chew on my lip, considering it. If this woman is wealthy, I might be able to get enough out of her to pay for my gateway lease right here and now. The monthly lease on the gateway is more than most sticks have though. ¡°Five,¡± I say. It''s a low price, but I don''t know what else to ask. Like I said, I''m not exactly a professional here. ¡°$5,000?¡± she confirms. ¡°Done.¡± I start to correct her, but Silvy appears on my shoulder and shushes me. ¡°Just take it. She seems fine with spending $5,000. So you should be fine with it.¡± I swallow and nod at Marist. ¡°$5,000. Half now, and half when I find your daughter.¡± ¡°You''ll find her though?¡± I''ll either find her daughter alive or I''ll find a body. The only problem is that if she isn''t within the borders of Nightsbridge, I''m out of luck. ¡°Yes,¡± I lie. ¡°I''ll find your daughter.¡± She nods and stands up. ¡°Her name is Pixie. She''s¡ª¡± I hold my hands up to stop her. ¡°I''m not gonna remember. Email me all the information you have on her, who she knows, what she was doing, etc., as well as the first payment.¡± ¡°How do I send the payment? By email?¡± I pulled out a business card and handed it over. She raises an eyebrow as she read aloud. ¡°Blackhart: Witchstones, Magick, and Arcana. Exceedingly rare witchstones of unfathomable power.¡± ¡°Flip it over,¡± I say. She does and sees my email address as well as the web address where she can send the payment to. ¡°Okay.¡± I walk her to the gateway and hold it open for her. ¡°Thank you,¡± she says. ¡°Thank you so¡ª¡± She hesitates for a moment and I see it in her eyes. I see what she''s was going to do. Oh God, she''s going to hug¡ª She wraps me up in a huge hug and squeezes me tight. I choke on her perfume as she squeezes even harder before letting go. ¡°Right,¡± I say. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna smell like old lady for weeks,¡± Silvy giggles. I ignore her and close the gateway. ¡°Marist, Marist, Marist.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Probably worried about nothing. Eighteen-year-old daughter, she''s probably shacked up somewhere with her partner.¡± I move towards the gateway, intending to shut it down so no one else can interrupt to me, when it buzzes again. I glance up at the witchstone, fully expecting it to be green, fully expecting for Marist to have returned, to have remembered some other such piece of info she could have just emailed me. The witchstone is golden. There''s someone waiting on Anara side of the gateway. I pull the gateway open, my hand already in my pocket, fingertips clutching a witchstone, fully expecting for Renald to be standing there, maybe this time with some friends as reinforcement. Before me stands someone I had once considered a friend. My upper lip curls as I look down at him. ¡°Lebec.¡± Chapter 3 Lebec gives me a smile that I want to rip off his wrinkled face. He clears his throat before he speaks. ¡°Hexana. Nice to see you. It''s been too long.¡± I laugh. ¡°Gosh, Lebec. I wonder why that is? Did you forget where I''ve been exiled to?¡± Lebec licks his lips before bumbling forward. ¡°No. No, I didn''t forget about you. The Austerium has been... busy. I told you that at the outset.¡± ¡°You told me I was exiled. You never put a timeline on it. It''s been two years.¡± Lebec tries to put the smile on his face again, but it falters. Isn¡¯t Anara marvelous? From the counter, Silvy pipes up. ¡°Why don''t you let me have a little taste, darling? I hear dwarf blood is delicious.¡± I look back at her and shake my head. That''s I need. For an Austerium official to go missing. If that happens, I won''t just be exiled, I''ll probably be executed. I snap my fingers as though I''ve just solved a million-dollar mystery. ¡°I know! You''re here because you have news about my father. That''s it, right? Because if I''d sent someone into exile promising that I would reunite them with their father, I wouldn''t just you know¡­ leave them alone for two years. That would be crazy.¡± Lebec crosses his arms. ¡°Hex, it''s out of my hands. The Austerium makes decisions. I don''t affect those decisions. I enact those decisions.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say nodding, the perfect picture of agreement. ¡°I totally understand. Poor you. Having to enact the Austerium''s commands. Gosh, I hope you sleep okay at night. I bet it''s really hard keeping all those daughters from their fathers for two years?¡± ¡°It is hard,¡± he says flatly. ¡°I don''t enjoy it.¡± So no news of my exile, and no news of my father. I can feel the Red Market calling to me. That''s what I need to get to, Lebec doesn''t have anything for me. ¡°Right,¡± I say. ¡°I''m a little busy at the moment, so if you want to just walk right back through the gateway, that would be fantastic.¡± ¡°I can''t do that.¡± ¡°Sure you can, all you have to do is turn around and start moving those legs of yours, right? It''s easy.¡± ¡°It''s not that easy. I came here to ask a favor.¡± My mouth falls open. This has to be a joke. Someone at the Austerium has to have sent him here to do this, to ask me for a favor after all they''ve done, after all they haven''t done. ¡°Is he serious?¡± Silvy murmurs from the counter. ¡°I believe he is,¡± I say to her and then turn to Lebec. ¡°Why would I ever do you a favor?¡± Lebec swallows. ¡°Because it''s not me asking.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I hold up both hands. ¡°I''m sorry. That makes it so much better. If it''s not you asking then of course I''ll do it. Why wouldn''t I?¡± Lebec sighs. ¡°Things didn''t work out the way they should''ve here, between you and the Austerium. I know that now.¡± ¡°Great. So when will they work out?¡± Lebec stares at me, chewing on his lower lip. ¡°I know you''ve been to the Red Market.¡± ¡°This is a weird way to get a favor.¡± I look back at Silvy. ¡°Do you think it''s working?¡± Silvy shakes her head no. ¡°In fact, it''s kind of embarrassing.¡± Lebec jumps when she speaks and stares at the counter where she''s sitting. I suppose she''s made herself visible to him. ¡°So,¡± I say. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°About you breaking exile?¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I roll my eyes. ¡°You told me I wasn''t allowed in Anara. Is the Red Market in Anara?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Lebec says. I nod understandingly. ¡°And¡­ there''s an Austerium presence there?¡± He swallows. ¡°Well, no, but¡ª¡± ¡°Then what are we talking about here? If there''s no presence, you don''t really control it, do you?¡± ¡°But we could,¡± he says. ¡°Yeah.¡± I nod. ¡°But all those wizards who need their forbidden objects wouldn''t be able to get them, would they?¡± Color floods into Lebec''s cheeks. ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about.¡± The corners of my lips curl up at the sound of the indignance in his voice. ¡°Would you like to know the names of the wizards I''ve sold Arcana and cursed objects to?¡± ¡°No.¡± Lebec shakes his head. ¡°No, I wouldn''t.¡± ¡°Right, so there went your Red Market bargaining chip. What else do you have?¡± I just want him to leave. I want to get to the Red Market so I can make some money and pay the Austerium their blood fee to keep my gateway functional. Almost as if he can hear my thoughts, Lebec glances over at the gateway. ¡°We can shut your gateway down,¡± he says. ¡°In fact, I can do that right now. That''s within my powers.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I say, pouting out my lower lip. ¡°You¡¯re so powerful.¡± Lebec sighs. ¡°I don''t want to do this, Hex. I came here for a favor, that''s all.¡± ¡°And I totally appreciate that you came here for a favor, but it''s not a favor I''m willing to give. We¡¯re both at a stalemate so why don''t we both just walk away and act like this entire conversation never occurred.¡± ¡°What if I take away your gateway fee?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Is that actually within your power?¡± He nod. ¡°It''s at my discretion.¡± I lick my lips. ¡°I''m listening.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he says, shifting back and forth on his feet. ¡°I''ll lift the fee for your gateway this month.¡± Frowning, I shake my head. ¡°Tell me what the favor is first and then we''ll negotiate terms.¡± ¡°I need you to look at something.¡± ¡°Ew,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Don''t do it.¡± Lebec glances over at Silvy before returning his gaze to me. ¡°We need you to look at something for us. A crime scene.¡± I raise my eyebrows. ¡°A crime scene? Don''t you have specific people in the Austerium that look at that sort of thing? Specialists?¡± Lebec nods. ¡°They couldn''t find anything.¡± ¡°And I''m supposed to be able to find something that the great, all-knowing Austerium couldn''t?¡± He nods. ¡°Can you be a little more specific?¡± I ask. ¡°There''s been a death.¡± ¡°You did say that it was a crime scene¡­¡± ¡°There''s been a death at Bristlebloom.¡± The Bristlebloom School of Hidden Secrets. I remember my time there. My short, abbreviated time there before I was expelled and then kicked out of Anara. I swallow. ¡°So there''s been a death at Bristlebloom. Did one of the students get angry at a teacher?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lebec says in a flat voice. ¡°One of the students died.¡± ¡°Died?¡± ¡°Was murdered. One of the students was murdered.¡± ¡°I don''t get it,¡± I say. ¡°I don''t understand why you want me, why I would have any sort of insight on this?¡± Silvy purrs acid from the counter. ¡°I think it''s fairly obvious, darling.¡± Both of us look in her direction. ¡°What''s the one thing you have knowledge on that none of these Austerium idiots do? What''s the one thing they would ever come to you for?¡± I close my eyes and turn back to Lebec. ¡°You think it was a witch. You think a witch did this, don''t you?¡± Lebec nods. ¡°Like I say, we didn''t find anything at the crime scene.¡± ¡°So you think a witch ate whatever magick, whatever luma, was floating around the scene?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Couldn''t a vanisher-in-training do the same thing?¡± ¡°There''s another matter.¡± I raise my eyebrows. ¡°And that matter is?¡± ¡°The dead student.¡± I sigh. ¡°This is like pulling teeth. Can you just spit it out for me?¡± Silvy giggles from the counter. ¡°I know what it is. Oh my God, oh my God, it''s so good. Tell her, Lebec. She''s not as clever as me, so she hasn''t figured it out yet.¡± Lebec nods at Silvy. ¡°It was a witch. ¡° ¡°The murderer?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lebec says, shaking his head. ¡°Well, yes, the murderer, but also¡­¡± ¡°Also the student,¡± I finish. ¡°You''re saying there was a witch student attending Bristlebloom?¡± Lebec nods. ¡°How do you know?¡± I ask. ¡°Those of us with magick can see a dead witch¡¯s horns.¡± He glances up at my own horns. ¡°And blooded horns, obviously.¡± I ignore that last barb and shake my head with a smile. ¡°All those wizards¡¯ and casters¡¯ children, the cr¨¨me de la cr¨¨me of magick society going to school with the thing they hate the most and they didn''t even know it.¡± Lebec nods. ¡°Because the Austerium missed it.¡± Lebec nods again. ¡°Lebec,¡± I say in a soft voice. ¡°This is worth so much more than one month''s rent on the gateway.¡± Lebec nods. ¡°This is going to cost you.¡± Silvy puffs out of existence on the counter and reappears on Lebec''s shoulder. ¡°She''ll never pay rent on that gateway again,¡± I hear her whisper into his ear. Lebec jumps at the voice coming from his ear and then relaxes. He swallows, looks up as if he wants me to help him, and then shakes his head. ¡°Right,¡± he says. ¡°That''s fair.¡± He raises his finger. ¡°But that''s contingent on you finding the witch who did this.¡± Silvy purrs, ¡°No, darling. The only thing it''s contingent on is her keeping her mouth shut about what happened at Bristlebloom. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Austerium does not plan to inform the parents of the witch who was nestled amongst their children. You¡¯re buying her silence. You''re going remove the fee on her gateway. Now. Forever.¡± Lebec opens his mouth as if to argue, and then swallows. He nods again. For the last time. ¡°Fine.¡± He lifts his hands and his fingers trace shapes through the air. As his fingers continue moving, a flat shape comes into existence, consisting of glowing, green tendrils that make up its geometric shapes. I''ve seen this sort of life magick before. Adepts typically create seals like the one Lebec is making. I''ve only ever seen it used in battle. Stepping back, my hand already in my pocket, I finger several witchstones. Lebec doesn''t fire the seal in my direction though. He directs it towards himself, angling it towards his shoulder where Silvy is sitting. She puffs out of existence before it hits her. She reappears on my shoulder, licking her paw. ¡°When do we leave?¡± I ask him, the Red Market now the farthest thing from my mind. ¡°Right now,¡± Lebec says. Chapter 4 I tell Lebec to grab a seat and head to the back of Blackhart. There are a few items there that might help me at Bristlebloom. I''m not exactly sure what I''m going to be walking into or what equipment the Austerium will provide me with. Better to come prepared than to have to ask for something and be refused. Thank God I never have to pay a lease on that gateway ever again. I breathe out a sigh of relief and then frown. Is this the trap though? Can he lie to me? Do I need to get some sort of contract signed? When the Austerium had first installed the gateway, I hadn''t signed any sort of contract. An caster was dispatched, we had a conversation, and then the bills started coming after he enchanted the door, turning it into a gateway. I can''t believe they''re letting me back into Anara. I can''t believe I''m going to get to see Bristlebloom again. Bristlebloom and I have a bit of a checkered past. I was enrolled there for all of what, two days? Before I got suspended. It was around that time that I got cursed with my horns, but before I killed the man who set me up to be cursed. It''s a long story. I pull myself back to the present. If the Austerium is willing to bring me in, they must be desperate. Maybe I can just look at the scene and then bail out. They must have someone more qualified to deal with this than me¡­ Silvy appears on a shelf to my right. ¡°I can''t believe you agreed to help them.¡± ¡°Same,¡± I say. ¡°There are other options.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Well, you could become their little witch lackey, or you could go, look at the scene, and say you don''t see anything. You''re not trained by the Austerium after all. I''d love to see their face when you tell them that.¡± ¡°And then what? Come back here?¡± Silvy shrugs but doesn''t respond. ¡°I guess I can come back and help Marist find her daughter.¡± Silvy sighs. ¡°Why would you want to do that?¡± ¡°Because I said I would. And outside of that I can start selling witchstones and finally getting ahead in my life. I might be able to make positive progress with my bank account. If I help the Austerium, maybe they''ll even lighten my sentence.¡± Silvy licks her paw. ¡°I''ll just go through the motions of checking out the scene and then get the hell away. The Austerium and Anara can take care of themselves. I need to help Nightsbridge. No one''s looking out for the sticks here.¡± Silvy rolls her eyes at me and vanishes in a plume of smoke. At the front of Blackhart, I find Lebec standing beside the gateway. He glances at the backpack I''m wearing over my parka. ¡°You ready?¡± he asks. ¡°As ready as I''m ever going to be. Let''s go.¡± He puts his hand on the knob, he twists it, and as he pulls it open the gateway fills with bright light. I forgot adepts can do that¡­ Gateways are hardwired to only open to the specific gateway or gateways the Austerium decides. This is how it works for 99% of Anara''s population. For the other 1%, the wizards and adepts, gateways function as something else entirely. They can choose which gateway the exit out of, instead of being restricted to whatever gateways are hardwired. Through the gateway Lebec opens, I can see a darkened hallway lit by a single light source just out of view. Marble floors, wooden walls, high ceilings. Bristlebloom. We step through and I glance up at the floating lights near the ceiling. We''re in the dorms. The hallway we walk down might even be the same hallway I lived on. ¡°Is this the building where my room was?¡± I ask. ¡°I have no idea,¡± Lebec says. ¡°Is it?¡± I glare at him. ¡°You tell me. You were the one who expelled me.¡± Lebec pats his shirt and leads me on, not responding to my jab. At the end of the long hallway I can see light pouring out of an open door on the right side. As we get closer, I ask, ¡°Is that it?¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Lebec nods. The door is by the entrance to the dorms and if memory serves, there''s a large spiral staircase outside that door with plenty of gateways. It''s the perfect location for a getaway. Lebec makes it to the doorway first and gestures for me to enter. I start to enter but freeze in the doorway. My breath leaves me and my shoulders slump. Floating at the center of this small, cramped dormitory room is a girl who looks like she''s just about my own age. She floats upside down, slowly spinning in a circle, her head ten inches away from the floor below. Her knuckles drag against the tile, the skin of her knuckles long rubbed off. The exposed bone of her knuckles moves along a pathway painted red. A perfect red circle of dried blood. There are words at the center of the circle: Don¡¯t try again. When she spins around so that I can see her face, I frown. There are long gashes on her cheeks. One beneath each eye that traces down to the corners of her mouth. There is also a deep slash across her forehead. The witch''s horns looked nothing like mine. It''s the second pair of horns I''ve ever seen, well, third if you include my own. The girl¡¯s horns are thick and gnarled. One of them curls around the side of her head like a ram''s while the other pokes straight out. Until this point I''ve assumed all witches have symmetrical horns, but apparently that''s not the case. The horns are green and covered in what looks like moss, the type of moss you see growing on boulders in a burbling stream. From the corner of the room someone sniffs. I glance over and see a face I never thought I''d see again. ¡°Cerulea. How are you?¡± The adept turns her nose up at me, brushing back her raven hair and scowling with pursed lips. Not too long ago this same adept tried to arrest me for selling weaponized witchstones in the Red Market. I mean, I was, but she hadn''t been able to make it stick. She hadn''t been able to prove I''d ever been to the Red Market as she didn''t have access to it. Too bad for her. ¡°So,¡± Lebec says. ¡°What can you tell us that we don''t know?¡± I look at him and back to the floating witch. ¡°Nothing. All I see is a witch suspended in the air. By the way, how is she still floating? Shouldn''t the spell have already discharged by now?¡± ¡°That''s another thing,¡± Lebec says. ¡°We don''t fully understand it.¡± I not, reaching into my parka and pulling out a pair of luma goggles. I slip them on and him immediately blinded. The goggles block out everything, all sources of light and all shapes except for any luma left behind when magick is used. Luma typically appears in colors corresponding to the type of magick used. Black for death magick, green for life, white for bone, red for blood, and yellow for curses. I don''t see any luma though. No colors at all. ¡°I''m assuming she''s floating because there''s a spell being used, right?¡± Lebec doesn''t say anything. ¡°I can''t see you, Lebec. Are you nodding?¡± ¡°Oh, yes,¡± he says. ¡°Our vanishers already went over the room, searching for luma. They couldn''t find anything.¡± I nod. ¡°Didn''t you go to Bristlebloom to be a vanisher?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°All right¡­ You got expelled¡­ My mistake.¡± ¡°So there''s no luma left behind,¡± I say, ¡°she''s floating here, and you think¡­ that a witch did this? Because of the lack of luma?¡± No answer. I snap my fingers. ¡°Oh,¡± Lebec grunts. ¡°Sorry. Yes.¡± Cerulea pipes up. ¡°We think that the witch ate the luma before she killed her friend.¡± That doesn''t make a whole lot of sense. I slip my fingers into my pocket and pull out one of the witchstones I grabbed before we left Blackhart. I throw it on the ground as hard as I can and listen as it bounces. Each time it hits the ground, the entire room lights up blue, the focal point of the light coming from where the witchstone is impacting the floor. In addition to this blue light, I can see faint traces of other colors. Up around the floating witch¡¯s feet I can a hint of red. I step closer as the witchstone keeps bouncing, hitting the ground in even time. ¡°What is that witchstone doing?¡± Cerulea asks. I smile. ¡°Do either of you have luma goggles?¡± Lebec and Cerulea rustle for their own goggles and I hear Lebec curse. Cerulea''s reaction is different altogether. ¡°That can''t be real. Blood magick has been banished from the Nidema Plaine for at least a century.¡± Silvy speaks from my shoulder. ¡°All witches are banished from Nidema as well but look where we find ourselves.¡± ¡°Cursed thing,¡± Cerulea spits. ¡°Useless bureaucrat,¡± Silvy shoots back. ¡°Ladies,¡± Lebec interrupts, ¡°I think we need to focus on the problem at hand. From what I''m seeing, someone used blood magick on the witch.¡± ¡°Yup,¡± I say. ¡°Welcome to the party. Explains how she''s floating.¡± Blood magick, at its most primitive level, works by taking control of the blood in another person''s body. The more elegant forms of blood magick are more invasive. Highly proficient blood wizards can essentially change a person''s thoughts, and make them think they came to these thoughts all on their own. Blood wizards operating at this level could even slip into another person''s mind and see through their eyes. I push away thoughts of when that exact thing had happened to me. I push away thoughts of what happened in the Shadow Vaile. After pulling the goggles off and slipping them back into my parka, I catch the still bouncing witchstone and slip it back in my pocket. ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°It seems like you have a lot to do. As you can see, a witch didn''t do this.¡± ¡°We don''t know that,¡± Cerulea corrects. ¡°A witch could have used blood magick to do this.¡± ¡°You and I both know that witches can''t use witchstones.¡± Cerulea raises her eyebrows at me. ¡°Can''t you?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t apply,¡± I say. ¡°I''m not a real witch. I only got my horns because I was cursed. I don''t have any of the powers.¡± I turn to look at Lebec. ¡°Hence, I don''t know why I''m still exiled.¡± Lebec clears his throat. ¡°We would like you to continue working on this case with us. If the person who killed this witch is continuing to hunt, they might be looking for other witches.¡± ¡°Isn''t that kinda sorta what the Austerium does?¡± Lebec chews on his lip. The Austerium has a long and storied past of hunting and executing witches. ¡°Yes,¡± Lebec answers, ¡°but¡­¡± Oh... ¡°You''re not worried about another witch dying,¡± I say, shaking my head. ¡°You''re worried that the parents of the students that attend the school are gonna find out that witches have infiltrated it. Is that right?¡± Cerulea scoffs. ¡°Of course not. That''s the farthest thing from the truth.¡± Suddenly I''m exhausted with this entire exchange. I just want to go home, maybe look into the whole Pixie thing a little before going to sleep, but my eyes drift over to the floating witch. That could have been me. That could''ve been me upside down in this dorm room. I could have been a victim just as easily as her. ¡°You''ll help us?¡± Lebec asks. ¡°Yeah,¡± I say after taking a few moments. ¡°Good.¡± He clears his throat. ¡°There''s one issue though. As you''ll be needing to move in and out of Anara whenever necessary, you''ll need an escort.¡± ¡°An adept?¡± I ask. Lebec glances over to Cerulea. The faint lines of a smile begin to form on her face. ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°No?¡± Lebec asks. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°You know my history with Cerulea.¡± Lebec glances pointedly at the hanging witch and back to me. ¡°Can''t that be set aside for this?¡± ¡°If I do this,¡± I say in a quiet voice, ¡°I expect answers regarding my exile. Firm dates.¡± Lebec nods. ¡°I believe that if you do this, if you find the culprit, the Austerium will be amenable to commuting your sentence.¡± I nod. As the witch makes one more revolution, I walk out of the dormitory room. ¡°Get her down from there,¡± I say to Lebec over my shoulder. ¡°She doesn''t deserve to hang like that any longer.¡± Chapter 5 I wait outside in the hallway while Lebec and Cerulea talk in lowered voices. I can''t really make out what they''re saying. That poor girl. That could''ve been me. I only attended Bristlebloom for a few days, but based on my interactions with casters and their casual bigotry towards witches I could see all too easily how that could''ve been me. And for the Austerium to assume a witch had killed that girl? Witches don''t use magick. They eat it. So how is there blood magick around her ankles? Silvy appears on my shoulder. ¡°Someone''s lying.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I agree, ¡°but why?¡± ¡°Maybe they want to show you what can happen if you step out of line.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°I don''t think it''s that. I don''t understand why they brought me here. I raised such a stink about the blood wizard, tried to warn them all, and they just laughed at me. They told me he doesn''t exist. They told me it was an urban legend and that I was falling into a stick-like tendencies with conspiracy.¡± ¡°I still should say that you should have let me open a couple of those wizards up. That would''ve shut them up.¡± What am I supposed to do next? I guess I can go home, see if Marist emailed me, and then get to sleep. Or, I can head straight to C&C. C&C is the nickname for a coffee shop in the Night Market called Coffee and Content. It was there that I saw my first and only witch. We didn''t really have a chance to speak. I didn''t even know her name. We just made eye contact, she made me a drink, and that was that. Does she even still work there? I might have scared her off. Maybe she quit right after she saw me. A yawn slips out of my mouth. Time to go home. I''ll check up on Marist and her daughter, catch some sleep. I can do the coffee thing tomorrow afternoon. I smile at the thought of it. I''d be going back to the night market, for the first time in two years. As I yawn, again, Lebec and Cerulea came out into the hallway. Lebec appraises me. ¡°I''m headed back to the Austerium. Cerulea will take care of everything from here out. If you need anything, let her know. She''ll take you anywhere in Anara you need to go, within reason.¡± Cerulea smiles at that addition. She''s gonna lord that over me. ¡°Fine,¡± I say. ¡°And remember our deal Lebec. You talk to the Austerium now. You let them know what this is.¡± He gives me an almost imperceptible nod before turning away and walking down the hall. Once he''s out of earshot, Cerulea and I look at each other and start speaking at the same time. ¡°¡ªI need to go home.¡± ¡°¡ªLet''s get started.¡± We both stop and glare at each other. ¡°¡ªI need to go home, check my email, and get some sleep.¡± ¡°¡ªWe should get to work right away. Time is running out.¡± Silvy giggles from my shoulder. ¡°This is going so well. You two should be besties.¡± Cerulea and I glare at each other before we do the whole interrupting thing a third time. ¡°¡ªYou go first.¡± ¡°¡ªI''ll go first.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Cerulea speaks before we have a chance to do it again. ¡°I''m glad you want me to go first. We need to get to work. Time is running out.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. I look at my watch. ¡°What do you mean time is running out? It''s 11 o''clock at night.¡± Cerulea shrugs. ¡°You read the message. ¡®Don¡¯t try again.¡¯ We need to figure out if there are more witches in Bristlebloom.¡± ¡°And how do you figure we''re going to do that right now? All the students are probably sleeping.¡± Cerulea rolls her eyes. ¡°No one''s asleep right now.¡± ¡°Sure. Okay. Why is time running out though? You seem to have very specific ideas about that.¡± Cerulea swallows. ¡°You saw what was in there.¡± She gestures at the now closed dorm room. ¡°The body itself was a message. Whoever did that is taunting the Austerium.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°If they''re willing to taunt the Austerium at Bristlebloom, I''ve got a feeling they''re getting ready to do something much worse.¡± ¡°You''ve got a feeling? A premonition?¡± Cerulea scowls at me. ¡°Again with your stick conspiracies. That stuff doesn''t exist.¡± ¡°That''s nice,¡± I say. ¡°Look, I get the time''s running out for you, but I need to go home. There are some things I need to do.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°Things more important than stopping another of your kind from being murdered?¡± ¡°She''s got you there, darling,¡± Silvy purrs. I saw the image of myself hanging in that witch¡¯s place again, but I pushed it away. I promised Marist I would look into her daughter''s disappearance. I need to check my email. If Anara had stick cell reception, I could do it right here, but that''s obviously not the case. ¡°Okay,¡± I say, an idea popping into my head. ¡°I''ll make a deal with you. Give me a lumadex so I can check my email and I won''t need to go home.¡± Cerulea fixes me with another scowl. ¡°Not happening. We don''t know what you could glean from possessing a lumadex.¡± ¡°Worth a shot¡­¡± I sigh. ¡°Okay. Take me home then. I''ll deal with the stuff I have to deal with there, get some sleep, and we can start tomorrow afternoon.¡± Cerulea''s nostrils flare and she licks her lips. ¡°You must be misunderstanding what I''m telling you. This is a high-priority issue. We need to take care of this. Starting tonight.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°I heard you. But you''re not willing to give me a lumadex so I can take care of my stick affairs. Unfortunately for you, this witch needs to take care of her stick business. I know it blows your mind that someone else''s world doesn''t revolve around Anara and casters like you.¡± ¡°I''m an adept,¡± she corrects. ¡°Same thing.¡± Her eyes get really big then and I can see that I''ve maybe pushed her a little too far. ¡°Fine,¡± Cerulea says. ¡°I''ll take you home.¡± ¡°Promises, promises.¡± ¡°Shut up and follow me.¡± She stalks off towards the gateways. *** Cerulea accompanies me all the way back to the front door of Sulis, the old theatre I live in. ¡°You live here?¡± she asks. ¡°Yeah.¡± There''s a secret gateway inside that leads directly into the back room of Blackhart so I hardly ever leave the place unless I want food or something else. Work is just a short couple of steps away. I unlock the door and turn back to her. ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow.¡± She smiles at me. ¡°See you soon.¡± Without another word she stalks off into the darkness. I go inside Sulis and lock the door behind me, praying that Ivy is asleep. I''m not sure if I can deal with her tonight. I make my way through the lobby of the theatre and into the theatre proper. It was originally an opera house, but later in its life it was bought and turned into a movie theatre. They kept the seating the way it was though. I replaced the screen and sectioned off the theatre boxes as parts of my living space. I''d converted several of the boxes into my bedroom. Several of the other boxes had been converted into a makeshift office. That''s where I head immediately. I''m not hungry. I just want to check my email and go to sleep. The day¡¯s events have drained me. Using a witchstone to fight Renald had taken most of my energy and fencing with Cerulea had taken what little remained. Once my computer is fired up, I check my email. The email from Marist is already in my inbox. From the timestamp it seems that Marist sent it as soon as she made it home, right after seeing me. Dear Hex, Thank you so much for meeting with me this evening. I apologize for my frantic state, but you must understand how worried I am. This is the first time Pixie has ever done something like this. I can''t tell you how much my daughter means to me. She means everything. She''s my whole world. I went through her entire room with a fine-tooth comb and only found a few things that may be of interest. I found a comb with the word Filigree carved into the handle. It looks like a man''s comb. I''ve never seen Pixie use it and it seemed out of place and thus worth mentioning. I also found a book titled Curses and Promises. It''s old. It looks ancient, leatherbound and again, the word Filigree is carved into the cover. There''s one last thing that''s out of place. I found a scrap of paper in her desk with two words on it. Again, Filigree and beneath that the word Beckeldorff¡¯s. My breath catches in my chest at this. I skim through the rest of the email, but it only contains Pixie''s physical description as well as identifying marks. The thing that''s frozen me, the word my eyes keep darting to is Beckeldorff¡¯s. I don''t know what significance Filigree has, outside of its common definition, I know exactly what Beckeldorff¡¯s is. There''s a back alley bar in the Red Market were some of the shadiest characters in Anara hang out. Its name? Beckeldorff''s Tea Room. No stick should have even an inkling of that name. I turn the computer off and stumble through getting ready for bed, but once in bed, sleep doesn''t come. All I can think about is the sign that hangs just below the larger sign that reads Beckeldorff''s Tea Room. The smaller sign is painted with red ink and reads Enter at your own risk. Sticks and witches executed on sight. Chapter 6 Stupid stick girl. What was she thinking? I''d only ever been in there when hiding my horns and couldn''t even fathom a girl with no powers at all walking in. I, at least, have a warded parka. I have witchstones at my disposable. What did she have? The fan continues to spin in slow circles. How did she even find out about Beckeldorff''s? How did she make it into Anara, especially the darker and unregulated part? She might be dead already. Or worse. I''ve heard rumors of people in Anara buying and selling sticks to test out witchstones on. It''s an easy way to see the effects of a witchstone while only using a fraction of its power. The stick dies before the power of the witchstone expels. Sticks are also a good way to get rid of curses on a stone. Curses usually target the first user, leaving the true spell on the other side. Use a stick to take care of a curse and you essentially have a clean witchstone with which to cast a spell. I push this away and shift my mind to the morning. What should I do first? I could go to Beckeldorff''s and gamble with my life. I¡¯d been several times in the past but had kept my hood tight around my horns and not spoken to anyone besides the bartender. I could also go to C&C, to see if that witch I¡¯d seen exactly one time two years ago still worked there. Maybe she knows the girl who died in the dorm? Either way, having Cerulea around would severely cramp my options. I couldn''t tell her that I was trying to see a witch at C&C because she would report that to the Austerium. A witch execution would follow shortly. I couldn''t take Cerulea to Beckeldorff''s though. That would be like taking a cop to a drug dealer convention Every adept I''ve ever seen in the Red Market was met with an immediate show of force. The bodies of the adepts were left out in the streets for days afterwards. The smell of death runs deep in the Red Market. The only thing I have to go on is that the witch in Bristlebloom is dead and Pixie might still be alive. This decides it. *** I wake up the next morning to the sound of banging at my front door. I sit up, a light sleeper, already wide awake. My eyes search the vast emptiness of the theatre for a threat. Finding nothing immediate, I relax a little and get out of bed. ¡°Who is that?¡± Silvy purrs, still curled up on the bed, where I wished I was. I mumble, ¡°No clue. I''m not at the door.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Silvy agrees, ¡°but maybe you should be.¡± ¡°Maybe they''ll just¡ª¡± More bangs from the front door kill the rest of my sentence. ¡°Maybe they''ll just keep knocking,¡± I finish. I head out of my bedroom to the second floor of the front lobby. Once I''m downstairs, I find myself staring through the peephole at Cerulea. Sighing, I open the door. ¡°What time is it?¡± She brushes past me and enters Sulis. ¡°5:45. Good morning. I told you I would see you soon. Are you ready to get started?¡± ¡°I can''t even think right now. I''m not ready to get started on anything.¡± ¡°Yes, well, maybe you should figure that out. I brought you breakfast. So we can save time.¡± I glare at her, my mind flipping through excuses to give her. ¡°No coffee?¡± ¡°Coffee? What does that have to do with finding a witch?¡± ¡°Specifically? Nothing, but if I''m going to function properly, I''m going to need a coffee.¡± Cerulea shrugs. ¡°Which coffee place did you want to go to? There are a couple I enjoy. What about Ca-Coffee-Ne?¡± ¡°No. We¡¯re going to C&C.¡± Cerulea raises an eyebrow. ¡°That hole in the wall? Must we?¡± ¡°We must. Why don''t you go ahead and eat the food you brought. I''m gonna take a shower and throw on some clothes.¡± Cerulea eyes me up and down. ¡°You mean you''re not going to go out naked like that?¡± Shit. I glance down at my lack of clothing. ¡°Uh, no,¡± I say. ¡°I don''t feel like bathing in the blood of my enemies today.¡± Cerulea raises an eyebrow at that, and I don''t bother explaining. Not that I have an explanation. I''m sleep deprived and not making any sense. After I shower and get ready, I come back down to see Cerulea finishing off the breakfast she brought for me. She''s sitting and staring at a snail slowly making its way across the table top. ¡°You have bugs,¡± Cerulea says. I glance at the snail then back at her. ¡°That''s Ivy. She used to be a slug, but now she''s a snail. Don''t ask. We don¡¯t have time for that story.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Does Ivy speak to you? In your head?¡± I glare at Cerulea. ¡°No. She speaks to me when she goes into her enchanted crystal and the crystal glows.¡± Cerulea nods as if I''ve said the most ridiculous thing in the world. ¡°Right. Sure. I totally believe you.¡± The snail slows its pace for half a second, turns to look at Cerulea, and then keeps moving. ¡°I swear¡­ that snail just shook its head at me.¡± I shrug. ¡°Wait till you hear her talk.¡± Cerulea dabs at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. ¡°What are we doing first?¡± ¡°Coffee,¡± I say. ¡°Wonderful,¡± she says. ¡°To Ca-Coffee-Ne.¡± ¡°C&C you mean.¡± She makes a disgusted noise at that. ¡°Why? That place is a dive.¡± I shrug. ¡°Maybe, but the drinks are good.¡± Cerulea sighs and then shrugs. ¡°If you say so. Do you have a gateway?¡± She''s asking if I have a gateway into the night market. I don''t want to tell her about the gateway in Sulis that leads into the back of Blackhart. Every adept who''s visited me during my two-year exile has inquired about how I make it to Blackhart. I refuse to tell them, because I am afraid they''re gonna start making me pay for that gateway. The Austerium has so many gateways and so much bureaucracy that they''ve forgotten about quite a few of them. There''s no way in hell I''m gonna tell Cerulea the truth. ¡°I don''t have a gateway,¡± I lie. ¡°Do you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she says. ¡°Of course. Let''s go.¡± I lock up Sulis and we head out into the early morning. We make our way down Main Street and then she hangs a left onto Mockingbird. She hangs another left into a back alley and pulls on what looks like the delivery door for a dry cleaning shop. Inside, faintly glowing, are candles arranged in a circle. The room is small and there are four doors, not including the one behind us. She picks the second door, twists the handle, and pulls it open. On the other side of the open gateway, the night market bustles with energy. The night market never shuts down. It''s terminally this busy. Around us, commerce thrives as cart owners shout their wares to the market goers. Money changes hands. Magick, power, curses. All of it for sale¡­ if you can afford it. The witch barista might be working. She won¡¯t be expecting me to show up with an adept. I¡¯m bringing a direct threat to her life and she has no idea. The sign for Coffee and Content is in sight. There has to be a way I can speak to her without alerting Cerulea. Maybe I can make eye contact with her, head to the bathroom, and wink at her as I go. Might end up with more than I¡¯m looking for, but maybe it will get the message across. Once through the door of C&C, I can tell that she isn''t there. There are several baristas behind the counter, none of whom are witches. ¡°Here we are,¡± Cerulea says. ¡°What a little pit of ugliness. Do hurry.¡± She takes a seat, looking none too pleased at the arrangement. At the counter I look over the menu, wishing I knew the name of the drink the barista had made me before, the last time I''d been in here. It''s the only thing, besides being in the Shadow Vaile, that has warmed me even the slightest. ¡°What can I get for you?¡± a barista asks. I smile at her and shrug. ¡°I don''t know.¡± No witch barista here. No way to find her. Just my luck¡­ I walked back to Cerulea and take a seat across from her. Cerulea raises an eyebrow. ¡°You didn''t get anything.¡± ¡°What?¡± I look down at the table between us. It''s empty. ¡°Oh,¡± I say, scrambling. ¡°Yeah, I was trying to think of what I wanted. You know, couldn''t decide.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± All I can do is shrug. Cerulea¡¯s upper lip curls back. ¡°So you needed to sit down to make up your mind? You couldn''t just do it up there at the counter?¡± ¡°You know how us sticks are.¡± Silvy appears at the center of the empty table. ¡°I don''t think she''s buying it. I wouldn''t buy it.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°What?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°Nothing.¡± We sit in silence for several moments before Cerulea breaks it. ¡°Well? What are you getting? We have a job to take care of.¡± ¡°I''m thinking.¡± I am thinking but not about what I''m going to order. How do I ask the barista if she knows someone I met one time two years ago? ¡°Well?¡± Cerulea glances at her watch. ¡°I don''t understand what the issue is. Why don''t you just buy two different things, take a sip of each, and then throw one away?¡± ¡°Some of us aren¡¯t made of money like you,¡± I snap. Time is ticking. Someone could¡¯ve already been killed in the time it¡¯s taking you to sort out how to ask a question. ¡°Then I''ll pay,¡± Cerulea says. ¡°This really is a waste of time.¡± Oh my God, my social failures are going to get someone in Nightsbridge killed. Time. Is. Ticking. ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Cerulea mutters. ¡°I cannot believe that Lebec stuck me with you. How useless.¡± I stand up, not really knowing what I''m going to do next, just knowing that I have to do something. My stomach buzzes. My head spins. The pressure. Everyone is counting on me. I turn away from Cerulea and walk back up to the counter. Improvisation. No plan, just hope it works out. ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± the barista says. ¡°Wasn''t sure if you were going to order anything the way you just walked off like that.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I say, chewing my lip. ¡°There were just so many choices. It was hard to decide. So, I decided¡­¡± My eyes scan the menu, trying to pick a single thing, not knowing what any of the drinks were. ¡°I decided¡­¡± The barista''s eyebrows lift in expectation. ¡°I decided to try whatever you suggest. You pick a drink, and I''ll drink it. I haven''t had a lot of these things, so that makes the most sense.¡± The explanation sounds cardboard, structurally empty, but if the barista realizes it, she doesn''t let on. She just shrugs and starts tapping on the panel in front of her. ¡°Have all of you in here worked here for a long time?¡± Silvy giggles from my shoulder. ¡°Fantastically smooth, darling. I really think you nailed down your meaning with that one. Such a good question.¡± ¡°Uh,¡± the barista answers as she works on my drink. ¡°Sort of? Turnover is kind of high. It''s a coffee shop.¡± I lean an elbow on the counter. ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°It''s a coffee and content shop.¡± I expect a laugh of some sort. The barista looks at me like I''ve just killed her cat. Silvy looks at me like she wants to die. I feel the same way. I clear my throat and try a different approach. ¡°So, this one time, I was in here and this barista made me a drink that wasn¡¯t on the menu.¡± I describe the witch barista, omitting the whole horns thing, and only get a blank stare in response. ¡°I''ve only worked here for two months,¡± the barista says. ¡°I have no idea.¡± ¡°Right. Of course not.¡± The barista puts the drink on the counter in front of me. In the glass is what looks like shimmery purple nail polish dotted with lime colored beads. I pay the barista who keeps glancing at me when she thinks I''m not paying attention. ¡°Oh look,¡± Cerulea says when I return holding my drink. ¡°The witch decides to return. What did you order?¡± I shrug. ¡°You spoke to that barista for so long I figured you''d at least know what you ordered.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, ¡°I had her pick the drink. I figure she works here, she knows what''s best.¡± Cerulea rolls her eyes. ¡°And that''s why you''ll never know what to order. That''s why every other time you come in here it''ll take just as long.¡± I glance back at the counter, trying to will the witch barista into being. The barista who just took my order stares back at me. ¡°Well¡­¡± Cerulea pulls out a small flat pane of glass and taps it several times. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lumadex,¡± she says with a shrug. ¡°I thought you¡¯d been to Anara before?¡± ¡°I have, but I''ve never seen a lumadex that small.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she says. ¡°Just drink your drink.¡± I take a sip of it and him surprised to find that even though it looks like nail polish and glass, it actually tastes nice. Something like currant, with an earthy herb underbelly. Sage maybe? It''s strange but filling. When I finish, I say, ¡°We can go now.¡± Cerulea stands and we leave our table. At the front door to C&C, I freeze. Standing on the other side of the glass door is the witch barista. There''s a name tag on her apron. Kiora. Her name is Kiora. Kiora''s eyes open wide when she sees who''s walking behind me. She looks like she''s trapped, caught. I shake my head ever so slightly and open the door. ¡°Excuse me,¡± I say as I brush past her and into the night market with Cerulea. She still works there. She still works there and her name is Kiora. I know who to ask for now. Chapter 7 Cerulea pipes up from behind. ¡°You still haven''t told me where we''re going. It might do to let your Austerium escort know.¡± ¡°You''ll find out. Don''t worry about it.¡± You''ll find out just as soon as I find out. As I think more about Kiora, my surprise and joy at seeing her slowly turns to anger at Cerulea. Had Cerulea let me sleep in even 30 minutes longer, we probably would''ve been in C&C during Kiora''s shift. I could go back in there¡­ If I go back in there though, Cerulea will surely know something''s up. What would I even do once inside? Order another drink? I need to go away for a little and then circle back. The only problem is I need to find something that''s quick so I can make it back before the end of Kiora''s shift. I could go to Bristlebloom and search for other witches, but if I do that, I''ll have to out the student. A prompt execution sponsored by the Austerium would follow. Alternatively, I could go to Beckeldorff''s. I could ask around about Pixie (and Filigree), but lie to Cerulea and say I''m looking into the witch''s death. Hex, how dare you¡­ A caster yelling into lumadex almost runs directly into me as I come to a halt. ¡°Watch where you''re going,¡± the caster says with a dirty look as he moves past. ¡°Why did you stop?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°What was her name?¡± I ask. ¡°Who?¡± Cerulea asks. I swallow. ¡°The student at Bristlebloom. The witch. What was her name?¡± Cerulea shrugs. ¡°I haven''t the slightest. Why does it matter?¡± I nod. Why would it matter? To the Austerium, the best type of witch is a dead one. ¡°I want it,¡± I say. ¡°You want what...¡± Cerulea raises an eyebrow. ¡°Her name.¡± Cerulea choose on her lip for half a second, looking me up and down, deciding if this fight is worth it. ¡°Fine.¡± She sighs. ¡°You''ll have it. Not now, obviously, but later.¡± ¡°When?¡± She rolls her eyes. ¡°By the end of the day. Can we get on with our business? Where are we going?¡± ¡°Somewhere you''re not welcome. Somewhere you¡¯ve never been.¡± Cerulea looks nervous then, but the nervousness fades into assured smugness. ¡°Really?¡± she asks. ¡°You don¡¯t know how travelled I am. Don''t embarrass yourself.¡± Silvy whispers from my shoulder, ¡°I could always drop her in the Shadow Vaile.¡± Cerulea licks her lips and her eyes dart around as she hears Silvy speak. ¡°I bet she''s never been there before.¡± It''s my turn to raise an eyebrow. ¡°Have you ever been to the Shadow Vaile, Cerulea? I wouldn¡¯t want to embarrass myself after all.¡± Cerulea swallows. ¡°No. And I don''t believe you have either.¡± Silvy giggles and I smile at Cerulea. ¡°Don''t tempt me, adept.¡± I spit the last word like she and so many others like her spit out the word witch. Cerulea''s eyes narrow, her chin lifts, and she turns away from me. ¡°Anytime you feel like telling me where we¡¯re going, I''d be grateful. This is growing tiresome and time is running out. You wouldn''t want another dead witch on your conscience.¡± ¡°You mean like the dead witch whose name we still don''t know?¡± Before Cerulea can respond, I turn away from her and move towards a bank of gateways. ¡°You''ll need me to go through those,¡± Cerulea calls from behind. ¡°Yeah. I''m counting on it. After that I won''t need you to get where I''m going though.¡± ¡°And where is it we¡¯re going? Nightsbridge? Do you really believe that you have a hot lead in stick town?¡± ¡°You''ll see¡­¡± * * * In Nightsbridge, we make our way to a back alley. In roughly the center of this alley is a door, just a regular gray, metal door, on the back of the building. The only thing that marks it in any sort of way is a tiny dot at the upper right-hand corner. A red dot. ¡°Where are we?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°Where is that door supposed to take us?¡± I smile at her. ¡°Where''s your sense of adventure?¡± ¡°Adventure is for children.¡± ¡°I agree, darling,¡± Silvy responds. I open the door and step through, the cool darkness inside enveloping me at once. Directly ahead is a steep staircase. The door closes behind us and darkness covers us. Cerulea snaps her fingers several times, each time letting out an angry grunt. ¡°What is this place?¡± she asks. ¡°Problem with your magick?¡± I asked. ¡°Where have you taken me?¡± ¡°Nowhere yet.¡± ¡°I just want to create a light. Why can''t I?¡± ¡°Where we are is warded. Don''t worry about it.¡± ¡°But I can''t see anything,¡± Cerulea complains. ¡°Stay close then.¡± We descend in the darkness for what feels like several minutes. Near the bottom of the staircase is a hollow step that makes a strange echoing sound. It''s a warning that you''re at the end of the staircase. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Grab a hold of my parka,¡± I say over my shoulder to Cerulea. ¡°If you get lost in here, you get lost forever.¡± I don''t really know if that''s true, but it will probably wipe some of the smugness off Cerulea''s face. For at least a couple of seconds. Cerulea complies, and I imagine her as a little child, holding onto the jacket of her parent. I step forward five steps, turn to the right and move three steps in that direction. Then I turn to my left and take an additional five steps. I reach for the doorknob and pull open one of the few gateways I can operate. A red glow spills onto the platform Cerulea and I stand on. She looks over to either side, there''s a sheer drop. ¡°What is this?¡± Cerulea asks, concern in her voice as she turns her attention to the open gateway. ¡°I told you,¡± I say. ¡°You''ll see.¡± I step through the gateway, holding it open for her. She enters and the gateway closes. Before us, in the red light, is a massive underground street studded with tall arches. This street extends far into the distance. Dotting the street are stands and carts, haphazardly placed as if they are nothing more than building blocks tossed across the floor by an angry child. There''s no order to it. In the night market, there are cries of stand owners, barkers calling for you to come forward and purchase their wares. The Red Market hums. Down here the stand owners whisper, never quite sure who they might be speaking to. Cerulea swallows. ¡°Is this where I think it is?¡± I pulled the hood of my parka a bit tighter around my horns. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°We thought the Red Market was somewhere in Anara. We never thought for a moment it would be located in the stick world.¡± I look at her and laugh. ¡°It''s not.¡± Cerulea shoots a glance back at the doorway we''d gone through. ¡°That was a gateway?¡± I nod. ¡°An official Austerium gateway?¡± ¡°Not all gateways are owned by the Austerium.¡± ¡°That''s illegal.¡± I shrug. ¡°Welcome to the Red Market.¡± ¡°I''m in the Red Market,¡± Cerulea repeats in a low voice. ¡°The Austerium is going to have a field day with this place when I get finished.¡± I laugh. ¡°That gateway isn¡¯t gonna be there the next time you go looking for it.¡± ¡°How did you know it would be there?¡± I smile at her. ¡°You have to be invited to the Red Market. Once the invitation has been extended, you can come and go at will. You, and the rest of the Austerium, aren''t invited. I am.¡± ¡°Then you could let us in. You could invite us in.¡± Silvy giggles. ¡°Darling, you''re embarrassing yourself. Best to quit while you''re ahead.¡± Cerulea opens her mouth to say something else, but closes it instead. We make our way through the Red Market, moving between carts, being given sideways glances by the cart owners. Thankfully, Cerulea isn''t dressed in official adept robes. She''s wearing a simple cloak, nothing that will give her away. About halfway down the street I turn left and enter an even darker alleyway. We walk in the dark for a few moments before finding ourselves standing before the place I''ve come to visit. The sign above the entrance reads Beckeldorff''s Tea Room. ¡°Enter at your own risk,¡± Cerulea says, reading the tinier sign out loud. ¡°Witches, sticks, and adepts will be executed on sight, on site.¡± I shrug. ¡°So what is it we¡¯re here for exactly?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°What do you hope to gain from this¡­ tea room¡­¡± ¡°That''s what I''m gonna find out. Everyone that knows anything about dark goings-on comes here. This is the central hub of it all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s 7 AM though. No one will be here.¡± I look at her. ¡°You don''t get it. This is when Beckeldorff''s is busiest.¡± ¡°At 7 AM? Are you serious?¡± I roll my eyes at Cerulea. ¡°When do most bad things happen?¡± ¡°Late at night. What does that have to do with this though?¡± ¡°Where do you think all the people doing the bad things go to blow off steam after they¡¯re finished with their work?¡± Cerulea''s mouth falls open. She looks at the tea room with a newfound respect. ¡°Well¡­ I guess that makes sense.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I say. ¡°Follow me. Don''t stand out. Don''t say anything about the Austerium, and for the love of all that is holy¡ª¡± The door to the tea room slams open and I grab it. A man stumbles out, putting his shoulder into me as he goes. I let it roll off of me and wait for him to keep moving. When he passes, Cerulea leans in. ¡°For the love of all that is holy what?¡± This will be fun¡­ I shrug and enter Beckeldorff''s Tea Room. While the Red Market is only lit with dim red light, Beckeldorff''s is slightly brighter and lit with yellow light. The light makes everyone in the place look like their kidney''s failed decades ago. Beat up tables are scattered about, none too close to any of the others. In the back of the room, cloaked in darkness, are several booths. I''m not sure if it''s magick, but none of the light in Beckeldorff''s hits those booths and only patrons who''ve earned the right to use them ever dare approach them. Beckeldorff''s may be called a tea room, but they only sell alcohol. Alcohol laced with magick. A circular bar slumps in the center of the room. If you''re not paying enough attention, your drink will slide right off the edge of the bar. I step up to the bar and glance over at sign hanging from a black chain. The sign announces the house special. ¡°Three voidmakers,¡± I order. The bartender grunts at me and sets up three shot glasses. He grabs a dusty, brown bottle, pulls a rotting cork from its mouth, and pours liquid into the glasses. Black specks dapple the clear liquid. I''ve never seen anyone order anything other than a voidmaker and I''m not about to make the mistake of being the first. The bartender re-corks the bottle and grabs a tiny blue vial the size of his pinky. Using a dropper, he allows a single pearl of oily liquid to fall into each of the shot glasses. When the pearl hits what''s already in the shot glass, it reacts, turning bright green and frothing almost over the edge. Once the foam recedes, the bartender pulls out three mugs and pours one shot into each mug. He then pulls out three circular balls the size of marbles. He drops them into the mugs and they clink when they hit the bottom. I know, from experience, that when you get to the bottom of your drink, there''s nothing there. No marble. The green liquid turns crimson and lifts until it makes it just to the lip of the mug. Once the bartender finishes, he points at a witchstone that''s recessed into the top of the bar. I swipe my fingertips across it, wait, and when it turns green, he nods at me. I hand a mug to Cerulea, place another mug in front of myself, and push the third mug to the left. Silvy hops down and before either Cerulea or I have time to bring our mugs to our lips, Silvy''s is gone. The bartender, used to seeing strange things, grunts in response, picking up the empty and setting it aside to be cleaned. Silvy sighs contentedly as I sip from my mug. ¡°You know,¡± she says, ¡°blood is delicious, but these do approach the throne.¡± Cerulea takes a tentative sip, and once the first bit is in her mouth, her eyes widen. ¡°I don''t¡­ I''ve never¡­¡± ¡°Relax,¡± I say under my breath. The initial rush whenever you first try a voidmaker is a high unlike anything else. It''s like being stimulated to the point beyond stimulation while also feeling like your muscles are drooping relaxed all the way down to the ground and through the floorboards. ¡°It''s fine,¡± I say. ¡°It¡¯ll ease up in about five seconds. Just relax.¡± I see her finally relax and look around Beckeldorff''s. ¡°Is the bartender Beckeldorff?¡± she asks when she can finally find words. ¡°The bartender?¡± I ask. ¡°No. I don''t know who Beckeldorff is. The bartender is always here, but everyone else in here, I don''t recognize.¡± Cerulea looks like she wants to say more but doesn''t say anything. Smart girl. I gesture at the table near the back of the room. ¡°Why don''t you go sit down over there. I''ll be over in a second. Stay away from the booths.¡± Cerulea nods, gets up from the bar, and wobbles her way over to the table. She does an admirable job. The first time I tried a voidmaker, I almost fell on my ass. I swallow and look at the bartender. ¡°I''ve got a question.¡± He glances at me and then around the room. ¡°Probably don''t have an answer,¡± he grumbles. ¡°Probably not. But here''s the thing, I think you do.¡± His eyes drift up from the bar and lock onto mine. Having eavesdropped on a lot of conversations in that tea room, I know a lot of the people in Beckeldorff''s only respond if the person talking to them is worth responding to. ¡°Ask your question,¡± he says. ¡°Thursday night,¡± I say. ¡°Did you see a stick girl in here?¡± The bartender laughs. ¡°You read the sign?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°I did.¡± We stare at each other for a long time before he finally shakes his head. ¡°No. No stick girl. No executions.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°What about a person named Pixie? Maybe a caster name Pixie?¡± The bartender''s eyes flick to the right, over my shoulder, and then back to me. ¡°Never heard of no one named Pixie.¡± Silvy purrs in my ear, ¡°I think he was looking at a booth in the back. Interesting.¡± ¡°What does Filigree mean to you?¡± His eyes get really big then and he stares over my shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s looking at that booth again,¡± Silvy whispers. ¡°Someone''s coming out. Someone''s approaching.¡± I turn and look at the cloaked figure making its way through the room. The people at the tables the cloaked figure passes hunch down, doing everything but cowering away from the figure. I glance over at Cerulea, but she isn''t paying attention. She''s staring at her mug, tasting tiny little sips with large eyes. Perfect. She''s so helpful. Love the Austerium. The cloaked figure takes a seat next to me and looks at the bartender. ¡°We have a problem, Clive?¡± the man asks and I recognize the voice. I''m not sure who it belongs to, but I''ve heard it before. ¡°Is this gutter rat giving you problems?¡± The bartender swallows, shakes his head no, and walks away. Gutter rat... Where have I heard that before? I turn on my barstool to face the cloaked figure. Don''t do this, Hex. This is such a bad idea. ¡°So,¡± I say, ¡°have you ever heard the name Pixie?¡± Stop while you¡¯re still alive. The cloaked figure doesn''t move. ¡°What about Filigree?¡± The cloaked figure¡¯s shoulders shift and he turns to face me. Gutter rat. Renald. Renald smiles and raises his voice to say, ¡°Beckeldorff''s patrons. There is a witch in our presence. I believe it''s time for an execution.¡± Chapter 8 Oh. So uhhhh, we''re going to die. I glance over at Silvy who''s lying on the bar, purring in her sleep. I glance over at Cerulea who''s staring at me with a confused, surprised look on her face. I stand up from the bar and look into the faces of the patrons. All eyes are on me. ¡°April fools?¡± Just a joke. We¡¯re joking. Ha ha. It''s a joke. Get it?¡± All of those sitting, stand at the same time. ¡°Oh.¡± I give everyone an impressed nod. ¡°Did y''all practice that?¡± No one speaks. ¡°Are there practices for when someone yells execution? You all stand up at the same time? What is it¡­¡± I glance over at Renald and lower my voice. ¡°Is it a five count?¡± I look back at the crowd and mouth, ¡°A ten count?¡± No one answers. No one says anything. ¡°Someone throw me a bone,¡± I mutter. When someone does throw something, it''s not a bone. It''s a mug. It sales right by my head and hits the bartender''s right shoulder. He yelps and turns around, staring accusations at me. I hold my own mug up as if to say, Look. Couldn''t have been me. I still have mine. ¡°You''re a witch,¡± he sneers. ¡°You know the rules.¡± ¡°Clive,¡± I say. ¡°I''ve been in here before. You know me. I pay well.¡± Clive doesn''t respond, just grins. I look over at Renald. ¡°Renald. I''ve seen you before. You know me. I beat your ass.¡± And why is he even in here? Is he stalking me? What are the odds that we both end up in the same place so soon after our first meeting? But that doesn''t make sense either. If he''d already been in that booth at the back, then he¡¯d been in here first. If anything, I was stalking him. I look around at the room of casters. I didn''t see any wizards who are clearly identified, but that''s the thing about wizards. They look just like everyone else unless they chose to stand out. I swallow. I could fight the room full of casters, but I would probably die and then who was going to help Pixie, or the dead witch girl whose name I still didn''t have. I glance over at the front door to Beckeldorff''s. If I run, at least I''ll survive. It''ll be embarrassing, but I still might be able to help Pixie and the dead witch girl. ¡°Cerulea!¡± I call over. ¡°We gotta go. Something''s uhhhhh, come up.¡± I glance to Renald. ¡°I''m sure you understand. We''ll do this again. Promise.¡± Cerulea stands up but seems oblivious to what''s going on. Being as she''s an adept, I''m kinda surprised at her lack of battle acuity and readiness. I walk towards the door, but before I make it even two steps, something whizzes past the left side of my head. I spin around. At first I think it''s another mug, but after failing to find who threw the object, I turn back to the door. That''s when I realize what the object was. A thick stone slab now stands in front of the door, courtesy of the thrown witchstone. ¡°Right,¡± I say aloud, ¡°so that''s not helpful. Anyone have the magical, uh, de-stoneifying-the-door witchstone?¡± Renald holds his hands up. ¡°Fresh out. Maybe I can sell you one. What do you say? $20,000? You won¡¯t find a better deal¡­¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I say, nodding, ¡°so we¡¯re quoting each other. Okay.¡± I grab my stomach with one hand and slip my other hand into my pocket as I give him a sad face. ¡°Ouch, my tummy hurts. Hex, do you have a witchstone for diarrhea?¡± There are some chuckles among the patrons in Beckeldorff''s. ¡°I never said that!¡± Renald turns bright red and whirls around to look at the chuckling patrons. He addresses them this time. ¡°I never said that!¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Behind him, I nod emphatically with a grimace and mouth, He said that. There are more chuckles and Renald whirls back around to face me. ¡°She''s a witch. Don''t you all get it. She''s a witch and she''s a stick.¡± My mind kicks into overdrive. I don''t have any witchstones that will allow me to break the stone slab covering the door. My best chance would be to deflect an attack from one of the casters onto the stone. Not ideal, but it''s my best chance unless Cerulea pulls her shit together. I take a deep breath and let it out. Looking over at the bartender, I shrug. ¡°Clive. I''m real sorry about what''s going to happen to your bar.¡± He looks at me, surprised. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They¡¯re gonna destroy it. I want you to keep a close eye on me though. I''m gonna be the one person who doesn''t break anything in here.¡± Clive spits on the ground and Renald shoots out a hand, pushing me in the chest. I stumble backwards and my arms flail out as I try to catch my balance against the bar. I hit a glass mug and it shatters on the ground. I glance over at Clive. ¡°One thing. I''m only gonna break one thing in the whole bar. You watch me. One thing.¡± Renald''s hands move to his pockets and I pull out the witchstone I prepared when I pretended to be Renald with diarrhea. Before either Renald or I got a chance to use our witchstones on each other though, Cerulea shouts from the back of the room. ¡°Hey!¡± We all turn in that direction. Cerulea steps up onto the table she was sitting at and kicks her mug away. I grimace, glancing over at Clive and mouth the words, Two things. Just two things. ¡°Attention, casters,¡± Cerulea shout. ¡°Let me have your attention. Everybody. Give me your attention.¡± This might all work out if I can just get her attention. I lift a finger. ¡°Um, Cerulea¡ª¡± Everyone ignores me and watches Cerulea. ¡°I am from the Austerium,¡± Cerulea says and I slump. Things are not going to work out. ¡°I am a licensed adept endowed with the power of¡ª¡± The room flips from quiet, rapt attention to chaos. Magic spells fly at a rapid pace, most of them targeting Cerulea, but a few targeting me. I crack the witchstone in my hand and roll to my left as magick flows through my fingertips. My hands suddenly feel heavy and my arms feel like rock. I glance down at my fingertips, seeing the cracks in stone where skin had once been . Perfect. I''m already faster than most people in Beckeldorff''s and now that I have fists of stone, I wanted to make a few people regret tussling with me. Especially if I caught them off guard. Renald sent his first spell at Cerulea and isn''t paying attention to me. I lunged forward, clipping him on the back of the head with my fists. He goes down on all fours, clutching the back of his head. Blood pools on the wooden floor of Beckeldorff''s. Silvy licks her lips as she watches each drop fall from Renald''s head. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I say. ¡°You can have some.¡± She pounces on his head, biting at the gash I''d put there and tearing away a chunk of skin. It hangs down from the front of her mouth. Renald screams, his hands flying to the back of his head as he bats at the open wound, screaming anew each time his hand hits the raw flesh. Silvy''s already back on the bar. She chews on the flap of skin she tore off his head. ¡°Not exactly what I meant,¡± I mumble as a spell hits me in the hip, knocking me to the side. I look down. My parka is singed. I scan the crowd. One of the patrons smiles at me, and I smile back, pulling back my hood so the people in the room can get their first glimpses of my horns. The sharpened, magenta edges gleam in the yellow light. The smile falls off the man''s face and he tries to pull another witchstone from his pocket. ¡°That was a single use spell?¡± I ask, shaking my head in disgust as I close the gap. ¡°You cheap, little man.¡± I hurl my rocky fist into his chest and he flies across the room, hitting a wall and sliding down to rest in a heap. Several other patrons look in my direction, noticing the horns for the first time and the twisted smirk on my lips. Beyond them, Cerulea fights off casters one at a time, her fingers tracing quick, surgical shapes through the air as she casts life magick spells. Tiny, glowing shapes fly in all directions, some missing their original target, but still hitting others beyond, knocking the new targets across the bar. She''s better than she looks. A lot better. Cerulea and I are making progress handling the patrons until one of them decides that none of this is worth it. A man close to the bar cracks a witchstone that glows incandescent white. Cerulea makes eye contact with me and I scream, ¡°Hit the ground. Liftstone!¡± What happens next happens in slow motion. Every object that wasn''t isn''t down in the tearoom, minus the man wielding the witchstone, lifts up two to three feet from the ground and then slams back down with the force of ten people pushing. I''m already covering my head so the worst I get is a cracked elbow and a banged knee. I can hear bones break and off in the distance I hear Cerulea scream. I struggle to get up as the caster who''d wielded the witchstone crumples to the floor with exhaustion. I shake my head. Too much power for him. He probably shaved five years off his life with that witchstone. Cerulea is already sitting up, but I see that her left arm twists away from her body at a grotesque angle. She gets up and limps towards the front door, limps towards me. The other casters lie there, moaning in pain. The only one who seems to be conscious of what''s happening is Renald . He glares at both of us. He slips his hand in his pocket and I mirror him. But, before he gets a chance to pull out a witchstone, Silvy is there at his neck, pressing a fang against his jugular and purring. Renald''s eyes grow wide and Silvy smiles, keeping the fang firmly pressed against his throat. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I say to Renald. ¡°Do it. No one will miss you.¡± Cerulea and I continue moving towards the front door as more of the patrons grow aware of what''s happening. We''re running out of time and if anymore become aware, it''s over for us. ¡°Can you break that?¡± I ask Cerulea, gesturing at the stone wall blocking the entrance to Beckeldorff''s. Cerulea traces a quick shape in the air and flex it at the wall, grimacing as her broken arm swings slightly. The glowing seal hits the slab in the direct center and it shatters, falling down to rubble around the front door. ¡°Nice,¡± I say. ¡°Pedigree,¡± Cerulea correct in the most pinched way possible. We make it through the front door and outside of Beckeldorff''s. Silvy appears on my shoulder. I glance at the door and then down the long alleyway leading out into the Red Market. Chapter 9 In order for us to make it out of the alley alive, we''re going to have to kill every single person who comes out of Beckeldorff''s. Flashes of the sleepless nights I''ve had since killing Geist in the Shadow Vaile play on loop in my head. Every night when I close my eyes for bed, I see his face. I see him getting dragged off, and I see Silvy perching atop a pyramid, licking blood from her whiskers. I swallow. This isn''t going to work. We need to get out of the alleyway. We need to escape before the people inside make it to the front door. I glance over my shoulder. The alleyway is too long. If we try to escape, they might hit us with a spell from behind, shoot us in the back. If I kill all the people in there, who knows what will happen to me, what will happen to my sanity. I glance at Cerulea''s broken arm. Outnumbered and with an adept who only has one functioning arm, the odds are stacked against us. Cerulea and I make eye contact. I make peace with what''s to come. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I ask. ¡°Ready?¡± she asks. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°They¡¯re about to come through that door. They''re not gonna stay in there and wait for us to leave.¡± ¡°Why would we wait for them to come through the door?¡± ¡°I like your thinking.¡± I looked over at her and smile. ¡°Let''s kill them all.¡± I widen my stance and slip my hand into my pocket, pulling out two witchstones that would make my skin invulnerable from any sort of piercing attack and another that would amp up my speed. Cerulea reaches over with her good arm and squeezes my wrist. ¡°We''re outnumbered.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°We''re outgunned.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°And your plan is to try to kill them all?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I take a deep breath and try to relax my shoulders. The fight will be long and painful. It will be worth it though if we made survive. At least, I think it will. Cerulea slips her hand into her pocket, pulls out a witchstone, and throws it sidearm at the door to Beckeldorff''s. The stone shatters and tendrils of green light stretch out from the center. Shining, green veins of light worm their way across the door and into the wall to either side. The glow fades as someone on the other side rattles the knob. I hear shoulders ram the door, but the door doesn''t budge. ¡°We don''t have to fight,¡± Cerulea says. ¡°My arm is broken. How did you think fighting them was gonna go?¡± ¡°Not like this,¡± I say. ¡°That''s a shame,¡± Silvy says from my shoulder. ¡°There would''ve been so much blood. So many different types to taste and feast upon.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Cerulea grows pale. ¡°I hate that thing.¡± Silvy disappears from my shoulder and reappears on Cerulea''s shoulder. ¡°You love this thing,¡± she whispers into Cerulea''s ear. Cerulea jumps, her shoulders spasming. While Cerulea swipes at her shoulder with her good arm and Silvy keeps disappearing to the opposite shoulder to whisper threats into Cerulea''s ear, I stare at the sealed door to Beckeldorff''s. I''d been ready. I''d made peace with myself. I chew on my lip. They know about Pixie. They know who she is, and now Cerulea''s blocked this avenue of questioning from me. I watch Cerulea and Silvy for a few moments before my eyes grow wide. ¡°Silvy,¡± I snap. Both Silvy and Cerulea halt at once. ¡°Can you open a portal into there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Silvy hisses. ¡°Yes, let''s go back in and kill them all.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, shaking my head. ¡°That''s not what I mean. Can you open a portal so that I can stick my head in, preferably in a dark corner of the room, and hear what they''re saying?¡± Cerulea sneers. ¡°Eavesdrop? How pedestrian.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I say, not swayed by her annoyance in the slightest. ¡°But it could work.¡± Silvy hops off Cerulea¡¯s shoulder and opens a portal on the wall next to me. The thing about portals is there''s no warning. They just appear when Silvy makes one. I put my head in the portal and look around, trying to figure out where I am. Beckeldorff''s is upside down. I''m at the center of the room, behind one of the rafters in the ceiling. There''s a group of casters at the front door, trying to open it, using witchstones and other sorts of magick to force it. It''s not budging though. Renald is standing at the back of the tea room. He''s speaking to someone sitting in one of the darkened booths. I pull my head out of the portal. ¡°Can you move the other side of the portal closer to that booth?¡± She slips her head in and nods as she pulls it out. ¡°Done.¡± I stick my head back through the portal and look around. Silvy''s placed the portal in one of the darkened booths. From what I can tell, the portal is on the cushion of the booth next to the one containing the person Renald is listening to. ¡°You simply must do better,¡± a voice I don''t recognize says. The voice is lower pitched, with a slight accent I can''t place. It sounds like a person who thought themselves smarter than they truly were. ¡°I think she''s following me,¡± Renald says. ¡°I don''t like to say it, but I think she followed me here.¡± ¡°Do you?¡± the voice asks. ¡°And why would you believe that? Why wouldn''t this all just be a coincidence?¡± ¡°I tried to get the witchstone for you. I went there, tried to buy it, but she wouldn''t sell it to me.¡± ¡°You went there.¡± The man lets the statement hang in the air. I hear Renald swallow. ¡°Yes. I was trying to¡ª¡± Renald''s voice chokes off in a gurgle as the other voice interrupts. ¡°And now you believe that she''s following you because you let her know you were interested in the witchstone.¡± A wet croaking sound is all that comes from Renald. ¡°I''m not quite sure what that means, but I''ll take it to mean you¡¯re apologizing. You shouldn''t have gone there. It was a mistake.¡± More wet croaking from Renald. ¡°Right. Here''s what I want you to do. Stay away from that little witch. Stay away from her shop. You''ve screwed things up enough as is.¡± More croaking, only this time a wheeze accompanies it. The man in the booth chuckles with amusement. ¡°Why, Renald, I think you¡¯re dying. You know the funny thing about dying?¡± The wheeze weakens. ¡°The funny thing about dying is that your blood stays right where it is when you''re dead. In fact, you become even easier to use once you''re dead.¡± There''s no noise in response. Oh god. He''s a blood caster or... I close my eyes, instantly transported back to the Shadow Vaile, back to my battle with Geist. The voice from the booth continues. ¡°I can take your body, walk you right home, and pay your wife and daughter a nice, sweet visit. Do you think they''d enjoy that?¡± There''s no response at all from Renald. ¡°Renald!¡± The man snaps twice. ¡°Renald, you¡¯re turning blue and embarrassing yourself. I feel as though you¡¯re hardly paying me any attention.¡± A sudden blast of coughing and choking erupts. Renald can breathe again apparently. ¡°Now listen,¡± the man says when Renald pulls himself together. ¡°We have Pixie and we know where to find Filigree. All we need is the witchstone and it''ll be finished.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Renald wheezes. ¡°I promise you, this time I won''t fail.¡± ¡°I know you won''t,¡± the man says. ¡°How could you? You won''t be involved.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°You heard me, you''re done. You''re finished. You''re out.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± The other man interrupts again and this time his voice is so much lower. Darker with the promise of things to come. ¡°Walk away.¡± I hear Renald swallow again and then I hear his footsteps moving away. I pull my head out of the portal and Silvy closes it. So they are the ones who¡¯d kidnapped Pixie¡­ Chapter 10 Cerulea casts some sort of spell that immobilizes her arm. I want to go back into Beckeldorff''s, I want to interrogate the man who was talking about Pixie, but I can''t beat everyone in there without her help, her full, two-armed help Cerulea stares at me, waiting for me to tell her what I heard. ¡°Let''s go back to C&C,¡± I say. ¡°We''ll talk there, where it''s safe.¡± Sure, Cerulea and I will talk, but it''ll also allow me to have a word with Kiora. * * * When we open the door to Coffee and Content, I frown. Kiora isn''t behind the counter. Fuck. All this for nothing? We step in and Cerulea grabs a table. She raises her eyebrow at me and says, ¡°I need to call Lebec.¡± She holds up her twisted arm. ¡°I need to go to Epione.¡± I nod. There''s not a whole lot else I can do. Slowly I make my way to the counter, trying to figure out where Kiora is. Did I spook her? Did she go home for the day? Did she quit? A barista (not Kiora) meets me at the counter and asks, ¡°What can I get started for you?¡± ¡°Uh,¡± I say in a quiet voice, ¡°is Kiora working today? She usually takes my order.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± the barista says. ¡°She''s on her break right now, but I can send her over when she comes back.¡± I point out the table where Cerulea is sitting. ¡°I''ll be at that table. She doesn''t need to come over, just have her get my attention.¡± The barista nods and I had back over to the table. As I sit down, two people enter C&C. Two witches. They see me, glance at my horns, and quickly glance away as if my horns are invisible. The two witches walk arm in arm, making sure not to make eye contact. They speak to the barista at the counter and take a seat. Did they ask for Kiora to? They make very sure not to so much as glance in my general direction. Their horns are interesting. They''re like mine, but longer and thicker. They have the same green color to them and almost fuzzy appearance as the dead witch at Bristlebloom. ¡°I know,¡± Cerulea says into the lumadex, glaring down at the table. ¡°Yeah, I know. I told her that.¡± ¡°This sounds bad for you,¡± Silvy says from my shoulder. Cerulea signs and ends the call. ¡°He''s pissed.¡± ¡°And? Lebec''s mood has no effect on me.¡± ¡°No, I mean he''s extremely pissed.¡± ¡°Neat.¡± I shrug. ¡°I don''t work for the Austerium. None of this means anything to me.¡± Cerulea lanes in. ¡°Oh, but it does. You see, I now know that you have intimate knowledge of the Red Market.¡± ¡°So,¡± I say, glancing to the counter. Kiora still isn''t back. ¡°What do you mean, so? Don''t you get it. You''re a witness. The Austerium wants to bring you in for questioning.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I think about the nameless witch hanging lifeless in her dorm room. I think about Pixie. If the Austerium wants to bring me in for questioning, they won''t be quick about releasing me. They''ll take their time. ¡°That''s not gonna happen,¡± I say in a low voice. ¡°You don''t have a choice. Lebec is on his way here right now.¡± I swallow. This is not going the way I want it to. I want to talk to Kiora. I want to see what she knows about the witch at Bristlebloom. I don''t want to be taken to the Austerium. I know what my odds are there. They''re the ones who exiled me for some vague number of years so what chance do I have with them? I bite on my lip and ask, ¡°What about your arm? Am I going with you to Epione?¡± ¡°No.¡± Cerulea rolls her eyes. ¡°Lebec''s coming here to escort you to the Austerium. He''s taking you in himself. I''m going to be replaced.¡± I nod slowly. ¡°Right. Okay.¡± What can I do? How am I gonna get away? It''s at that moment that I see Kiora walk back behind the counter, talk to the barista who I''d spoken to earlier, and turn her attention to me. ¡°I''ll be right back,¡± I say to Cerulea. ¡°The barista I was looking for is here.¡± Cerulea''s eyes narrow and she frowns at me, but she doesn''t stop me. I get up and head to the counter. Kiora gives me a large, fake smile and says, ¡°What can I get for you today?¡± ¡°A drink that will warm me up,¡± I say. Kiora nods. ¡°Coming right up.¡± Why is she acting so fake with me? When I walked up, I saw her eyes widen. She knows exactly who I am. We both could see each other''s horns. As Kiora works, she keeps glancing up at me. When she gives me my drink, she mutters something under her breath that I only barely catch. ¡°Bathroom. Go there as soon as you finish your drink,¡± she says, and then raises her voice. ¡°That''ll be $3.73.¡± I drag my fingers across the witchstone embedded in the counter and take a sip of the drink, feeling its warmth flow through my veins and warm my skin. For the first time in two years I''m warm again. I breathe out a sigh of relief, finish the rest of the drink in a single swig, and put the empty cup on the counter. I glance back at Cerulea, point at the bathroom, and head in that direction under her annoyed glare. Once in the women''s bathroom I check to see if it''s empty. It is. When the door opens again, Kiora enters. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asks. ¡°You brought an adept.¡± ¡°She doesn''t know who you are. She doesn''t know what you are.¡± ¡°Fine. Still, why are you here?¡± ¡°There was a death at Bristlebloom.¡± Kiora choose on her lip for half a second before her eyes fill with tears. ¡°Oh shit,¡± I say. ¡°You knew her.¡± Kiora nods. ¡°What was her name?¡± ¡°Arbor,¡± she says. ¡°Arbor,¡± I repeat. ¡°Okay. Do you know what happened to her?¡± Kiora shakes her head. I say, ¡°The Austerium thinks another witch killed her. That''s what they''re going with.¡± ¡°Doesn''t make any sense,¡± Kiora says, wiping at her tears. ¡°That''s just what they¡¯re going with. There was some blood magick luma around her ankles though.¡± ¡°Blood magick? You¡¯re sure?¡± I nod. ¡°I saw it. I''m not sure if that''s how they killed her, but there was definitely red luma at the scene.¡± ¡°I know that she was going to Nightsbridge,¡± Kiora says. ¡°She was dating a boy there.¡± ¡°Do you know what his name was?¡± ¡°Dan? Dom?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I''ll help you anyway that I can.¡± I nod. ¡°Do you know of way out of here? I kind of took that adept I brought with me to the Red Market and now the Austerium wants to bring me in for questioning it. I have too much on my plate to deal with them right now.¡± ¡°No. I don''t have a way out.¡± Silvy will probably have to get me out of here. And that means a trip through the Shadow Vaile in order to get back to Nightsbridge. I don''t want to think about the Shadow Vaile. ¡°Who are the two witches out there?¡± Kiora raises her eyebrow. ¡°There are two witches out there?¡± ¡°Yeah. They walked in, spoke to the barista at the front, and took a seat.¡± ¡°They didn''t order anything?¡± ¡°Not that I could tell. They were sitting off to the side, near the wall.¡± ¡°What color were their horns?¡± Kiora seems almost scared. ¡°Green,¡± I say. ¡°Fuzzy.¡± Kiora blanches. ¡°No,¡± she says. ¡°I thought I had more time.¡± ¡°More time?¡± I ask. She chews on her lip for a second and shakes her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It doesn''t concern you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Kiora stares off into the distance. ¡°Is there anything I can help with?¡± I ask. ¡°What? No.¡± ¡°Okay. Well, thank you. I''d like to come back and see you. Assuming they let me back into Anara.¡± Kiora fixes me with a look. ¡°I don''t think I¡¯m going to be back here anytime soon.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I''m just not. Like I said, don''t worry about it.¡± I open my mouth to ask a question, but the door to the bathroom opens and Cerulea enters. She waits for the door to close and then leans against it, staring at the two of us. ¡°So, ladies,¡± she says. ¡°What''s going on in here?¡± Before Kiora has a chance to speak, I start talking. ¡°I know Kiora from when I was at Bristlebloom. She''s one of the few students I made friends with. I was asking if she knew Arbor. She says she didn''t.¡± ¡°Arbor,¡± Cerulea raises an eyebrow. ¡°Is that her name? The witch''s name? Arbor?¡± ¡°Shit,¡± Kiora says from behind me. Cerulea''s hand slips into her pocket and I lunge forward without thinking. I elbow her chin as hard as I can. Cerulea, looking surprised, and still indignant, stumbles to the side. ¡°Silvy,¡± I bark. ¡°Portal. Now.¡± I grab Kiora''s hand and pull her close to me as a portal opens below us. We fall through. Into the Shadow Vaile. Chapter 11 As we float downwards, Kiora relaxes her hand, but I clinch tighter. ¡°You don''t want to let go here,¡± I whisper. ¡°There are things already watching us, already preparing.¡± Her own fingers clamp down on mine. ¡°Good,¡± I whisper. We''re in a part of the Shadow Vaile I''ve never seen. Off in the distance, right on the horizon, is a faint green light, spreading its ill brightness across the landscape. And that landscape is completely barren. It looks like a desert floor, just dirt and sand. As we continue falling, my eyes search for Silvy. Where is she? What is she doing? Kiora gives my fingers a sharp squeeze, bringing my attention back to her. I never should''ve brought Cerulea into Coffee and Content. I caused this. This is all my fault. Below us the empty landscape looks to be sinking, but then I see what''s really happening. It''s not sinking at all. The depression tears open into a mouth and inside, lining the edges, are squirming creatures. Three-headed snakes with needles as teeth. Red and green eyes gleam. Kiora lets out a little cry and I put my arm around her, wrapping her in a hug so she won''t look down. Before we get any closer to the gaping maw, a portal opens below us and we slip through. We hit the lobby of Sulis hard. Kiora rolls off to the side and I see tears on her face. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I ask. Sitting on the ground, she pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. She doesn''t speak. ¡°Kiora, are you okay?¡± She slowly shakes her head no and I search the lobby of Sulis for Silvy. She sits on the first step of the staircase. ¡°What was that?¡± I ask. ¡°We¡¯re not related.¡± Silvy shrugs. ¡°If it bothers you that much, bring some water next time. Most creatures from the Shadow Vaile hate water.¡± ¡°No, not that. I mean why did it take so long?¡± ¡°That''s just how it is sometimes, darling,¡± Silvy says. ¡°The Shadow Vaile is always moving, changing. It¡¯s alive you know.¡± Kiora whispers, ¡°It felt like being in Belladonna. For the first time in so long I was warm.¡± I nod. I know exactly how she feels. Even though I''d had the drink she¡¯d given me moments before, being in the Shadow Vaile was a completely different experience. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Drinking the drink she made me was like putting on a coat that had been sitting on a heater after walking outside in the cold. Being in the Shadow Vaile was like slipping into a sauna. Instant warmth versus following warmth. ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°I know what you mean.¡± My mind slips back to Arbor. Arbor and Pixie, but right now I need to focus on Arbor. ¡°How did you know that Arbor was dating Dan?¡± Kiora shakes her head. ¡°I really think his name is Dom, and she isn''t dating him. She''s seeing him.¡± I raise my eyebrows. You said dating earlier. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask. ¡°He was tutoring her.¡± Dating to seeing to being tutored. ¡°Tutoring her? Tutoring her in what?¡± ¡°Scheme.¡± I chew on my lip. I didn''t know they had tutors for that. ¡°Personal coaching?¡± Kiora suggests. ¡°I''m not sure. All I know is that he was teaching her.¡± ¡°So Arbor wanted to learn how to play scheme. Why?¡± ¡°I don''t know,¡± Kiora says. ¡°If I did, maybe we wouldn''t be here.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I say, ¡°but maybe we still would. There must''ve been some reason why she was learning.¡± Some reason you¡¯re not telling me. Kiora chews on her lip. ¡°What?¡± I ask. ¡°There''s something else.¡± Something else. Always a bad sign. ¡°Oh?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, they were meeting here.¡± ¡°In Sulis?¡± ¡°No. In Nightsbridge. This is where he was tutoring her.¡± This doesn¡¯t make any sense. Why would a scheme tutor be teaching a witch scheme in the stick world? Why not in Anara? ¡°Where?¡± I ask. ¡°I don''t know where. I don''t know Nightsbridge.¡± ¡°What did Arbor say about the place where she was learning? Did she ever describe it?¡± Kiora starts to shake her head no but stops. ¡°She said it was old. She said there were broken boards. Broken windows.¡± There''s only one abandoned house in all of Nightsbridge. The rest of the abandoned houses have been burned down or leveled, shiny new houses or developments taking their place. The only abandoned house left is on the outskirts of the town, right up against my exiled boundary. ¡°Did she say it was on the outskirts?¡± I ask. Kiora shakes her head. ¡°She just said it was in Nightsbridge. She didn''t specify where in Nightsbridge.¡± I nod. ¡°She was there the night¡ª¡± Kiora¡¯s words choke off in a quick sob. She takes a moment before trying to speak again. ¡°Have you been there a lot?¡± ¡°To that house? No. But I¡¯ve seen it a few times driving¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Kiora interrupts, ¡°the Shadow Vaile. Have you been there a lot?¡± I shrug. ¡°Several times. I don''t go unless I have to, if that''s what you''re asking.¡± ¡°Growing up on Belladonna, we were taught that anyone who visited the Shadow Vaile, even once, was cursed. I''m cursed. You¡¯re cursed.¡± ¡°I mean, I''m cursed, sure.¡± I glance up to my horns and back to Kiora. ¡°But you''re not cursed. The Shadow Vaile is just a place.¡± Silvy chuckles from the step she''s lying on. ¡°It''s so much more than just a place.¡± Kiora shakes her head. ¡°It''s supposed to be were all luma is created. It''s the source.¡± I don''t know much about the history of the Lumaverse, or its mythology, but I shake my head. ¡°I thought the Builder was the source?¡± Kiora shakes her head. ¡°The Shadow Vaile came first. The Builder was born in the Shadow Vaile and left once he grew tired of the darkness.¡± I nod, not really understanding, but what am I supposed to do? Argue with her? My mind drifts away from the Builder and onto Arbor, onto that abandoned building where this Dom guy was supposedly tutoring her on how to play scheme. There''s a lot of money in scheme if you can play it well. There are underground tournaments where you can even play a deadly variety called Death Scheme. Original, I know. I''d played several games of this variety. Only when I was at my lowest and needed to quickly come up with rent for the Austerium gateway. Kiora looks over at me again and I can see that there''s fear in her eyes. She''s scared of me. Because I''ve gone to the Shadow Vaile several times? Seems like a strange thing to be afraid of someone for. It has to be something else. I decide to change the subject. ¡°Those two witches who came to visit you. Who were they?¡± ¡°They''re from Hive Duress.¡± ¡°That means nothing to me. What did they want?¡± Kiora doesn''t speak for a long time, but when she does, she doesn''t answer the question. ¡°You have to help me.¡± ¡°Help you? Help you what?¡± ¡°You have to help me get back to Belladonna. Those witches want to kill me. They''re from a warring hive.¡± Chapter 12 I want to ask Kiora more questions about the witch hives of Belladonna, but there''s something more pressing. The abandoned house. If Arbor was there the night she was murdered, maybe that''s where the murder took place. It''s been a day or so since Arbor was found so I''m not expecting the murderer to still be hanging around the abandoned house. The murder has to be this Dom guy. Secret tutoring sessions for a magickal card game? Seems like a recipe for death to me. What''s the motive though? Why would he tutor her if he was only going to kill her in the end? Was it a lure? Was it to make her feel comfortable before he went through with it? ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°How are you going to get me back to Belladonna?¡± I try to come up with a feasible reason to go to the abandoned house and see if Dom is around or if anybody in the area has seen him. I don''t have time to figure out how to access a place I''ve never been to. I know Cerulea will be coming to Sulis soon, and probably with Lebec. And then there''s the problem of Renald. He might know about Sulis as well. I chew on my lip and look at her. ¡°So, here''s the thing¡­¡± She frowns, but I continue. ¡°Cerulea knows about this place. And if she also knows that you''re a witch, she''s probably getting back up before coming here. We need to get out of here.¡± ¡°Where do we go?¡± she asks. I lick my lips. I know exactly where I''m going to go: the abandoned house. The problem is I don''t know if I want to tell her that. ¡°Someplace safe,¡± I finally say. ¡°Someplace they won''t think to look for you, or me.¡± She nods and Silvy appears on my shoulder. ¡°I can''t believe you''re doing this,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Lying to her, leading her out there. I''m almost impressed, darling.¡± I don''t respond and I hope that Kiora can''t hear her. ¡°Open a portal,¡± I say in a quiet voice. Kiora''s eyes grow wide and she shakes her head. ¡°No. No I think that''s a bad idea. We shouldn''t do that. I don''t want to go back to the¡ª¡± A heavy shudder interrupts her sentence. ¡°¡ªthe Shadow Vaile.¡± I hold my hands up. ¡°Relax. We only have to go through the Shadow Vaile if we¡¯re moving from Anara to the stick world, or in the opposite direction. We don''t have to do it if we''re going to a stick location from a stick location. It''s an instantaneous process.¡± ¡°A pity,¡± Silvy whispers. ¡°I would''ve enjoyed returning again today. To see my friends. My family. My countrymen.¡± What I don''t tell Kiora is that the portal still passes through the Shadow Vaile, you just never see it because it happens so fast. ¡°Please make this portal one where we won''t fall over,¡± I whisper to Silvy. ¡°Where''s the fun in that?¡± Silvy asks. The portal opens on the wall of Sulis, right next to the mirror that''s a gateway into the back room of Blackhart. I approach the black portal, looking back at Kiora. ¡°Come on. It''s not the Shadow Vaile. Don''t worry.¡± ¡°Why is it so black then?¡± Because it''s really the Shadow Vaile. ¡°That''s just how it looks. Don''t worry about it. Just step through and as soon as your head goes to the other side, you''ll be able to see.¡± Kiora nods and I walk through. The smell of grass and warm wood hit me immediately. In front of me though all I can see is an empty field. Trash letters it. There are destroyed Styrofoam cups, wrappers from fast food joints, straws. To my left I see a mound of diapers with a toothpick stuck at the top like it was some kind of hors d''oeuvre. I shudder and turn around. Silvy placed the portal on the wall of the abandoned building. It looms above me, two stories in height. I didn''t remembered it being two stories. In my mind it''s only one story, no more than a three room shack, but what I''m looking at here is different. Kiora comes through the portal next, arms hugging her shoulders as if to protect herself. She looks around, confused until she turns. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± she asks. ¡°It''s the abandoned house. No one else knows about Dom, right?¡± She shrugs. ¡°So no one should think to look for us out here, right?¡± She shrugs again, not sold on it. We walk around to the front of the house, looking at all the broken glass on the ground. Why is the glass outside? Shouldn''t it be inside? Don''t kids usually throw rocks from outside a building into it to break windows? We walk to the front door. A piece of paper is nailed there. The paper is weatherworn and some of the ink has dripped. I''m surprised it''s still there at all. ¡°It''s magick,¡± Silvy whispers. ¡°I can see the luma around it.¡± Frowning, I read the words. Meetings by appointment only. No walk-ins. A sign on the outside of an abandoned building seems like a joke. ¡°I really just want to go back to Belladonna,¡± Kiora says. ¡°Please. Can you help me get there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I say, not really meaning it but fine with telling her that for now. ¡°Let''s just go in here first. We¡¯re here, no one expects us to be out here, it will be fine.¡± I''m already at the abandoned building, I''m not about to turn away. I knock on the door, expecting a man dressed in an immaculate suit to pull it open and send us away because we don''t have an appointment. No one answers. I twist the knob, look at Kiora with raised eyebrows, and push the door open. It opens a fourth of the way before bumping into something and stopping. The gap is wide enough for me to stick my head in so I lean in and look around. Down on the ground is a rolled up carpet. I frown and lean my weight against the door, feeling the carpet on the other side slowly start to slide away. When the door is open, we walk in and look around. There is no dust whatsoever anywhere. The entryway is completely clean. No trash. No glass. What is this place? I close the door behind us and we make our way out of the entryway and into the living room. A massive chandelier hangs from the ceiling, crystals glittering in the sunlight that shines through the windows. How did a chandelier like this survive in an abandoned building for this long? There is a table at the center of the living room with four chairs surrounding it. There are faint chalk marks on the wooden table¡¯s surface, chalk marks that I recognize from scheme. Okay, so scheme was being played here. ¡°Oh God,¡± Kiora whispers under her breath. I turn to my right to see what she''s looking at. There''s a staircase and up near the top, just out of view I can see two feet. They''re hanging down, barely swaying to the left and right. I close my eyes. That better not be Dom. He better not have hung himself. I slowly make my way to the staircase. Expecting to see a hanging body, I see something else entirely. The body isn''t hanging from a rope. It''s floating. Nothing attaches it to the ceiling above. Before me is a man in a dress shirt and pants . No shoes. I can''t see his face as his head is tipped back like he''s gazing up at the stars. His arms hang down at his sides, fingers spread out and extending towards the ground. Another body floats two feet behind him. None of the bodies show any decomposition. I start up the staircase, realizing that behind the second body is a third, a fourth, and a fifth. I press my body against the wall, not wanting to touch any of the floating bodies as I make my way to the second floor. The second floor is a nightmare compared to the staircase. There''s an entire labyrinth of floating people. All of them have their eyes shut, all of them stare up at the ceiling, all of them float. I frown, Arbor''s murder scene coming back to me. She''d been floating too. Floating upside down, sure, but floating. ¡°Silvy,¡± I whisper, convinced that if I speak too loudly all the faces will turn in my direction and all the eyes will open to stare at me. ¡°Can you tell what kind of magick was used here? Was it blood magick like with Arbor?¡± Silvy shakes her head. ¡°It¡¯s life magick.¡± My eyes narrow. ¡°Life magick? You''re sure?¡± Silvy nods. ¡°There''s a ball of life magick above each of these people. It''s what''s making them float. It''s holding them up.¡± ¡°Are they dead?¡± ¡°I could always open one up,¡± Silvy suggests. ¡°See if they bleed.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say. I look behind me, expecting to find Kiora. She isn''t there. She must still be downstairs. As if in answer, she calls up from the bottom of the stairs. ¡°There''s a button on the wall. Should I push it?¡± Silvy spoke before I had a chance, imitating my voice, ¡°Yes. Push it.¡± Before I even have a chance to say no, a change occurs on the second floor. The floating bodies begin moving, floating in single file lines. As I watch, I realize what I''m seeing. ¡°That fucker.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Kiora says from the bottom of the staircase. The bodies travel in single file lines, moving this way and that upstairs before moving towards the staircase where they go down to the last stair and then return. If you''ve ever seen an automated clothes rack at a drycleaners, that''s what this looks like. Only instead of hanging shirts, dresses, and suits, human bodies float down to the bottom of the staircase before filing backup. ¡°Push the button again,¡± I call down. The bodies quit moving and I make my way back down the staircase. I look over at the scheme table and back to the staircase. ¡°I don''t understand.¡± ¡°You''re not the only one.¡± ¡°Right. So as interesting as this is, can you please help me get back to Belladonna?¡± We''re at the scene where her friend might''ve been murdered, but the only thing she can think about is getting back to Belladonna? She¡¯s lying again. ¡°Who were those two witches in C&C?¡± I ask. ¡°I already told you that.¡± I cross my arms. ¡°Really though. Who were they?¡± She opens her mouth to answer but closes it when I shake my head. ¡°You were about to lie.¡± She swallows. ¡°We were dating.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Arbor and I. We were together.¡± I study her closely, and when she notices this, she starts crying. ¡°We were,¡± she says. ¡°I didn''t tell you because I was afraid you would think I was the one who killed her.¡± ¡°I''m not the police,¡± I say. ¡°So you were dating. I don''t understand.¡± Kiora starts crying harder. ¡°You wouldn''t. You''re not from Belladonna.¡± ¡°So make me understand.¡± She takes a deep breath, calms herself, and shakes her head. ¡°They''re after you now too.¡± ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Those two witches. They¡¯re with the Royal Guard. They''re not from another hive. I lied.¡± I close my eyes. Royal Guard. Everything slides into place. ¡°Arbor was royalty?¡± I asked. ¡°On Belladonna?¡± Kiora nods. ¡°So a Belladonna royal was murdered in Bristlebloom.¡± Kiora nods again. ¡°And you were dating this Royal? She nods. ¡°And if the Royal guard was there to see you, they must have known about it.¡± ¡°They saw you too,¡± she says. ¡°Shit. They think I''m involved, don''t they?¡± ¡°She was a runaway. She came here to get away from Belladonna. She didn''t want to be a royal. She didn''t want to be a princess.¡± ¡°And you helped her?¡± Kiora nods. ¡°It''s all my fault. She came here for me. I left Belladonna first and she followed me. She''s dead because of me.¡± Chapter 13 ¡°The only way she can be dead because of you is if you were the one who killed her. Did you?¡± ¡°No!¡± Kiora says. ¡°I loved her. I didn''t kill her.¡± I take a deep breath. This development aside, I need to find Dom. He''s the one who would have the answers. Was Arbor killed so she could become another one of those weird floating bodies? What are the bodies being used for? ¡°How do we get you home?¡± I ask. ¡°I need a shadowstone.¡± I raise my eyebrows. ¡°A shadowstone? Really?¡± She nods. Shadowstones are witchstones that open tiny bubbles into the Shadow Vaile. They essentially speed up time where they¡¯re thrown. If you drop one at your feet, a bubble will pop up around you and you''ll be moving so fast that the rest of the world seems frozen. ¡°How is that gonna help you get to Belladonna?¡± I ask. Kiora stares at me for a long time before finally shaking her head no. ¡°It''s not my place to say.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°Go to Belladonna first. If they decide you''re allowed to know, then you''re allowed to know. I can''t make that decision. I would be betraying my entire species.¡± ¡°Can''t have a species betrayer on our hands¡­¡± She stares at me, unsure of how to react. ¡°That was a joke,¡± I say. ¡°Oh.¡± She nods slowly. ¡°It was funny.¡± Silvy starts giggling, but I ignore her. ¡°So I need to find Dom and you need a shadowstone.¡± The only way I know of to find Dom is to get another witchstone from Blackhart. A locationstone. Add in the stone Renald wants¡ªwell¡­ the stone his boss, whoever that is wants¡ªand that makes three stones I need to retrieve. I need to figure out what the stone they want really does. As far as I know it only amplifies the user''s magick ability. I don''t think it''s so powerful that it would cause all the trouble it has. ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± I say. ¡°We''ll go back to Sulis and sneak into Blackhart.¡± ¡°You can''t just open a portal into Blackhart?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No. It doesn''t work like that.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I lick my lips. ¡°Blackhart isn¡¯t exactly in Anara. It exists in a tiny bubble within the Shadow Vaile.¡± ¡°You work in the Shadow Vaile? How do you not¡ª¡± She quits speaking, trying to work her head around it. I shrug and recite a shortened version of the lumadex entry for Blackhart. ¡°It is said that Blackhart can only be held by a Covington.¡± She frowns at that. ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?¡± I shrug. ¡°I don''t know. Something about our blood keeps us from losing our minds.¡± She nods. ¡°Okay, so we have to go to Sulis to get into Blackhart and you''ll get my shadowstone?¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°You''ll buy a shadowstone.¡± She nods. ¡°I guess I don''t need money if I¡¯m going back to Belladonna.¡± I''m not trying to hold her over a barrel or anything, but if she''s gonna give me all her money because she''s leaving this plaine, I''m not about to stop her. ¡°Okay,¡± I mutter. ¡°I need a location stone, a shadowstone, and the stone Renald wants. ¡° Kiora perks up. ¡°You know Renald?¡± Everything freezes for me in that moment. I stare at her, my mouth hanging open. ¡°Wait. You know Renald?¡± She looks at me, wiping the tears from her face. ¡°Yeah. He was a regular.¡± Okay. Not good. ¡°Regular.¡± I try to keep my voice level. ¡°Sure, a regular. Of course. So, uh... for how long?¡± Kiora shrugs. ¡°Two years?¡± The amount of time I''ve been in exile. What is going on? ¡°You know, darling, if I were a betting familiar, I would bet that this is all connected.¡± ¡°Thanks, Silvy. I''m getting that feeling too.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. If Renald knew Pixie, and Renald knew Kiora, what were the odds that he also knew Arbor?¡± I chew on my lip for half a second before blurting out the question. ¡°Did Renald know Arbor?¡± Kiora nods. ¡°Of course. He was one of her professors at Bristlebloom.¡± The room spins and I pull out one of the chairs to sit at the scheme table. Renald knew Arbor and if he works at Bristlebloom that means he works for the Austerium. I lean forward and hold my head in my hands. I can''t wrap my mind around what''s happening. Arbor. Renald. Pixie. Marist. What¡¯s going on? Why are they all coming to me? What do I have to do with any of this? And then there''s Lebec¡­ He came to me too. Why did he reach out to me, someone in exile, to help him with this? I close my eyes, not wanting to believe Lebec has anything to do with this. ¡°I think I''m gonna be sick.¡± I grab the edge of the table and hold on to it, focusing on how it feels beneath my fingertips to keep my mind off my churning stomach. My thumb slips across something smooth and the body of a woman from the staircase descends. It floats towards the table. Its legs left and bend as the body floats closer to the floor and then into the seat across from me. Her hair is frizzy and her eyes are blue eyes. She stares at me, waiting. ¡°Uh, what the fuck?¡± The woman smiles and nods, but her eyes dart in every direction. It''s terrifying to watch. The woman''s face and body are completely still, but her eyes jump to me, over to Kiora, down at the table, and back to me on an endless loop. I swallow. ¡°Are you okay?¡± The woman doesn''t say anything, just nods as her eyes shoot in all directions. ¡°Can you say anything?¡± The woman doesn''t respond, her eyes just keep darting everywhere. ¡°Can you blink?¡± The woman''s eyes lock on me and don''t move, then they start darting around again. I chew on my lip as the woman blinks and her eyes continue moving. I snap my fingers and the eyes lock onto me. Okay, so she can hear. ¡°Can you use your eyes like you would your head to nod up and down for yes and shake your head left and right for no. Do you understand?¡± Her eyes darted up and down twice. ¡°Can you move?¡± Her eyes dart left and right. ¡°Do you know where you are?¡± Her eyes dart left and right. I swallow, considering my next question and what the answer will mean. ¡°Do you know what Anara is?¡± Her eyes dart left and right. She''s a stick. I look over at the staircase that leads to an upstairs filled with floating bodies. They''re all sticks. ¡°Have you ever sat at this table?¡± The woman''s eyes move left and right. ¡°Do you know a man named Dom?¡± Her eyes start to move left and then come back to center. They slowly move up and down. ¡°Did he do this to you?¡± The woman''s eyes do a complete counterclockwise rotation before coming back to center. ¡°Is that a maybe?¡± Her eyes go up and down. ¡°Okay, so you don''t know.¡± Her eyes go up and down. I put my hand back under the table and slide my finger in the opposite direction across the witchstone that''s embedded there. The woman''s eyes slim shut and she lifts up from the table, moving back towards the staircase, her body fully extended, her head facing the ceiling, her fingers stretching out towards the floor. ¡°Well¡­¡± I say in a quiet voice, ¡°that''s fucked.¡± Kiora nods. ¡°What''s wrong with you people?¡± ¡°You people? Who are you talking to?¡± ¡°You. You work for the Austerium. This is your fault.¡± I stare at the staircase for a long time before looking at Kiora. ¡°I just got here. I''ve been in exile for two years. This whole thing with you, Renald, and Arbor? I''m just now getting pulled into it. What''s wrong with you people?¡± Kiora crosses her arms and turns away. ¡°That''s what I thought. Now, do you want your shadowstone or not?¡± She nods. ¡°Good. Then let''s go get it.¡± I turn to Silvy. ¡°Open a portal to the alley across the street from Sulis.¡± ¡°Why don''t you just open it inside of Sulis?¡± Kiora asks. Silvy answers for me as a portal opens below us. ¡°Because we don''t know who might be watching Sulis.¡± I fall and came out through the wall of the alleyway, hitting the ground hard. Kiora is right after me and if I hadn''t rolled to the left, she would have landed on top. Silvy floats through on her back, kicking her paws in the air, yawning. The portal closes as I looked out onto the street. I can only see a small section of Sulis, but what I can see looks fine. ¡°Can you go out there?¡± I ask Silvy. Sending someone with invisibility makes more sense than sending a wanted suspect which I probably am now. She rolls her eyes but floats down the alleyway and into the street. Once she''s there, I watch as she spends and returns to sit on my shoulder. ¡°People are watching it,¡± she says. ¡°Lots of people ¡°Great.¡± I point to the wall to my right. ¡°Okay, open a portal on this wall right here and put the other side on the ceiling of Sulis. I¡¯ll look in and see if anybody''s inside.¡± Silvy does just that. The portal opens on the wall and I stick my head in, looking around. I see no one and not to myself. They must be watching all the entrances and exits. Maybe they even think I''m inside and they''re waiting for me to leave. ¡°Can you move the portal next to the mirror now?¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± Silvy says. When I stick my head through again, the portal is where I requested it and I still see no one. I step through and wait for Kiora to come through as well. When she''s standing next to me, she shakes her head. ¡°I''ll never get used to that.¡± ¡°Let''s go,¡± I whisper. ¡°Walk through the mirror.¡± She looks at me with confusion on her face, but then walks towards the mirror with a brave look on her face. Silvy starts giggling before she even makes it to the mirror. I start to ask Silvy why she''s laughing, but then I watch as Kiora hits the mirror, hard, and falls down, clutching her nose. She looks at me with betrayal on her face. I hold my hands up. ¡°I thought everyone could go through.¡± I bend down and put my hand on her shoulder. She glares up at me, holding her nose. ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°Just wait here. Give me a second.¡± I step up to the mirror, put my hand against it, and watch as my hand slips right through as if the mirror is nothing more than water. Kiora''s eyes open wide at that and I step through. I don''t have time to waste. I make my way directly out of the back room and into the showroom of Blackhart. I grab the stone Renald has been so insistent about, I grab a shadowstone, a tracestone, and several other witchstones that I load into my holster. I make sure to grab a waterstone, just in case we run into anything ugly in the Shadow Vaile. Once that''s finished, I turn around and start walking out. There''s a buzz from the front of Blackhart and I turn to look. The light above the gateway is on. Green. Someone is ringing the buzzer on the stick side of the gateway. I swallow and the light turns gold. Someone is also ringing the buzzer on the Anara side of the gateway. I watch as the lights flash back and forth between green and gold. I''m in trouble. Someone knows I''m in here. I make my way into the back room and look out of the mirror again. Everything is fine. I can see Kiora. Sulis is completely empty. Frowning, I step through the mirror. That''s when it happens. Five human figures press out from the opposite wall. They step forward and I watch as the paint from these figures melts away from them so that I''m staring at three cloaked men and two cloaked women. They watch me. I can take five. From either side of the mirror, three figures step forward, pressing out of the paint. Eleven is kind of hard. From the top of the staircase, a voice calls down to me. ¡°Didn''t I tell you I was going to kill you, gutter rat?¡± Renald stands there, surrounded by six more cloaked figures. Eighteen is impossible... Chapter 14 Oh God. They were outside, of course they came in. Of course, they were already inside waiting. What was I thinking? ¡°Little Hex,¡± Renald says, leaning against the railing. I want to rip the smirk off his face. ¡°How embarrassing,¡± he continues. ¡°How completely and utterly embarrassing for you.¡± This is Kiora''s fault. I wouldn''t be here if I wasn''t trying to help her. ¡°What do you want?¡± I call up to Renald. He doesn''t answer. He only smiles at me and gestures at all the casters inside of Sulis as if that''s some sort of answer. It doesn''t really matter what he once. I only have a few options in front of me. I can hand over the witchstone and gamble that he''ll let me go free. I can step back into Blackhart, leaving Kiora here to fend for herself while I try to find help¡­ Before I can think it even farther through my options, something pushes me forward from behind. I spin around to see a stone wall blocking the mirror, much like the stone wall that blocked the exit to Beckeldorff''s. They really like that spell, don''t they¡­ I can try to run, maybe have Silvy portal us out of here? That seems like the best option as the only other option is trying to fight and that''s a losing proposition. I''ll end up dying and giving them the stones anyway. Where''s the fun in that? Escape it is¡­ I''m growing weary of running away from my fights, but I keep finding myself in situations where I''m vastly outnumbered and outgunned. What am I supposed to do? I glance at Silvy on my shoulder, trying to make eye contact with her. She yawns and rolls her eyes. ¡°Fine.¡± She glances down at the floor and after several seconds she starts giggling. ¡°You''re gonna hate this.¡± ¡°Hate what?¡± I ask without moving my lips. ¡°They''ve warded Sulis. I can''t open a portal.¡± I swallow. Renald, seeming to clutch onto my apparent distress, smiles wider. ¡°Is there a problem, little witch?¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, ¡°I''m just wondering how you got in? I have rat traps, so it¡¯s strange seeing you here.¡± ¡°You know what¡¯s strange?¡± Renald asks, answering his own question before I have a chance to. ¡°What¡¯s strange is that you¡¯re not disappearing? I wonder why that is?¡± He''d planned for this. He''d expected me to portal out. This is so much worse. Not only are we outgunned and outnumbered, but now it''s apparent he''s planned for this, planned for me. ¡°I''ll ask you again,¡± I say, trying to sound brave. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°The thing I wanted last time, the thing you wouldn''t sell me.¡± ¡°I told you the price,¡± I say. ¡°Twenty K. You have that, right?¡± ¡°Why would I pay full price? And why would I pay full price to a witch. You''re beneath me. You¡¯re nothing more than gutter sewage.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Gutter rat. Gutter sewage. I get it. You''re into gutters. Just pay the price. I''ll give you the stone. It''s really not any more difficult than that.¡± ¡°Oh, but it is. It''s a matter of pride. You damaged my pride the last time I was in your shop. You will not damage my pride again.¡± I clear my throat. ¡°Does your boss know you''re here?¡± He licks his lips. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°You''re not supposed to be here, are you?¡± I smile. ¡°What do you think he''s gonna do when he finds out?¡± Renald laughs. ¡°You''re in no place to tell him. You can''t even escape. You''re not going anywhere.¡± I start to speak again, but he cuts me off. ¡°And you. The other witch.¡± ¡°There''s no other witch in here but me.¡± He raises his eyebrow. ¡°The little witch next to you. The full blood witch.¡± I glance at Kiora and back at Renald. How does he know that she''s a witch? Did Arbor tell him? Why would she do that? ¡°You know,¡± Renald continues, ¡°for a long time, I thought Arbor was the one I was looking for. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out you¡­¡± He points at Kiora. ¡°You were the one I was searching for all along.¡± I look at Kiora. ¡°What''s he talking about?¡± Renald belts out a laugh. ¡°She doesn''t know?¡± he asks Kiora. He turns his attention to me. ¡°You poor, dumb witch. She didn''t even tell you?¡± My mind races. She didn''t tell me what? That she was dating Arbor? That Arbor was a runaway, a royal? I can''t say any of these things out loud because I''m not sure how much Renald knows. I''m not about to give away any secrets. ¡°Are you going to tell her, or am I?¡± Renald asks, the shit-eating grin plastered to his face. Kiora sighs. ¡°You do it.¡± I shoot her a look and she shrugs. ¡°We both know she''s a witch,¡± Renald says, ¡°but did you know that she''s also a royal?¡± I look at her, frowning. That didn''t make sense based on what she told me unless¡­ She faintly nods at me. ¡°All that time, I thought Arbor was the royal, but Arbor was just a decoy,¡± Renald says. Kiora shakes her head. ¡°Arbor wasn''t a decoy. She just wanted to learn more about Bristlebloom. That''s all.¡± Renald nods as though this makes sense. ¡°So if she wasn¡¯t a royal and she wasn¡¯t a decoy, that would make her your¡­¡± Girlfriend. ¡°Bodyguard,¡± Renald finishes. I shoot Kiora a harsher look, but she turns her eyes to the ground. I close my eyes. She''s lied to me so many times. Kiora is the royal. Arbor was the royal guard. And if Arbor was a royal guard, that meant those other two witches in coffee and content were royal guards as well. I sigh. The horns. The green, mossy surface of them were the same. ¡°Are you putting it together now?¡± Renald asks. Kiora is the royal who ran away from Belladonna. Those two royal guards in C&C were there to take her back, not to investigate Arbor''s death. Hell, Arbor was probably the one who¡¯d alerted them before she died. This whole thing. This whole, entire thing is one big ball of knots that I no longer have the patience to unravel. ¡°So,¡± Renald says, the haughtiness dripping off his words, ¡°as you can see, witches have this disgusting habit of lying. Deception runs through that witch¡¯s veins just as it runs through your veins, Hex. The only difference is that witch knows what she is. You''re still confused.¡± ¡°Look,¡± I say, exhaustion weighing down my shoulders. ¡°You want the stone. I told you that you can have it for twenty K. After that, we can be done.¡± Renald laughs. ¡°Why would I pay when I can just take it?¡± Oh God, does he know I have the witchstone in my pocket? Something pokes into my back and I turn around, staring at two casters, both holding long, curved knives at my stomach. ¡°Back up,¡± one of them says. When I don''t immediately move, the caster jabs at my belly. The ward on my parka repels the attack, as it does most physical attacks and the caster drops the blade. He frowns at it, before grabbing it again. I kick him directly in the nose with my steel-toed boot. He screams as his head snaps back, blood arcing through the air. Silvy hops off my shoulder, catching several droplets in the air and then just floating there, licking her lips. ¡°Yum,¡± she whispers. Once the caster has the blade back in his hand, he lifts it above his head, preparing for a massive blow. ¡°Stop!¡± Renald shouts. ¡°Stop right now.¡± The caster freezes and lowers his blade, gesturing for me to back up, glaring at me from above his ruined nose. Blood dripped down the front of his chin and onto his cloak. ¡°You''re leaking,¡± I say and spit on the floor in front of him. I do back up though. The parka might be warded against physical attacks, but if the caster uses anything magical, it will cut right through the ward like a hot knife through butter. I take another step back and watch as another caster destroys the wall in front of the mirror. This caster reaches his hand out to the mirror, at first tentatively, and then a little more adventurously. He pushes against the surface, prodding, trying to figure out how I''d slipped through the surface. Based on what happened to Kiora, I''ve got a good feeling that it isn''t going to work for him. The caster, seeing no way to push it open, pulls his own blade out, holds it handle downwards in his hands, and brings it above his head. I scream as he swings it down in a fast arc, the handle banging into the mirror but doing little else. The sound of the handle hitting the mirror is like wood hitting rock. I chew on my lip, surprised at how strong the mirror is. The caster looks up to Renald and slowly shakes his head. I glance up at Renald. ¡°Twenty K. Twenty K in it¡¯s yours. I can hop in, grab it, and hop right back out. It''ll be easy.¡± The stone wall reforms in front of the mirror. Renald gives me a sickly smile. ¡°Are you finished?¡± I start to answer, thinking he''s talking to me, but one of the casters with the blades answers him before I can. ¡°Yes,¡± the caster says. ¡°It''s in her left pocket.¡± ¡°You dumb witch,¡± Renald says. ¡°You brought it right to me. A pity. I thought I was going to have to torture you to get it. It looks like all I''ll have to do is kill you. Such a shame.¡± My eyes scan the room, looking for any sort of escape, any sort of way out. The casters slowly closes ranks around me, moving in for the kill. Chapter 15 ¡°Well¡­¡± I look around at the casters. Kiora has her hands balled into fists. ¡°It''s been a good run¡­¡± Silvy snores lightly on my shoulder. How did I end up here? My mind hops from Renald, to Arbor, to Lebec, to Marist, and right back to here. Helping others got me here. I should''ve stayed in Blackhart selling witchstones. Had I done that, none of this ever would''ve happened. I glance up at Renald who leans over the balcony, my balcony, watching me with glee. I can hand over the witchstone and hope they let us go. And probably die. Or I can fight. And probably die. ¡°With options like these, who needs choices?¡± I mumble. ¡°What?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°Nothing,¡± I mutter. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to fight. Can you fight?¡± She looks at me and dips her chin a single time. Something in her eyes changes. Something shuts itself away. Her chin lifts and she smiles at me. I cock my head to the side, surprised that she''s smiling now, right before her almost definite impending doom. ¡°Stop, stop!¡± Renald suddenly calls down from the staircase. He rubs at his eyes as he pulls up his hood, bathing his face in darkness. ¡°Listen.¡± He holds his hands up. ¡°I don''t want to fight any more than you do. I''m sure you can believe that.¡± I can''t. ¡°All I want is that witchstone,¡± he says. ¡°Give me that and I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Not even five minutes before he¡¯d been moaning about having to kill me without being able to torture me. I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Sure,¡± I say, hoping there was some avenue of escape. ¡°So give me the witchstone and I¡¯ll let you leave.¡± He extends his right hand out and kinda waves it in the air at his casters. An opening forms, leading to the front door to Sulis. He''s created a path out. I swallow. Kiora looks at me and shakes her head no. ¡°Don''t listen to her,¡± Renald calls down. ¡°She doesn''t know what she''s talking about. She¡¯s lived a life of luxury.¡± Working as a barista in a coffee shop, even if it was in Anara, doesn''t seem like luxury to me. ¡°I don''t know,¡± I say. ¡°Seems like a trap.¡± Renald blows out a huge breath. ¡°It''s not a trap, I just want this over and done with. I feel like if you just give me the stone, I can get on with my life. You can too and we can act like none of this ever happened.¡± I will never act like none of this happened. ¡°Sure,¡± I say. ¡°That sounds like a great idea.¡± I move my hand towards my pocket. ¡°Hold on,¡± Renald says. ¡°What are the terms?¡± Is he stalling for time? Why would he be stalling? He has us outnumbered. What am I missing? ¡°I give you the stone and you let me live?¡± I try. He pauses. Kiora and I exchange looks. What the hell is going on? Behind him, a cloaked figure steps forward. As soon as I hear the voice speaking from within the hood, I know exactly who it is. The man who''d been sitting in the booth at Beckeldorff''s, the man who I hadn''t seen. Renald''s boss. ¡°You can return home,¡± the man says while looking at Renald. Renald pulls his hood back and blinks several times, looking confused. Renald''s boss waits a moment before asking a question. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°She has the stone. It''s in her left pocket and I''ve delivered it to you,¡± Renald says, but more than anything Renald seems confused. Renald''s boss looks down at me. All I can see is darkness inside of the hood. ¡°My apologies, witches,¡± the man says. ¡°I did not know this was his plan. I came as soon as I heard.¡± Renald starts to speak, but the man holds up a finger directly in front of Renald''s face. ¡°Stop talking, you caster child,¡± the man says and then speaks to me. ¡°Hexana Covington. Owner of Blackhart. I''m pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Are you? All these casters surrounding me say otherwise.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the man says and I can hear the smile in his voice. ¡°My associate sometimes forgets his place.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°How much did you want for the witchstone he was trying to buy?¡± ¡°20,000.¡± ¡°And he offered you what¡­ 15,000?¡± ¡°Try five.¡± Renald shifts in place. ¡°Five,¡± Renald''s boss says. ¡°You offered the witch five for the stone? You¡¯re quibbling over 15,000 when I authorized you to spend upwards of 200,000?¡± Renald swallows. ¡°What were you planning to tell me you bought it for?¡± the man asks. ¡°Were you going to say you spent 195 and keep the difference?¡± ¡°She''s lying,¡± Renald sputters, but the casters around me hiss as one. Renald shakes his head. ¡°Oh,¡± the boss says, ¡°you thought they were loyal to you? You thought I would trust you completely with this? Thus far you''ve done nothing but create problems.¡± ¡°I''m sorry,¡± Renald sputters. ¡°I was trying to get you the best deal. That''s all.¡± The man sighs and waves his hands at the front door of Sulis. The casters fall back into a tight circle around me. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± the man says. ¡°This should not have gone this way. We should have made a deal and been done.¡± He shrugs. ¡°I suppose this is what happens when you trust a caster.¡± ¡°If I give you the stone, can I go?¡± I ask the man, ignoring Renald completely now. The real source of power is finally in the room. There''s no reason to even acknowledge Renald any longer. Renald''s boss leans forward, lacing his fingers together. ¡°Unfortunately no. You see, you''ve just witnessed a murder.¡± I frown, looking around. No one''s died yet. Is he talking about them killing me? That wouldn¡¯t make any sense. What would be the¡ª It happens so fast that I don''t even realize it. The man''s hand whips out, his fingertips elongating into sharpened talons as they tear backwards through the place where Renald''s head once was. I frown, staring at Renald''s now headless body, a fine red mist floating down to the lobby. ¡°Pretty,¡± Silvy purrs, floating off my shoulder. She spends in a circle as the bloody mist rains down, her mouth open like a child trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue instead of blood. I''ve never seen a spell like that before. It it something he used from a witchstone? Or is he a wizard? Is that a power he has inside of him? Renald''s boss sticks his tongue out and licks at the last of the bloody mist. I swallow and look around me. The casters change their stances, legs widened, eyes fierce. ¡°Fuck. Are you ready?¡± I ask Kiora. She nods and turns around, pressing her back against mine. I slip my hand into my pocket and as soon as I do the first caster fires a spell at me, a green seal that flies through the air. These aren''t just casters. At least several are adepts. ¡°Silvy,¡± I shout, ¡°help.¡± ¡°No,¡± she purrs. ¡°I''m full right now. Good luck though.¡± ¡°Fuck you too then.¡± I pull a witchstone out of my pocket and throw it against the ground as hard as I can. Purple smoke billows up around us, enveloping the entire lobby with it. I visited San Francisco once when I was a kid and a phenomenon happens there that the natives call tule fog. Much like tule fog, this witchstone creates a mist so thick you can barely see six inches in front of you. The sounds of fighting are muffled in the magick fog and I crouch down, watching seals fly over my head, hoping Kiora is somewhere defending herself. I''m not sure what will happen to me if a witch royal dies in my care. From up on the stairs, I hear Renald''s boss let out a deep bellow of laughter. ¡°Crafty,¡± he says. ¡°Casters, she''s crouched down at the middle. You''re all fighting each other. The other witch is pressed against the wall, waiting for one of you to approach.¡±¡° One second later, a caster screams The man up on the stairs laughs louder. ¡°And it seems one of you found her. Unlucky for you, you¡¯re now dying.¡± Silvy chuckles to herself from somewhere to my right. ¡°I like him. He has a good sense of humor.¡± I ignore this, pulling the next witchstone from my holster and slipping it under my tongue. I don''t hesitate, pulling another witchstone and shifting it to my left hand where I clutch it tight. The magick from the witchstone under my tongue flows through my veins, filling me with magick energy. My skin crackles and my body puffs up the slightest amount, my skin cracking from my neck all the way down to my toes. What looks like glowing embers erupt from these cracks, covering me in sharpened, molten spines. The spines are most prominent on my knuckles, creating spiked brass knuckles made of red-hot rock. I crack my neck, smile to myself, and get to work. I move through the magick fog, punching, ripping, tearing my way through casters, leaving bodies in my wake. Charred, cindered bodies that smolder from the inside out at the single touch of a spike from my fist. I mow down my fifth caster when I hear Kiora scream. I make my way through the fog, dropping an additional three casters on my way, watching them burn in agony on the ground. This lobby is gonna smell like burned meat for the rest of my life. Kiora crouches in a ball by the wall. Blood drips down her face. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I ask. She nods and I stare at her pale face. I look at her horns. There''s blood on them. Not just blood though. There''s flesh as well. I close my eyes. ¡°Did you kill someone with your horns?¡± Kiora nods. She''s blooded. She can never go to Anara again because anyone with magick will see her horns now. ¡°Okay. It''s gonna be fine,¡± I say. ¡°Let''s make our way towards the entrance.¡± She reaches her hand out to me, but I shake my head. I can''t touch her in my witchstone altered form. I''d light her up from the inside. ¡°Let''s go,¡± I say. ¡°We have to get out of here.¡± More casters fall upon us. We fight for our lives and when I catch glimpses of her fighting in the magick fog, I''m in awe. She tears through casters at an astounding rate, using her horns as an additional weapon now. When we make it to the front door, I see that there are five casters waiting for us. I don''t know where Renald''s boss is, but¡ª My body goes rigid, completely freezes, and I lift into the air. I can''t move a millimeter. My body slowly spends and I could see that Kiora is frozen in the air as well. Through the fog, Renald''s boss appears. He pulls his hood back, rubbing at his eyes as he does so. He has long flowing locks of black hair. His blue eyes fasten on me and he smiles. Even though I''m about to die, my heart gives a little flutter. He points at my left pocket and slowly lifts his finger up. The three witchstones there shift and pop out, making their way over to him. The witchstone Renald wanted, the tracestone, as well as the shadowstone I got for Kiora. I swallow, trying to squeeze the witchstone still in my left hand but unable to. I can''t make my fingers work. Or anything, really. ¡°You know,¡± he says as he watches me, ¡°you killed quite a few people today. Both of you did. I do wish we could have done business on better terms but understand it was just not to be.¡± I didn''t say anything, I can''t. My mouth won''t move. This is the perfect moment for Silvy to do something, to attack him, to rip his veins open and eat him. That doesn''t happen though. The man continues forward, grabbing the witchstones out of the air, and slipping them into his cloak. He smiles at me. ¡°The best part of all this is that the Austerium is going to believe that you''re the one responsible. You and this other witch. They''ll never trust witches again after this. They''ll say you''ve all gone feral.¡± I can''t respond. ¡°Did you know that the Austerium put a bounty on your head? You assaulted that annoying adept Cerulea. You broke your exile by leaving your escort behind.¡± He steps back into the purple fog, disappearing from view. ¡°They''re going to execute both of you for this. I''m going to leave you hanging there and let Lebec know that there''s a situation at Sulis. You''ll take the blame for all of it.¡± The lobby of Sulis is quiet for a moment but then his voice drifts through the fog one last time. ¡°By the way, all these casters you just killed?¡± I close my eyes. ¡°They were all adepts,¡± he whispers. ¡°Austerium adepts.¡± Chapter 16 Kiora and I both hung there, suspended in the air. ¡°Fuck!¡± I say, realizing in the same moment that my lips and my mouth work. Thoughts of the execution to come flash in my mind. The Austerium has been looking for a reason to get rid of me and now they have it. The magick fog is dissipating, and as it does, I can see the carnage surrounding us. ¡°Fuck!¡± Another thought slips into my mind. Am I being held up by blood magick right now? I didn''t think I was, but based on the blood magick I''d seen at Arbor''s crime scene, it was something I couldn''t rule out. ¡°What do we do?¡± Kiora asks in a quiet voice. I almost don''t hear her. ¡°Well¡­ we can just stay here until Lebec shows up. Throw ourselves on the mercy of the Austerium, see how far that gets us.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t he believe we killed all these people though? All these casters?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I say, ¡°but we didn''t make ourselves float, waiting like wrapped presents for him to arrive. He''ll have to see that and realize that someone else had to have been in here.¡± ¡°I guess,¡± Kiora says. ¡°I really think we need to get out of here. If we do that we''ll at least be in control of what we do next instead of relying on the Austerium to make a ruling.¡± ¡°That one,¡± Kiora says. ¡°That''s the one.¡± ¡°Just one problem,¡± I say. ¡°How to get down,¡± she finishes. ¡°Correct.¡± My eyes find Silvy a short distance away, lapping at a pool of blood like it''s nothing more than milk. ¡°Silvy,¡± I say. ¡°Can you get us down?¡± Silvy''s only answer is a quick grunt before hopping to her left and starting in on another puddle. ¡°I thought you were full.¡± She ignores me. ¡°Nice cat you have,¡± Kiora says. ¡°I wish she was a cat.¡± From the top of the staircase, a tiny scream erupts. We both glance up there. A tiny floating crystal in the shape of a skull hovers, pulsing with green light. ¡°What did you do to my theatre?¡± Ivy screams from within the crystal. ¡°What is that?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°That''s Ivy. She still hasn''t given me her full story but suffice it to say she''s a snail that lives in that crystal. Outside of the crystal she''s just a regular snail. Inside it, she can speak. I don''t understand it. She started off as a slug.¡± ¡°What.¡± ¡°You heard me. It happened around the time I got cursed with my horns and Silvy. It''s just about as ridiculous as it sounds.¡± ¡°I asked a question!¡± Ivy screams. ¡°What happened to my theatre?¡± ¡°Is it her theatre?¡± Kiora asks under her breath. ¡°Not even a little.¡± ¡°If you help us down, I''ll tell you,¡± I call up. ¡°No!¡± Ivy screams. ¡°I do what I want!¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say and Ivy floats back out of sight. ¡°Where was she while we were fighting?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°Asleep. That''s what she usually does. Sleep. A lot.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Kiora says. We''re still hanging in the air and time is running out. We need to get out of there before Lebec finds us. Before Cerulea finds us. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°I have a witchstone in my pocket,¡± I say. ¡°If I can¡ª¡± ¡°Shh,¡± Kiora interrupts. Right. Shh. Why hadn''t I thought of that? I stay quiet for a few moments before opening my mouth to speak again. I quickly close it again as Kiora''s eyes open wide. They''re completely black. I swallow. ¡°Uh, you good?¡± If Kiora hears me, she doesn''t respond. I watch as ripples form across her forehead, and her horns, caked in blood, start to glow. It''s not a glow like I normally see when magick is being used. It''s a deep glow from the inside, it almost makes the horns look like they''re blurring out, like the light around them is hazing over the edges, making them hard to focus on. Kiora''s lip curls back and I frown. Her teeth, previously regular looking, are now sharp. She looks like she has miniature daggers dotting her gums. I try to look away but can''t. As I continue watching, her fingers lengthen and her fingernails turn into their own unique sort of hellish daggers. They''re sharpened on both sides and come to a deadly point. Each of her claws had a tiny dot on the underside. I don''t ask what the dot is as spines erupt from her back. ¡°Silvy?¡± I call over to her in the most quiet voice I can manage. ¡°A little help?¡± Silvy glances up from the puddle of blood she''s lapping from. She glances at Kiora and then glances at me. She smiles, the blood staining her teeth and dripping down her chin. ¡°Good luck.¡± With that, she turns her back to me and bends over the pool of blood, beginning to drink again. To my right, Kiora slowly sinks in the air, all the way until her feet touch the ground. She turns her attention to me. We''re eyelevel now. She''s grown taller. I swallow. ¡°Don''t eat me?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°We don''t eat flesh,¡± she says, and although I can tell it''s her speaking, there''s a guttural harshness to her voice now. It almost sounds as if her regular voice is saying the words, but two additional, much deeper and angrier voices, echo the words as well. ¡°Help me down?¡± I ask. She closes her eyes, her horns do that blurring glow thing again, and I slowly drop to the floor of Sulis. As my feet touch down, I can feel the magick from the witchstone I''d used leave my body completely. The spikes on my knuckles melt back into my skin. I slip the unused witchstone I''d been holding back into my holster. She¡¯s a witch. Of course she can eat magick. I wonder if she tell what kind of magick she¡¯s eaten though? I want to do nothing but flee from Sulis but something makes me ask, ¡°Was it blood magick?¡± Kiora shakes her head. ¡°Life magick. And it was waning.¡± I nod. So it wasn''t the same thing that had been used on Arbor. The floor of Sulis is charred and singed in multiple places with blood splatters everywhere. And I''m not even going to talk about the bodies of the adepts heaped about the lobby. Silvy glances up from the pool of blood she''s working on. ¡°Oh good, you made it. Lucky you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I say. ¡°Lucky her,¡± Kiora growls from beside me. ¡°Can you change back to your regular form?¡± I ask her. I glance over, hoping I haven''t offended her. She''s already back in her regular form, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Better?¡± ¡°If I say yes, will that offend you?¡± She shrugs. ¡°We all have to eat some time.¡± ¡°I don''t know what that means, and I sort of don''t want to know. How did you change so fast?¡± ¡°The change back is always faster than the initial metamorphosis.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I nod. ¡°Sure. That makes complete sense.¡± It doesn''t make sense at all, but I don''t really feel like getting into the weeds over witch metamorphosis. I head over to the front door of Sulis, looking out onto the street. There are five black cars out there. The doors to three of them open. Lebec steps out of one and Cerulea steps out of the second. ¡°We need to go,¡± I say. ¡°Like now.¡± I move away from the front door, heading across the lobby and towards the entrance to the theatre proper. Bangs ring out from the back door. The only other way out is through the roof. There''s a ladder that leads to the roof in what used to be the projection booth. Unfortunately, that room is where Ivy lives. ¡°Silvy, can get us out of here?¡± ¡°Hol'' on,¡± she says. ¡°Lebec is coming. Cerulea too.¡± She looks up at me with drooping eyelids. ¡°Are you¡ª¡± She interrupts me with, ¡°''m not drunk.¡± ¡°Are you su¡ª¡± ¡°Not drunk enough.¡± She raises an eyebrow. ¡°Are you?¡± Her words slur together. She¡¯s blooddrunk. I imagine her drunkenly opening a portal into the Shadow Vaile and killing us all. ¡°Can you open a portal? To someplace safe? Someplace in Nightsbridge?¡± Silvy hiccups and smiles. ¡°Darling, I can open a portal straight to hell.¡± ¡°Uh, don''t?¡± I hold both my hands up. ¡°Nightsbridge is fine. Please.¡± ¡°Just saying.¡± She takes a step forward and stumbles to the left. Her eyes narrows as she focuses, then her eyes relax and she sits down. That''s when it hits me. The spell. The spell Renald put on Sulis that had initially blocked Silvy''s portal. It''s still here. We''re trapped. ¡°Please,¡± I say. ¡°Please, Silvy.¡± Silvy''s head slowly rotates in a circle. ¡°It''s there.¡± ¡°The spell?¡± ¡°The portal,¡± she says. I look around. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Behind us,¡± Kiora says and I turn around. Directly behind us is a tall rectangular black hole of emptiness. Past the portal, I hear the front doors of Sulis crash open. I lean to the left to peak around the portal and Kiora leans to the right. Lebec and Cerulea stand just inside of Sulis. Cerulea smiles. ¡°See. I told you she betrayed us. And look, she''s gone and killed all these adepts. You can¡¯t even deny it, Lebec. Look at her friend. There''s your proof. That witch is blooded.¡± I completely forgot about Kiora''s horns. If I''d remembered, I would''ve pushed Kiora through the portal before Lebec or Cerulea saw her. I pull back, preparing to step through the portal into someplace unknown. Someplace hopefully safe and not hell. ¡°Hex,¡± Lebec calls out. ¡°Wait. I''m sure there''s an explanation.¡± ¡°There''s an explanation, Lebec,¡± Cerulea answers for me. ¡°Your little witch prot¨¦g¨¦, the little exile, just massacred all these adepts. You know what that calls for. There doesn¡¯t even need to be a trial. We can just get on with the¡ª¡± ¡°Stop,¡± Lebec tries to shut her down. ¡°¡ªexecution,¡± Cerulea whispers loud enough for me to hear the smile in her voice. Chapter 17 We stumble through the portal and Silvy closes it behind us. I look around, seeing an empty field. When I turn back, the abandoned house with the scheme table and all the floating people inside of it stands before me. ¡°Wonderful,¡± I mutter. ¡°We''re right back where we started.¡± ¡°You didn''t exactly tell me where you wanted to go,¡± Silvy says. ¡°So I chose for you.¡± I take a deep breath and sigh. At least Lebec doesn''t know about this place. That''s one good thing. I look at Kiora. ¡°We¡¯re screwed. I don''t know how else to say it. We are absolutely boned here.¡± I already know what Lebec''s going to do. And if he doesn''t do it, Cerulea absolutely will. One of them will alert the Austerium about the dead adepts filling up the lobby of Sulis. Kiora and I will be charged with murder. Worse, we''ll be charged with being witches. There won''t be a trial. Only an execution. Kiora, chewing on her lip, shakes her head. ¡°We need to find the royal guards. They''ll help us.¡± ¡°And how do we do that? Do you know how to get to where they are?¡± ¡°Not without that shadowstone. You got it, right?¡± I chew on my lip for half a second. ¡°About that¡­¡± Kiora closes her eyes. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I think you saw what happened. Renald''s boss took all three stones. The one Renald wanted as well as the shadowstone and the tracestone.¡± Kiora curses. ¡°Look on the bright side. We can always turn ourselves in,¡± I suggest. ¡°They''ll execute us,¡± Kiora says. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°I don''t want to gamble on maybe,¡± Kiora says. I nod. ¡°So then we''ll figure out why that man wanted that witchstone so badly he was willing to sacrifice an entire room of adepts. Maybe if we bring that to the Austerium, they''ll be lenient with us.¡± Kiora raises an eyebrow and changes the subject. ¡°Why haven''t I seen you? It''s been two years, right?¡± ¡°I''ve been in exile. They banished me from Anara.¡± ¡°The Austerium?¡± Kiora asks. I nod. ¡°The group you want us to hope is lenient exiled you for two years?¡± I gave her an awkward smile. ¡°So far.¡± ¡°What''s that mean?¡± ¡°I''m still in exile. Not exactly sure when the sentence ends.¡± She rolls her eyes and I ask, ¡°Do you know how to get to the royal guard?¡± She frowns and shakes her head. ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°So we figure out what Renald''s boss is planning.¡± ¡°Do we know what his name is?¡± I shake my head. ¡°I only knew Renald. I have no idea what his boss¡¯s name is.¡± Silvy puffs into existence on my shoulder. ¡°Both of you could give Sherlock Holmes and Watson a run for their money.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°I merely had a suggestion. An intelligent suggestion. Something the two of you seem to be lacking.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± This time it''s Kiora who says it. ¡°Fine.¡± Silvy pouts. ¡°Don''t listen. We''ll just wait here until they figure out where you are.¡± My mind spins out of control. Renald coming into Blackhart. Renald trying to buy the witchstone. Renald''s boss talking about Pixie. I look over at Kiora. ¡°Pixie.¡± Kiora raises an eyebrow. ¡°Who''s that?¡± ¡°She was kidnapped. Her mom came in to see me shortly after Renald was in Blackhart.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°Renald was the one who kidnapped her. I overheard Renald''s boss saying as much.¡± ¡°So Pixie has been kidnapped.¡± Kiora shrugs. ¡°I don''t know how that helps us. It seems like it just adds another problem to our rapidly growing list of problems.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say, a smile slicing across my face. ¡°It actually solves one of our problems. We need someplace safe.¡± Kiora just stares at me. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Who''s safer than the mother of a kidnapped daughter who''s hired you to find said daughter?¡± Kiora''s face didn''t change. ¡°Sometimes you talk weird.¡± ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Neither one of you get it. It''ll be safe there. Don''t you understand? If she wants me to find her daughter, she wants me to stay alive.¡± ¡°But she''s a stick,¡± Silvy says. ¡°How is she going to protect you?¡± ¡°That''s the point. Sticks don''t know about the Austerium. She won''t need to protect us. No one will think to look for us there. Why would they?¡± ¡°I mean¡­¡± Kiora says. ¡°I guess. If you think so.¡± ¡°If nothing else,¡± I say, not understanding why neither one of them get how brilliant my idea is, ¡°we can at least look through Pixie¡¯s room. Renald kidnapped her for a reason. She had a scrap of paper with the words Beckeldorff''s and Filigree. And people inside of Beckeldorff''s knew what the word Filigree meant. So my question is why would a stick girl know about Beckeldorff''s first of all, and second why would she know something that a lot of the other patrons within Beckeldorff''s knew?¡± ¡°Sounds like you have a real case on your hands,¡± Silvy says, rolling her eyes. ¡°I know. And I''m going to solve it.¡± Silvy sighs. ¡°You¡¯re really letting this detective dalliance go to your head. Darling, you do realize that two days ago you were selling witchstones and hoping to simply make rent on your gateway, correct?¡± ¡°I realize all of that, but none of it matters. Right now we are being hunted. Kiora and I have a guillotine hanging over both of our heads, and the only thing that''s going to stop it is figuring out what the hell is going on.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Kiora says, slowly nodding her head. ¡°Okay. We''ll go to this woman''s house, but I want to find the royal guard.¡± I nod at her. ¡°I get that. I don''t have a shadowstone right now though. I have several more back in Blackhart, but I have no way of getting there if Sulis is locked down by the Austerium.¡± ¡°You could always go in through the night market,¡± Silvy suggests. ¡°Yes,¡± I say, ¡°I could, but how am I supposed to get into the night market?¡± ¡°I could open a gateway,¡± Kiora suggests. I shake my head no. ¡°Cerulea knows who you are now. They already have all of your personal info from C&C. Your gateway access is either one, locked down and you¡¯re locked out of Anara right now, or two, there''ll be an alert if you access a gateway. Or three, I guess, a combo of the first two.¡± She stares at me. I roll my eyes. ¡°It''s what I¡¯d do. Wait for you to use a gateway and then have five billion adepts flow through the very gateway you''re trying to open.¡± Kiora sighs. ¡°Okay, I give up.¡± I nod. Not exactly the attitude I want, but I''ll take it. ¡°Silvy, open a portal to¡ª¡± A portal opens directly below us and Kiora and I fall through. We hit the ground beside a nice house, roll into the driveway, and lay on our backs, staring up at the sky, staring at the portal floating there. Silvy floats through and the portal snaps shut. ¡°That sucked,¡± Kiora says. ¡°Does she always do that?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Silvy answers for me. ¡°She always does that. I''m bored so I have to do something to keep it entertaining.¡± I turn my head to glance at Kiora. ¡°Welcome to the cursed life of Hexana Covington.¡± Kiora shakes her head and sits up. The house whose driveway we''re sitting in is two stories tall. A Victorian house. A large, screened porch wraps around the front of it. There aren''t a whole lot of Victorians in the Houston suburbs. It''s strange to see. I reach a hand out for Kiora and help her up. At the front door, I ring the doorbell. There''s a short pause before the door opens. Marist stands there, looking just as frazzled as she had the day she walked into my shop, telling me about her kidnapped daughter. Her mouth turns into an O once she recognizes me. ¡°Have you found her?¡± Nervous energy pulsates and wavers every word. ¡°Did you find my Pixie? Did you?¡± She glances at Kiora, seeming to see her for the first time and freezes. When she finally finds her words to speak again, she says, ¡°That''s not her. You don''t think that''s Pixie, do you? Because that''s not Pixie.¡± I hold my hands up. ¡°I know it''s not Pixie. This is¡­¡± I try to think of a good description of what Kiora is to me, but my mind keeps floating back to that Sherlock and Watson comparison Silvy made. Bitch. I close my eyes. ¡°She''s essentially my Watson.¡± ¡°Your what?¡± Marist asks. ¡°Watson. She''s helping me. If I''m Sherlock, she''s Watson.¡± ¡°Please don''t tell me you''re both larping as Sherlock Holmes and Watson. My daughter is missing.¡± I nod. ¡°Kiora is my assistant. We''ve actually made progress on your case.¡± Your case¡­ Listen to how oh-so-official I sound. I scan the street, convinced I''ll see adepts at any moment. ¡°Can we come in?¡± Marist looks at Kiora for a long moment, really sizing her up, and then frowns. ¡°I suppose. You won''t stay long though? I don''t trust her.¡± Kiora raises her eyebrows. ¡°I''m just trying to help find your daughter, ma''am.¡± Marist grants but steps back, allowing us to enter. When the door clicks shut behind us, I breathe out a sigh of relief, grateful to be hidden from all the prying eyes, from all the houses that surround this one. ¡°Would you like some coffee?¡± Marist asks. ¡°Yes. And food,¡± I say after glancing over at the grandfather clock in the living room. It''s 5:30 PM. I''ve been up for almost twelve hours. I haven''t eaten anything. I''m exhausted from the continual witchstone use. I just want to sleep for the rest of my life. I start walking towards where I think the kitchen is, but Marist points to the couch. ¡°Take a seat,¡± she says. ¡°I''ll take care of it all. You¡¯re helping find my daughter. It''s the least I can do.¡± I nod. ¡°Sure.¡± Kiora and I both collapse on the couch. I press my head back into the couch cushion and close my eyes, that dreIvy feeling right before sleep hits rolls over me. ¡°She''s weird,¡± Kiora says, startling me awake. ¡°Her daughters missing,¡± I say. ¡°It''s to be expected. How would you act?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t know,¡± Kiora says. ¡°I''ll never have a daughter.¡± All the questions I''ve had about witches come bubbling up, but I push them down. Now isn''t the time. I take a deep breath and let it out. As I do, someone pounds on the front door three times, sending my shoulders up to my ears. Marist erupts from the kitchen, moving quickly towards the front door. I hold a finger up, but Marist doesn''t stop. ¡°Are you expecting someone?¡± I ask. Marist nods. ¡°Oh yes. This will just take a moment. It''s a friend with a¡­¡± There''s a long pause. ¡°With a fruitcake.¡± It''s the middle of summer. It''s not fruitcake season. I glance over at Kiora. Something''s wrong, Kiora mouths at me. I nod, standing up from the couch and slipping my hand into my pocket. I pull a single witchstone from my holster, squeeze it, and place it at the entryway to the living room as I hear Marist open the front door. The front door is around the corner so I can''t see who''s there, but neither Marist nor the person who knocked on the door speak. That''s a bad sign. ¡°Go to the kitchen,¡± I tell Kiora. She nods and moves back towards that door. She slips through and I press my back against the entryway to the living room. I slip my hand in my pocket and pull out another witchstone, pinching it with both hands and pulling it like taffy. A magical beam erupts from it, long like taffy. The magick sticks to my hands, drips down them and forms glowing, green gloves. I wait. Footsteps approach the entryway and I close my eyes. I can hear breathing. From more than one person. I glance down at the witchstone on the ground, praying that the spell inside is strong enough to hold. When the first cloaked figure walks through the entryway nothing happens. When the second one walks through, he glances over and sees me there. I clapped my magick gloved hands together and both the adepts snap together, not realizing they''ve walked through a magick net. They''re squeezed together as if with saran wrap. I squeeze my hands hard, watching as their faces slowly turn blue and the air is forced from their lungs. I release my hands slightly and they both glare at me. ¡°Look who I found,¡± Kiora says, walking in from the kitchen. Before her is Marist, tears streaming down her face. ¡°Someone was trying to escape.¡± Chapter 18 Marist is sitting next to the two adepts who are bound together and leaning to the side. ¡°What''s with your hands?¡± Kiora asks. I nod my chin in the direction of the two bound adepts. ¡°So long as I keep my hands like this, they''re not going anywhere.¡± Kiora nods. ¡°You don''t look weird at all,¡± Silvy comments. Why did Marist notify the Austerium? How did she notified the Austerium? Does she think that I''m working with Renald? Does she think that I helped kidnap Pixie? Marist keeps sneaking glances at Kiora. There''s something to that. There''s something I''m missing. ¡°We need to get out of here,¡± Kiora says. If we do that, we''ll never find out what''s going on. Sure, more adepts might be on their way here right now, but why did adepts show up in the first place? From what Kiora says, Marist was trying to sneak out the back door. I don''t understand. She hired me to find her daughter, a person who was clearly kidnapped by Renald, unless he and his boss were just pretending to have kidnapped a girl named Pixie. ¡°No,¡± I finally say. ¡°We¡¯re staying here until we figure out what the hell is going on.¡± ¡°Yes. And let''s start this off by tasting a little blood,¡± Silvy says. ¡°It seems like a good tradition to start.¡± Marist sneaks another little glance at Kiora before turning her eyes back to the ground. That''s when it clicks. Marist has been acting strange since we arrived. I lean over to Kiora and whisper in her ear. Kiora nods once she understands and moves forward towards the couch. She crouches in front of the adepts, smiling. ¡°You know what the best part of being a witch is?¡± she asks. ¡°A real witch, not an inert witch like Hex over there.¡± Rude. ¡°The best part is, we get to destroy little casters like you from the inside out. You know, it''s interesting, we get enough magick into our bloodstream just by existing. We really only eat magick if we''ve been starved of it or if someone''s attacked us and we want to inflict maximum damage.¡± Kiora smiles at the casters. ¡°Guess who attacked me?¡± Both the adepts start babbling at once. ¡°We¡¯re sorry¡ª¡± ¡°We didn''t mean to¡ª¡± Kiora nods. ¡°I told him not to¡ª¡± ¡°I never wanted to be here¡ª¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± Kiora asks. They both glanced over at Marist and then back at me. ¡°Her,¡± the adept on the left says. ¡°We were told to bring in the exiled witch.¡± Kiora raises an eyebrow. ¡°Who are you working for?¡± ¡°The Austerium,¡± the same adept answers. The other adept stairs at the ground. ¡°Sure, ¡°I say, ¡°but within the Austerium, who are you working for? Who do you report to?¡± Both of them looked nervous to begin with, but now they look absolutely terrified. The one on the left starts shaking his head no and the other continues staring at the ground. I take a deep breath and blow it out. ¡°I''m really sorry, you two. Truly, I am. The thing about witches is they can''t really control whose magick they¡¯re eating. In a small enough room, a witch absorbing magick absorbs all the magick in the room. That means she can''t differentiate between you two.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. One of the adepts looks up at me. ¡°That means she¡¯ll kill you too.¡± I let out a genuine laugh. ¡°I keep telling you idiots this over and over. I don''t have any magick. That''s the curse. I look like this but have none of the power.¡± The adept who''s been staring at his feet closes his eyes. ¡°Just do it. Just get it over with.¡± I swallow and nod at Kiora. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I say. ¡°Do it.¡± I watch as she begins to transform. First her eyes turn black, then¡ª ¡°Stop!¡± Marist screams. ¡°Stop! I''ll tell you everything! Don''t kill me!¡± Kiora looks back at me, her eyes already back to normal, shaking her head. ¡°You were right.¡± I nod. When I''d whispered into her ear earlier, I''d told her to start transforming, but not to eat any magick. I had a feeling that if she did, if Marist thought she was in serious danger, that Marist would break. Marist is a caster. She saw Kiora''s horns when she opened her front door. That''s why she froze. ¡°The thing about witches,¡± Kiora says, ¡°is that our power is exact. I could have been in a room of a hundred casters, and only eaten the magick of one.¡± The adepts both stare, confused, but Marist looks down, her cheeks flooding with color. ¡°You tricked me,¡± Marist says. ¡°And you lied to me.¡± The two adepts continue staring at me and I chew on my lip. I want to talk to Marist but away from the adepts. I don''t want them influencing what she says. ¡°Silvy,¡± I say, ¡°keep an eye on these two.¡± The adepts look around, confused, for a moment before seeing Silvy puff into existence on one of their laps, looking up at both of them and licking her paw. ¡°Do you know what she is?¡± I ask. They both nod slowly and look even more terrified than when Kiora started to transform. ¡°Good. Silvy, if they move, take them to the Shadow Vaile and leave them there.¡± The color drains from both of their faces. Silvy looks back at me. ¡°If I do that, can I also bleed them dry?¡± ¡°You can flay them alive,¡± I say. ¡°I don''t care.¡± Silvy smiles and looks back at the two adepts. ¡°Please try something,¡± she purrs. ¡°I''m oh so hungry, and I seem to have grown a fondness for adept blood.¡± I release my hands and the magick spell, the magickal gloves, dissipates. The adepts on the couch are released from each other and slouch. ¡°Careful,¡± Silvy warns. ¡°If either of you moves much more, I get a little taste.¡± I walk over to Marist, grab her arm, and jerk her off the couch. I lead her out to the entryway, and we walk up the stairs. The farther away we get, the less she''ll think about the adepts. I choose the first room on the left, opening the door and seeing a sign above the bed that reads Pixie. The window is open, and a humid breeze blows and in. I gesture to Pixie¡¯s bed. ¡°Take a seat.¡± Marist sits down on the bed and puts her face in her hands. ¡°Oh, spare me,¡± I say. Marist starts crying. ¡°You''re a caster,¡± I say. Marist nods. ¡°You''re a caster who''s been lying to me this entire time. Why did you call the Austerium?¡± Marist looks up at me. ¡°I didn''t.¡± ¡°Then how did they get here?¡± I point at the floor, to roughly where the living room and those two adepts are. She swallows. ¡°They¡¯re with Renald.¡± I stare at her. I don''t know what to say. ¡°What do you mean they''re with Renald?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°He kidnapped Pixie. He told me if I didn''t help him that he would kill her. She''s just a stick. She can''t defend herself.¡± ¡°Your daughter¡¯s not a caster?¡± Marist shakes her head and I sigh. Most of the time, the Austerium turns a blind eye to caster-on-stick violence. Stick-on-caster violence though, they very much pay attention to. If you''re a stick who''s killed a caster, you''ve effectively signed your own death sentence, whether you know about Anara or not. ¡°Why did you send me to Beckeldorff''s?¡± I ask. ¡°Renald seemed surprised to see me.¡± Marist chews on her lip. Kiora steps forward. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Because I knew he''d be there,¡± Marist says. ¡°You thought you were sending me to my death?¡± I ask. She shakes her head no. I snap my fingers. ¡°Then what? Why did you send me there?¡± ¡°When I came into the shop, I was supposed to get you out. I was supposed to make you leave Blackhart so Renald could steal something from you. I don''t know what he wanted to steal, but it was something in Blackhart.¡± I nod. Theoretically his plan made sense, but the one thing Renald hadn''t realized was that Blackhart wasn''t a typical Anara shop. I was the only one in Anara or the stick world who could access Blackhart. ¡°So you were a decoy,¡± I say. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Well, I realized that he was probably never going to give me Pixie back. So I emailed you. I emailed you where he would be. I hoped that since you were a witch that you could eat his magic. Kill him.¡± ¡°You thought you¡¯d sent in an assassin,¡± I mumble. Kiora looks over at me and shakes her head. ¡°I never realized casters were so fucking dumb.¡± I shrug at her and turn back to Marist. ¡°So you sent me to kill Renald because you figured he''d already killed Pixie. Or was going to at least.¡± She nods. ¡°Why did he pick you?¡± I ask. ¡°Why Pixie?¡± ¡°Pixie is dating this guy they wanted.¡± ¡°This guy¡­¡± ¡°His name is Dom,¡± Marist said. Kiora and I stare at each other for a long time. Dom is Pixie¡¯s boyfriend. Dom was Arbor''s teacher. Dom seems to be the connecting piece in all this. What the hell was going on? ¡°Where can we find Dom?¡± I ask. If we find him, maybe we can figure out what Renald and his boss want that witchstone for, why they kidnapped Pixie, and murdered Arbor. ¡°He''s always at the Forbidden Library,¡± Marist says. ¡°Go there.¡± I''ve heard the Forbidden Library mentioned in whispers but nothing outside of that. I don''t know where it is. ¡°Find him,¡± Marist says. ¡°Find him and you''ll¡ª¡± Marist stands, rubbing her eyes as she walks around the bed and over to the window. She crosses her arms, looking out on the neighborhood. ¡°You know,¡± she says, her voice completely different. A male¡¯s voice. With an accent I recognize. She looks at me over her shoulder. Her eyes are the color of tomato soup. ¡°We never did finish our conversation.¡± My mouth dries up and my palms sweat. It can''t be. That can''t be him. Marist tilts her head as the blood wizard looks out through her eyes. ¡°Don''t tell me you don''t remember what happened in the Shadow Vaile? Our dance?¡± The color drains from my face and my knees weaken. It¡¯s him. Marist lifts her pointer finger and waves to me with it twice before throwing herself backwards out the window. Chapter 19 Kiora stares out the empty window. We have to get out of here. We have to leave. The blood wizard is here. The thing about the blood wizard is that he can be inside you, he can be influencing you, and you won''t even know it. This is all the blood wizard¡¯s doing. It has to be. He''s the one behind all of this. Behind Renald. Behind Renald''s boss. I stare at Kiora''s horns. Maybe she''s right. Maybe we do need the Belladonna royal guard. I don''t know how to reach them, and the only place I know that might be safe is that witch safe house Kiora mentioned. ¡°We''re going,¡± I say. ¡°Now.¡± Kiora stares out the open window. ¡°It''s him,¡± she says in a quiet voice. ¡°Yeah,¡± I say, confused as to how she knows about the blood wizard. ¡°You''ve heard of him?¡± ¡°Only in fairytales,¡± she says. ¡°He was the one who¡ª¡± Downstairs there''s several large crashes that end in a guttural scream. We both look at each other before running out of the room, flying down the stairs, and into the living room. There, we find Silvy, lapping at a rapidly growing puddle of blood. Both of the adepts are dead. One of the adepts has his fingers buried in the other adept¡¯s eye sockets. The blind adept, holds the hilt of a knife, the blade of which we can''t see as it''s buried in the other adept¡¯s stomach. ¡°What happened?¡± I ask Silvy, already knowing the answer. She pauses from her drinking to answer, confirming my worst fears. ¡°He''s here. He slipped into them and made them kill each other. I sort of tried to stop them but not really.¡± ¡°How do you know about the blood wizard, Hex?¡± Kiora asks. Her voice shakes. Silvy giggles. ¡°She fought him in the Shadow Vaile. She killed the vessel he was inside of.¡± Kiora gazes at me with a sort of newfound respect that I don''t feel I deserve. ¡°We''re leaving,¡± I say. Silvy raises an eyebrow. ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°That witch safe house Kiora mentioned earlier. If we¡¯re dealing with the blood wizard, we¡¯re gonna need all the help we can get and from what Kiora has said, they believe in him.¡± ¡°And the Austerium doesn''t,¡± Silvy finishes. ¡°Exactly. The only problem is Kiora doesn''t know how to get there.¡± Silvy addresses Kiora. ¡°Darling, I find it hard to believe that your bodyguard did not let you know where the location of the safe house is.¡± ¡°I know where the safe house is,¡± Kiora snaps. What?! ¡°What?!¡± I say. ¡°You just said you didn''t know where it was.¡± Kiora shakes her head. ¡°No, I said I didn''t know how to get there, and I don''t. All I have is an address.¡± I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to staple my patience to my body so it won''t completely leave me. ¡°Arbor made me enter it in my phone,¡± Kiora adds helpfully. ¡°Good,¡± I say. ¡°That''s great. Can I have it?¡± Kiora gives me the address, I plug it into my phone, and breathe a sigh of relief when I see where it''s located. It inside of Nightsbridge city limits. It''s within the boundaries of my exile. Thankfully. ¡°Out of curiosity,¡± Silvy says, ¡°what was that thump I heard earlier from outside?¡± ¡°Marist,¡± I answer, remembering what had happened. ¡°The blood wizard possessed her.¡± Silvy nods as though this answer makes complete sense. ¡°Are you planning on leaving her out there?¡± I''m not sure how I forgot, but so much has just taken place within a five minute span that I''ve completely blocked out Marist throwing herself out the window. No, scratch that, I''ve blocked out the blood wizard possessing Marist and throwing her out the window. I glance out the window of the living room and into the front yard. It''s dark enough outside that no one will probably see her lying in a heap on the lawn until morning. We should drag her inside. That will buy us at least a day or two, assuming no one notices the missing adepts, which isn''t likely. It''s worth a shot though. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I run to the front door, pull it open, and take one step outside before I freeze in place. Marist is lying on her back, but her leg is moving. She still alive. I run back inside. ¡°We need to get out of here. If that fall didn''t sever his connection to Marist, he might be able to slip back in.¡± Kiora nods. ¡°Where do we go? How do we get there?¡± ¡°We use her car.¡± I grab her keys from the kitchen. ¡°Grab some food too.¡± Kiora rifles through the pantry, grabbing pop tarts and some granola bars. It''ll have to do. Breakfast of champions, breakfast of fugitives. Once she has the food, I pull several bottles of water from the fridge and make a call. The emergency dispatcher is nice enough, but I don''t stick around on the call long enough to give her much more information than the address and what happened to Marist. I think about telling the dispatcher about the whole blood magick thing, but I''ve got a feeling the ambulance won''t show up if I mention it. That done, we head to the garage, hop in the car, and drive away. Glancing into the front yard, I see Marist still lying there. I get a quick flash in my imagination of her sitting up like Michael Myers and turning her head to stare at us. She just lies there, looking all the world like a rumpled pile of clothing on the front lawn. We drive out of the suburbs and into the main part of Nightsbridge. It''s at a stoplight when it happens. Kiora and I are both eating, drinking water, and generally not speaking about what we''ve seen over the past few hours. The bodies. The blood. The death. A guy pulls up next to us, looks over, and smiles. I smile back at him, annoyed, my mouth full of food, showing him all the chewed-up bits so he''ll leave us alone. He doesn''t. His smile stays plastered on his face as he sits in the driver''s seat, completely still. He blinks and when his eyes open, they''re tomato red. He lifts a single finger and waves to me with it. He revs his car''s engine. The light is still red. To my left, I see an eighteen wheeler approaching the intersection. Not fast, but not slow either. I glance back at the guy in the car, the guy who the blood wizard is inside of. That smile is still plastered on his face, but now he''s nodding at me. As the eighteen wheeler is just about to enter the intersection, the guy next to me guns his engine, pulling in front of the massive truck at the last second. The sound of metal and glass breaking in the night is enormous, like a physical beast tearing its way through our windows. Kiora covers her mouth, choking on granola. I stare in horror at what the blood wizard has just done. He might''ve killed two people. Not just the driver in the car, but also the driver of the eighteen wheeler. The blood wizard has raised the stakes. I u-turn and floor it, turning right on the first street I see. I drive, slowing down, trying to stay calm. A car in the opposite lane of traffic, pulls into my lane, flashing its brights on as the driver floors it. I swear out of the way and watch in my rearview as the car barreled into a storefront. Please let that store have been empty. Please let it have been closed. I lick my lips. How is he doing this? How can he be controlling so many random people in Nightsbridge? It doesn''t make any sense. Another vehicle veers into my lane of traffic, this one a truck. When I swerve again and the truck swerves with me. I spin the wheel back around, my backend kicking out and slamming into the front of the truck. I shift the car into reverse and gun it. We shoot down a back alley, and then cut through another, finally pulling into a two-story garage for an office building. ¡°What is going on?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°Why is everyone trying to kill you?¡± ¡°Not everyone,¡± I say. ¡°One person. The blood wizard.¡± ¡°How?¡± she asks. ¡°How is he controlling them?¡± I open my mouth to answer but nothing comes out. ¡°How are we supposed to get to the safe house if he''s following us?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°We can''t let him know where it is. It¡¯ll put all of our lives at risk.¡± I glance down at the map on my phone. I swallow. ¡°Okay. Let''s go on foot. I feel like he''s looking for this car right now. Maybe he won''t expect to be looking for pedestrians.¡± Kiora gives me a smile. ¡°You wouldn''t happen to have any witchstones that make you turn invisible, would you?¡± I smile and nod. ¡°I do. I have a bunch of those.¡± She gives me a sick smile. ¡°Back in Blackhart, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± We slip the pop tarts and granola bars into our pockets, finish our water, and get out of the car. ¡°Stay close to me,¡± I whisper. ¡°Can Silvy open a portal to the safe house?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Not unless we go to the Shadow Vaile. She can only open direct portals to places she''s been or seen.¡± ¡°How did she open one to Marist¡¯s?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve driven by there.¡± ¡°Doesn''t your maps app have a Street view?¡± I shake my head. ¡°I mean, yeah, it does, but that won''t help. She has to have physically seen it.¡± ¡°Not helpful,¡± Kiora mutters. ¡°She never is.¡± ¡°I can hear you both,¡± Silvy says after appearing on my shoulder. ¡°You know that just because you to can''t see me doesn''t mean I''m not here.¡± ¡°Maybe she''ll go away,¡± Kiora says. ¡°Maybe,¡± I say. ¡°Fingers crossed.¡± We make our way out of the garage and through a back alley. Once there we stick to the shadows, moving from dumpster to dumpster, keeping an eye out for any cars or trucks that are moving slowly, searching for us. At the end of the alleyway, I stick my head out, looking into the street. All the traffic lights blink yellow even though they should be functioning properly. All the cars and trucks on the road drive in slow circles. I duck back behind the dumpster and we wait for ten minutes. I stick my head out then and see that the flashing lights have turned back to regular traffic lights. The vehicles are still circling, but they''ve moved farther away. He''s searching for us. ¡°Can you run?¡± I ask. Kiora nods. I count us down and we sprint across the road. I am fully expecting to get hit by a car at any moment. On the other side of the road is the beginning of a subdivision. We make our way down the street, constantly looking around. Anytime we spot headlights coming, we run into the bushes and hide behind them. My nerves burn with panic. At one point, a lamp in one of the yards turns on and I let out a tiny shriek. My hands shake. When we finally make it to the safe house, we both stare up at it. It''s another two-story building, although this one is all modern architecture. Glass and concrete. We walk up to the front door and Kiora places her thumb on a black little square directly below the peephole. It looks like a leftover piece of electrical tape, but after a split second, there''s a click and the door cracks open. ¡°Home sweet home,¡± Kiora says, pushing the door open. We step in and close the door behind us. Both of us let out sighs of relief in the darkened house. Silvy starts giggling. ¡°You''re not going to want to turn on the lights.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Kiora asks, walking across the room. I heard her trip and fall, hitting the ground hard. ¡°What was that?¡± I ask. ¡°Are you okay? Is someone in here?¡± ¡°I''m okay,¡± Kiora says. ¡°I just tripped on something.¡± She turns on the light and we both stared at two people. Two bodies. I immediately recognize the asymmetrical green horns. It''s the witch I saw inside of C&C. Beside this witch is the other one. The witch who''d been holding her hand. Both of them float upside down at the center of the room, slowly turning as their knuckles drag bloody circles against the tile. At the center of the bloody circle on the left, written in blood, is the word Hexana. At the center of the circle on the right, is the word Covington. Hexana Covington. My name. I''m next. Chapter 20 ¡°No,¡± Kiora says in a small voice. Whoever''s doing this is going to kill me next. I''m next. Jesus. I thought Renald was the killer. If it''s not him, then who is it? Renald''s boss? The blood wizard? Someone else? ¡°They killed them.¡± Kiora sinks to the floor. ¡°I can''t believe they killed them.¡± She looks over at me, shaking her head. ¡°I don''t know what to do. I don''t know where to go next.¡± I chew on my lip. Kinda in the same boat here... ¡°We have to find Dom,¡± I say in a quiet voice. I don''t know if that''s the right decision. ¡°How?¡± she asks. ¡°How do we find Dom?¡± ¡°He''s in the Forbidden Library,¡± I say as if that means anything to either one of us. Kiora shakes her head. ¡°We don''t know where that is. Neither of us.¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, but we can find out.¡± ¡°How?¡± she asks. ¡°No one''s going to help us. Any caster we meet will be able to see our horns. They''ll know we''re witches. I can''t enter Anara. Neither can you. So how are we supposed to find out where this Forbidden Library is?¡± I have a vague inkling of an idea, but I''m not entirely sure what its fleshed out form is. There¡¯s Ted, but I haven''t spoken to him in two years. He''s just a normal stick, someone who I worked with when I didn''t know Anara even existed. There were feelings. Obviously. But then all the curse stuff happened, and I distanced myself, not wanting to drag him into it. I can''t go to Ted. So far all I¡¯ve brought to every place I¡¯ve gone is death and destruction. I chew on my lip and make up my mind. Worth a shot. I look at the two floating witches one last time and put a hand on Kiora''s shoulder. ¡°Say goodbye to them. We¡¯re leaving.¡± She looks at me with wide eyes. ¡°Where?¡± I grimace. ¡°The Red Market.¡± * * * As we walk through the Red Market, I scan the crowds, looking for a vendor who might be able to sell me the info I''m looking for. Kiora walks beside me, keeping her eyes down like I told her to, keeping the hood of her cloak loose around her head so no one can tell she has horns. I check the hood of my parka, making sure it''s in place so no one can see my own horns. As we make our way down the main road, Kiora speaks up. ¡°There.¡± She gestures with her head to the left. I glance in that direction and see a wooden storefront with frosted windows. The wood is painted black and the windowpanes have gold etched into them. The gold spells out several words. Marrow Brothers Information Brokers of the Lumaverse Top dollar paid for info on plaines and shards unknown It''s not often that a shop in the Red Market is so brazen in telling you exactly what they sell. Everyone in the Red Market likes to keep their cards close to the chest. ¡°Well?¡± Kiora asks. I chew on my lip, tempted to write Marrow Brothers off as a trap. Why would there be an entire shop built as a trap just for me though? I''m not the center of the universe. ¡°Let''s go,¡± I mumble. As we make our way towards the shop, I do my best to keep my eyes on the ground. The dim red light makes everyone look like they''ve been possessed by the blood wizard. It''s disconcerting. At any moment I expect one of the vendors to lift a hand, to lift their pointer finger and wave at me with it. ¡°You''re being awful cagey,¡± Silvy purrs from my shoulder. ¡°Yeah, well, this seems wrong.¡± Silvy looks around. ¡°Your entire life seems wrong, darling. I wouldn''t let this single event stand out.¡± I ignore her and turn the knob to Marrow Brothers. I just want to get away from all the red-tinted eyes of the vendors. After I pull the door open, I hesitate. Shadows stretch across the inside of the shop. Cobwebs hang from rotting wooden rafters. To my left, water drips into a bucket filled with brackish water that sits on top of a table. Standing behind the counter I see an old, hunched over woman. Both of her eyes are misted over. Grey. No pupils, no irises. She stands there, completely still, staring right at me, through me, even though I''m sure she must be blind. ¡°I think this was a mistake,¡± Kiora says from beside me. ¡°I don''t like the look of him.¡± I glance at her. ¡°Him?¡± ¡°The guy behind the counter. How tall he is. Something''s wrong.¡± Something is indeed wrong, but it isn''t what Kiora thinks is wrong. She''s seeing a completely different person behind the counter than I am. When I step across the threshold of the shop, it''s like stepping across a rubber membrane. I sort of snap into the room. A different room than the one I saw on the other side. I''m standing in a room drenched in warm light. No bucket with dripping water. Behind the counter is a plump woman with a smile, not a crone at all. I glance back at Kiora who steps in and hiccups in surprise, her head scanning the room, her mouth open and eyes wide. ¡°Close the door, please,¡± the woman behind the counter says, her voice high and quiet. Kiora pulls the door shut and we both approach the counter together. ¡°I don''t understand,¡± I say in a quiet voice. ¡°What was that?¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The woman laughs. ¡°A screening precaution. You see, we sell information, but we only want to sell information to people who genuinely want it. I can''t tell you how many people open that door, see something that disturbs or disquiets them, and then close the door and walk away. Those aren''t people we want to do business with.¡± ¡°So it''s a gateway?¡± Kiora asks. The woman lets out a pleasant laugh. ¡°No, it''s a regular door. But if you look at the corners¡ª¡± Kiora and I both turn and see the witchstones embedded at the four corners of the doorframe. ¡°¡ªyou can see that it''s warded. It''s warded to show you something that will truly disturb you.¡± Kiora shakes her head. ¡°He was so tall. His arms were so long. They were hanging down to the ground.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± the woman says. ¡°Enough of that. Let''s get to business. You obviously seek information badly enough to step in. Do tell me what it is that you seek.¡± I raise an eyebrow. Nothing about this shop¡¯s existence in the Red Market makes sense. Putting the warded door aside, this is a shop that would be at home in the night market. I chew on my lip. ¡°I don''t get it. Why are you here and not the night market?¡± ¡°We deal in information on all plaines and shards that we can. We find that the best information can be gleaned and sold on the underbelly of Anara.¡± ¡°I don''t follow.¡± ¡°It''s simple. The people who buy magick in Anara don''t have information that''s worth anything. Sure, they''re all too willing to buy from us, but there''s no exchange, and a good information market is built on that exchange.¡± It makes sense. The Red Market traffics in underground items and witchstones, so why not underground information? ¡°So what are you saying?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°Part of the process of buying info is giving you info?¡± The woman smiles. ¡°In order to even qualify to purchase information, you have to part with information.¡± ¡°A tax.¡± ¡°It''s more of a markup than a tax, but I understand your point.¡± The woman shrugs. ¡°It''s just the cost of doing business.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°Here''s my concern: if I give you info on something you don''t already have info on, how can I be assured you have info on the thing I want?¡± The woman smiles. ¡°We have info on everything.¡± ¡°Then how am I supposed to offer you anything valuable? You would already know it, if you know everything, correct?¡± She smiles at that. ¡°Sometimes confirmation of previously obtained info is just as valuable as the info itself.¡± ¡°I could just make something up?¡± The woman smiles good-naturedly. ¡°You could, but I would know.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°When you walked through that door, you were analyzed. Look above each other''s heads.¡± I glance at Kiora and she looks over at me. Floating above our heads is a ball of white light. Kiora reaches her hand up to touch it, but the woman snaps her fingers. ¡°I wouldn''t do that if you value your hand.¡± Kiora shrinks away, bringing her hand back down to her side. That''s why they''re so bold about broadcasting what they do. They''ve thought through everything. The woman behind the counter smiles, but the smile never touches her eyes. ¡°If we lie to you, our respective ball drops, doesn''t it?¡± I ask. The woman smiles wider and this time it does touch her eyes, which is somehow worse. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What happens?¡± Kiora asks. ¡°Well, imagine your head is a block of ice. Imagine that ball is a ball of superheated iron. Imagine placing that ball of superheated iron on top of that block of ice.¡± The woman whistles as she traces a finger from my head to the ground. I smile. ¡°How long?¡± She raises an eyebrow. ¡°How long does it take for the ball hit the ground.¡± She laughs at that. ¡°I like you. It usually takes two seconds.¡± ¡°Two seconds?¡± I raise my eyebrows and leaned in, lowering my voice. ¡°You can''t do better?¡± The woman laughs again. ¡°Oh, I really like you. I hope you don''t lie to me.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t dream of it,¡± I say. Kiora snorts. ¡°I''m glad you two are getting along, but you do realize that she threatened us? Threatened our lives?¡± I looked at her. ¡°Only if we lie. Just tell the truth.¡± Kiora looks as though she''s seeing something for the very first time. Something she doesn''t like. She shakes her head and crosses her arms. ¡°You deal with this. I want nothing to do with it. I want no part of it.¡± The woman nods as though this happens all the time and gestures to her left. ¡°There''s a waiting lounge over there.¡± The section of the shop she indicates holds several plush armchairs. There''s a table close to the chairs filled with snacks and coffee. There''s even a humidor filled with cigars. Kiora grumbles but makes her way over. ¡°So here we are,¡± I say. ¡°Do you ask me for info on something specific? Or do I just give you info on something I think you¡¯ll find interesting?¡± She smiles. ¡°That all depends. Tell me what you seek first. What do you want info on?¡± Two things, actually. Dom and the forbidden library. If I tell her Dom, he could move by the time we get there. If I get info on the Forbidden Library though, I can just wait there for him to show up. ¡°I want to know where the Forbidden Library is,¡± I say. The woman looks her tongue. ¡°Tricky.¡± She swipes her hand across the counter and I smile at what I''m looking at. The entire counter is covered in witchstones. The witchstones glow with light, sending tracers up into the air. The light mingled creates a sort of hologram there, a floating circle. The woman speaks two words. ¡°Forbidden Library.¡± The floating ball unravels, threads of light trailing down to other witchstones before emerging again and connecting to still more witchstones. It''s like watching one of those water fountains at a theme park where it looked like the water was shooting from one place to another, above people¡¯s heads. Soon the threading of light stops and all the threads converge at the center. The ball there turns green and spins slowly. ¡°I have the information you seek,¡± the woman says. ¡°What can you offer us?¡± ¡°How much is it going to be before I give you anything?¡± The woman shrugs. ¡°That depends. We trade in witchstones, arcana, gold, dollars.¡± ¡°Okay, I trade in all those things as well. What sort of witchstone are you looking for?¡± She raises an eyebrow. ¡°Are you a witchstone dealer?¡± ¡°I am. What power level do you want?¡± ¡°Six,¡± she says. ¡°Assuming you can handle that sort of weight.¡± I smile at her and pull back the hood of my parka. She glances up at my horns, understanding sinking in immediately. ¡°The owner of Blackhart,¡± she says reverently. ¡°My apologies. I do believe you can handle that weight.¡± ¡°I don''t have a six on me right now, but will you take collateral? Or can I pay later?¡± ¡°You cannot pay later,¡± she says, ¡°but you can put down collateral.¡± ¡°What''s the required power level?¡± ¡°Eight.¡± I mouth the word eight back at her and nod. I slip my hand into my pocket, pluck the witchstone I''m looking for from the holster, and pull it out, placing it on the counter. She reaches for it and places it on a scale. Magick threads erupt from the scale and surrounded the witchstone for several seconds before withdrawing. ¡°8.5,¡± she says, nodding. ¡°Okay. Your payment has been accepted. ¡° ¡°Collateral,¡± I correct. She smiles at me. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I repeat. ¡°So, now you need info?¡± She nods and I tell her several things about the Shadow Vaile, things that make her eyes widen and her skin go paler than it already is. ¡°Will that be acceptable?¡± I ask when I''m finished. ¡°Absolutely. Considering that the info you''ve given us is more than was required, you now have in information credit with us.¡± I dip my chin in thanks. ¡°Can you tell me where the Forbidden Library is?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± she says. ¡°You may not like where it is though.¡± ¡°I''ve already paid. I might as well get my money''s worth.¡± She nods and leans forward. ¡°It''s in the Austerium. It''s on the third floor of the Evermind building.¡± The Austerium? How am I supposed to get into the Austerium? They all know what I look like. They know what Kiora looks like. ¡°I can see that this wasn''t how you thought the information you''d be receiving would go. As a client who may have information we would later like to mine, I can go ahead and extend to you a good faith offer.¡± I nod. ¡°Was there anything in relation to this Forbidden Library you wished to know?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I say. ¡°Can you tell me if a specific person is inside the Forbidden Library right now?¡± She brightens. ¡°Absolutely.¡± ¡°No cost?¡± ¡°No cost, but do consider using us again if you ever have need for information. I feel this relationship will continue to be fruitful if so.¡± I nod again. ¡°Okay. Can you tell me if there is a man named Dom in the Forbidden Library?¡± She fiddles with her witchstones for several moments before glancing up and nodding. ¡°Dominic Marzone?¡± I shrug. ¡°I don''t know him by that name. All I have is Dom.¡± ¡°Dom is one of Dominic Marzone''s nicknames.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°Well, thank you.¡± The woman smiles at me. ¡°Thank you, and tell your friend over there that I''m sorry for upsetting her.¡± ¡°I will,¡± I say. I make my way over to Kiora and before we walk out of Marrow Brothers I pull my hood up again. We walk in silence for several moments before Kiora asks, ¡°So? Did you find out where the Forbidden Library is?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say with a frown. ¡°It''s in the Austerium.¡± ¡°No,¡± she says. ¡°It gets worse.¡± ¡°How does it get worse?¡± ¡°It''s on the third floor of the Evermind building.¡± ¡°That¡¯s worse.¡± I nod. We walk in silence for several moments before Kiora stops. ¡°Arbor once mentioned another safe house in Galveston,¡± she says. ¡°I think I want to go there.¡± I shake my head. ¡°We can''t. I can''t get you there. I''m locked within the boundaries of Nightsbridge.¡± ¡°I know you can''t get me there.¡± Kiora gives me a sad smile. ¡°But I can.¡± My head rocks back as if I''ve been punched. ¡°Right,¡± I say. ¡°You can.¡± We start walking again, but it''s a while before I figure out what I want to say. ¡°Okay. I''ll help you as much as I can.¡± She nods. ¡°Thank¡ª¡± Her words are cut off at the exact same time something sharp presses into my lower back. I try to turn around, try to reach for my witchstone holster, but a voice hisses at me before I get a chance. It''s a voice I recognize. ¡°Did you miss me?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°Oh, and by the way, yeah, you''re both under arrest.¡± Chapter 21 Upon hearing Cerulea''s voice, I try to spin around. It doesn''t entirely work that way though. The point pressed into my back turns blunt, widens. My hands, down at my sides, are wrapped in something hard and cold hard. They''re yanked behind my back. I glance over at Kiora and see that the same thing has happened to her. The worst part? I know exactly what''s happening. We''re both in Austerium cuffs. And the thing about Austerium cuffs is that they''re connected to the person who places them. They''re essentially cursed arcana that can''t be removed unless the person who places them decides to remove them. ¡°Did you think I was going to forget about you?¡± Cerulea asks. ¡°Kind of?¡± I say. She laughs. ¡°Not likely. Two witches? In Anara? That just can''t stand.¡± How did she find me? Is she working with Renald? I take a deep breath and blow it out. You getting paranoid. You''re seeing shadows where there are none. I''d taken Cerulea to the Red Market. I''d let her know about the only other place I might be. How did she get here without an invite? ¡°So who did you bribe?¡± I ask. Cerulea snorts. ¡°Do you not think the Austerium has people on every plaine and shard?¡± I''ve always assumed they had people in most places, but I didn''t think they had anyone here in the Red Market. And that brought up something else. If I alert the Red Market that she''s an adept, she''ll be done for. She''ll be murdered and quickly. ¡°What''s to stop me from letting everyone know what you are?¡± I ask. Cerulea doesn''t say anything for a few moments. ¡°You didn''t think ahead that far, did you?¡± I ask. ¡°You just thought you''d get us, hoped you''d get us I should say, and then return us right back to the Austerium and nothing would happen? No fallout?¡± ¡°If you say anything,¡± Cerulea hisses, ¡°I''ll kill your friend. The Austerium may be going soft on you, half-witch, but a real witch? I''m legally within my rights to execute her right here, right now. The Austerium gives me that power.¡± I could try to run, but the Austerium cuffs will stay there until I die or cut my hands off. Even if Cerulea dies, the cuffs will stay. I have one other option. It''s an option I don''t entirely want to use but based on the situation I don''t see any other choice. I glance over at Kiora and mouth the words I''m sorry. Cerulea picks up on this. ¡°You should be sorry,¡± she says. ¡°I can''t believe you came back here. I can''t believe you came back to the one place I knew you had access to. Embarrassing. Truly.¡± ¡°That''s not what I was apologizing for.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Cerulea laughs. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re apologizing for the fact that you got your friend here killed. I might not be executing her yet, but the Austerium most assuredly will destroy her once we make it back.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Assuming we make it back,¡± I say. I look around for Silvy. My eyes travel to a cart where a man is in tight negotiations with another man. On the cart between them is a black dagger. There there''s a stain along the edge and the crust of something long since dried. Silvy is jumping back and forth between their two opposing shoulders. She glances over at me and shrugs. Her paw shoots out and she pops the button off the man''s collar, catching it with her other paw and making it disappear. I mouth two words to her and she smiles. She blinks out of existence and reappears on my shoulder. ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asks. I nod my head a fraction of an inch. I don''t look at her again, but I can feel her smiling. ¡°Cerulea,¡± I say putting every bit of regret in my voice I can muster. ¡°I apologize.¡± Cerulea laughs. ¡°Your apology means nothing. You mean nothing. I thought you knew that by now?¡± I smile and shake my head. ¡°No. I apologize for what''s about to happen to you. I''m not entirely sure that you deserve it, I mean, I think you do, but sometimes you can''t be entirely sure.¡± ¡°What are you babbling about?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I say. ¡°What am I babbling about?¡± ¡°Keep walking,¡± she hissed. ¡°I do have one question though. Something you can maybe help me out with?¡± Cerulea doesn''t say a word as we move towards a part of the Red Market I''ve never been. ¡°Do you know where the Forbidden Library is?¡± I ask. I feel her stiffen and she clears her throat. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What''s the problem?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she says. ¡°I''m just wondering why you want to know about the Forbidden Library.¡± ¡°I have my reasons,¡± I say. ¡°Well¡­ don''t.¡± Cerulea has always come off as the type of person who enjoys lording information over someone else. The fact that she''s so hesitant to talk about the Forbidden Library is an interesting development. ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°I''m starting to get bored now.¡± ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°It means we¡¯re going on a little trip.¡± I quit walking and make a quick sidestep in front of Kiora, who bumps into me. Cerulea turns and lunges at us, believing we''re trying to escape. Just like I want her to. ¡°Whoops,¡± I say and look down. Cerulea does the same and sees what blinks open below us. A portal. She screams as we fall through and float downwards in the Shadow Vaile. My hands, still cuffed behind me, make changing positions in the air a little hard. We are in a part of the Shadow Vaile that I''ve never seen. That sickly green light was still just at the horizon. Does it ever fully come out? I push that thought away. I don''t want to know where that light is coming from. Below us is what looks like water. It flows in a rapid current, but there''s no landmass to be seen. ¡°We''re back.¡± Kiora breathes out a sigh of pleasure. ¡°I can feel it in my bones. So warm.¡± She isn''t the only one. The warmth fills me, feeds me. All the exhaustion weighing me down from using the witchstones dissipates as warmth flows through my veins. ¡°Where are we?¡± Cerulea asks. Her head keeps snapping to the left and right, looking at new things, trying to understand where we are. Trying to understand how the power has shifted so drastically and in only a millisecond. I looked over at her. ¡°Where do you think we are?¡± Cerulea shakes her head, but I can tell she has an inkling. ¡°Silvy,¡± I say, ¡°while we''re here can you open a portal to the Forbidden Library?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Silvy yawns, her glowing eyes slowly spinning, clockwise. ¡°I am a familiar.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I say. I turn back to Cerulea and smile. ¡°First time here?¡± She doesn''t respond. ¡°You know, with you knowing all the places I''ve been, I figured maybe you would know about this place? The Austerium has people everywhere, right?¡± She doesn''t say anything. ¡°I guess they do now,¡± I say. The water below us shifts and starts whirling in a vortex. As the void at the center of the vortex descends, faces press out against the wall of water. These faces are humanoid but are missing noses and eyes. At the center of each phase is a gaping mouth filled with yellow teeth. Cerulea looks at me. ¡°Get us out of here.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I say. ¡°You never know though. Maybe we''ll just stay a little.¡± ¡°Get us out of here.¡± ¡°You know, the thing about magick, is that witches can eat it.¡± ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°I''m not threatening you. I''m letting you know a fact.¡± I glance over at Kiora and she nods. Her horns glow and Cerulea screams. I roll my eyes. ¡°She''s not eating your magick, you coward.¡± Behind my back, I feel the cuffs disappear. I fold my arms in front of my chest and shake my head at Cerulea, disappointed. ¡°What did you think?¡± I ask. ¡°Did you think magical cuffs were going to work on a witch?¡± Cerulea looks up and I can finally see the terror in her eyes. Silvy yawns as we continue floating towards those mouths waiting below. ¡°Good news and bad news,¡± Silvy says. ¡°What''s the good news?¡± I ask. ¡°I found the Forbidden Library.¡± ¡°And the bad news?¡± ¡°It''s wizards only.¡± Cerulea chuckles at that. ¡°You can''t get in. I can''t even get in. The entire library is warded against anyone with magick abilities less than those of a wizard.¡± Chapter 22 How am I supposed to see Dom in the Forbidden Library if only wizards can enter? In that moment, it all clicks. Marist told me Dom is always inside the Forbidden Library. Dom is a wizard. What was a wizard doing teaching a witch how to play scheme? I look over at Kiora. ¡°Did Dom know that Arbor was a witch?¡± ¡°I don''t know. I don''t think so. I don''t know why she would''ve told him.¡± If Dom found out, he very easily could''ve killed Arbor. Wizards and witches are mortal enemies. They are both each other''s Achilles'' heel. He had all the motivation in the world. But how did Marist know Dom? Dom was connected to Arbor, so how did Marist get involved with that portion of things? Something isn''t adding up. I feel like it''s right there, right in front of me, like the answer is on the tip of my tongue, but I can''t think of the right word to say. If I can''t get inside the Forbidden Library, I can at least get inside the Austerium. Maybe I can get Dom''s attention from the entrance of the Forbidden Library. If I have Silvy open a portal at the entrance of the Forbidden Library, what am I supposed to do with Cerulea and Kiora? I make up my mind. ¡°Give me your cloak,¡± I tell Cerulea. She hesitates, looking down at the gaping maw we''re floating towards. ¡°Now,¡± I say. ¡°Give me your cloak if you want to live.¡± Cerulea, still looking hesitant, pulls off her cloak and hands it over. I slip it on. It''s a bit short in the sleeves, but other than that, it fit as though it''s mine. ¡°Silvy,¡± I say, ¡°deposit Cerulea onto an oil rig somewhere off the coast of the U.S.¡± Silvy smiles and before Cerulea has a chance to say anything or try to stop me, a portal opens below her and she shoots through as though she''s been sucked into it. ¡°Where?¡± I ask. ¡°Off the coast of Florida.¡± I not. ¡°Fine.¡± I look over at Kiora. She holds her hands up. ¡°Relax,¡± I say. ¡°I''m not putting you on an oil rig. I''m going to put you in Galveston.¡± She breathes out a sigh of relief. ¡°Do you know where in Galveston the safe house is?¡± She shakes her head no. ¡°I don''t, but I know a place where I can ask.¡± That''s an interesting nugget of information. If she knows of a place where she can ask, there must be some a group of witches in Galveston. I nod. ¡°Okay. So where do you want Silvy to put you? The Strand? The beach?¡± ¡°Put me on the Strand. On the side with the Railroad Museum.¡± Before I have a chance to say anything else, Silvy pops a portal open below Kiora and she''s sucked into it. Silvy floats in a circle around my head. ¡°I must say, your actions make no sense, darling.¡± I chew on my lip, looking down at the open mouth that''s now only twenty feet away. ¡°Yeah,¡± I say, ¡°to you maybe. To me though, they make all the sense in the world.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± Silvy shrugs. ¡°Open a portal into the Austerium. Put it far enough away from the entrance to the Forbidden Library that I don''t draw attention when I go through it.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Silvy chuckles. ¡°You¡¯re going to act like an adept? You can''t get into the Forbidden Library. You''re not a wizard.¡± I nod. ¡°You''re right. I''m not a wizard. I''m a witch.¡± ¡°Whatever that means,¡± Silvy says and opens a portal below me. As soon as I''m on the other side of the portal, the cold hits me. It''s such a marked change that my bones physically ache. My teeth immediately started chattering. I pull my parka closer around me. ¡°You look like you''re smuggling something,¡± Silvy comments as my feet lightly touch the marble tile of an Austerium hallway. She isn''t wrong. I''m wearing Cerulea''s cloak over my parka. I look different than everyone else, but not so different that I think it will make a difference, especially if I keep the cloak¡¯s hood pulled up. A pang of nostalgia shoots through me. When I first entered Anara, before I got cursed, I saw something similar to what I''m seeing now. Cloaked figures in the same color I''m wearing move here and there, busy little bees. The walls of the Austerium are gold and the marble on the floor is solid black. Twenty feet above the marble, glowing chandeliers float. The lights on the chandeliers represented the different major plaines. At the far end of the hall are two massive doors. Three adepts stand to either side of these doors, and everyone walks past, ignoring them completely. I stay where I am, in the shadows, for several moments before I step out. I need more info. I need to figure out what''s going on. Why are they guarding the doors if only wizards can access the Forbidden Library? I fall in beside another adept who''s walking slowly, mindlessly scrolling on her lumadex. ¡°I must''ve missed the memo,¡± I say in a sleepy voice. ¡°I''ve been working too long.¡± The adept snorts. ¡°That''s true of us all. I think my last shift was thirty-six hours.¡± ¡°No kidding. Mine was a little under thirty-four. So what''s going on with the Forbidden Library?¡± The adept glances at me, takes in the cloak, and returns her focus to her lumadex. ¡°The centennial scheme tournament.¡± ¡°Wow. I love scheme.¡± The adept snorts again. ¡°You couldn''t get in even if you wanted.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It''s wizards only and unless you''re the thrall of a wizard who''s participating, you can''t get in. Even to watch.¡± ¡°Why do they have thralls? Why don''t they just play it themselves?¡± ¡°You don''t think a wizard would risk their life over a game, do you?¡± ¡°Wait, they''re playing death scheme?¡± The adept looks at me longer than I would''ve liked. ¡°Yes,¡± she finally answers, stretching the single word out to five times its regular length. She examines me. ¡°What department do you work in again?¡± ¡°I work for Lebec, with Cerulea.¡± The adept looks at me for a half second longer before returning her gaze to her lumadex. ¡°They really must keep you in the dark.¡± ¡°They do,¡± I agree. I decide I''ve gotten as much information out of her as I''m willing to try for and think I might have better luck if I turn my attention to someone else. I peel away from the adept, weaving between other adepts and casters walking the halls, looking for someone alone. As I draw closer to the entrance of the Forbidden Library, I see a person in a cloak approach the doors. The adepts never move. The cloaked figure reaches out to turn the doorknob and pull open the giant doors, but their hand never makes it within an inch of the door. Their entire cloak blazes alight with flame and they fall to the marble, screaming. Once the flames burn out, two of the adepts on either side of the door rush forward, pick the burned person up, and disappear down one of the hallways. The two absent adepts are quickly replaced. ¡°I think you should just give it a shot, darling,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Just reach your hand out. It''ll be fun.¡± Silvy is both right and wrong. I need to get into that library, but I''m not willing to light myself on fire and get hauled off to an Austerium dungeon. Farther away, I see an adept aimlessly strolling, their hands in their pockets, looking up at the ceiling as if in thought. I fall in beside them and speak. ¡°Have a lot of people tried to enter the Forbidden Library today?¡± The adept jumps and looks at me with wild eyes. ¡°Sorry, I didn''t mean to startle you.¡± The woman pulls her cloak back and laughs at me. ¡°My head¡¯s in the clouds. Sorry. What was the question?¡± ¡°Oh, I was just wondering if many people had been hauled off like that last person was?¡± ¡°Hauled off from where?¡± the woman asks. ¡°Someone just tried to access the Forbidden Library and caught on fire.¡± ¡°It happens.¡± The woman laughs and shakes her head. ¡°Casters think that maybe they''re strong enough to enter. The problem is self-confidence won''t get you in.¡± I nod. ¡°How often do they try?¡± ¡°Try to get in? Oh, I don''t know, once a week maybe. More whenever there''s a tournament taking place like the centennial one that''s going on right now.¡± ¡°My boss keeps me in the dark. What''s the centennial tournament?¡± ¡°It''s the only one of the yearly tournaments that''s a death scheme tournament. And it''s the only one where the Austerium opens their vaults and places a single, powerful item up as the prize.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°It''s the Austerium,¡± she says. ¡°It''s run by wizards. Why wouldn''t they do that?¡± I nod even though it doesn''t make sense to me at all. ¡°What was the item?¡± The adept shrugs. ¡°Only the wizards know.¡± I nod again. There''s still something I''m missing. Something¡ª My mouth falls open as I watch someone I recognize approach the entrance to the Forbidden Library. It''s Renald¡¯s boss. He glances around, but his eyes pass right over me, not recognizing me in the adept robe I''m wearing. He pauses before the doors of the Forbidden Library. I shake my head. Is he a wizard? I watch as he squeezes his left hand tightly. I watch as he squeezes it even harder and see his hand light up with a faint glow before that glow disappears. He reaches his hand out for the doorknob and grabs it, turning it and pushing it open. The adepts to either side stomp their feet once, almost as though they''re announcing him. He walks through the door and it closes behind him. That glow in his hand came from the witchstone he stole from me, from the ampstone. Chapter 23 I close my eyes. Now that it''s right in front of me, it''s all so obvious. Renald''s boss isn''t a wizard, but the ampstone he just used fooled the wards into thinking he had the abilities of a wizard. Why does he want into the forbidden library though? Surely he isn''t going to enter the tournament. He doesn''t have a thrall to play for him. I swallow. I have to get in. I have to find out why Renald¡¯s boss has gone through so much trouble to get in. The images of a murdered Arbor and the two Belladonna Royal guards flashes in my head, only there''s a new victim. Pixie. I have to find Pixie, but that''s not what''s driving me. I have to find out what this was all for. Why all this murder? Why all this death? And what does the blood wizard have to do with it? Maybe Dom wanted Arbor to be his thrall? Was that why he was teaching her how to play scheme? There are too many questions I don''t have answers for. I have to figure out what I''m going to do as I''ve hit a dead-end. If I go back to Blackhart, I might be able to find another ampstone. Not sure if I have one in stock, but if I do, it''s my best bet. The only problem is that all entrances to Blackhart, as well as Sulis, are probably completely locked down by the Austerium by now. Even if you show up to Sulis, the Austerium probably already has a ward in place so Silvy won''t even be able to portal you out. Sulis is a death trap. I could contact Lebec, and maybe he''ll stop the tournament. That doesn''t seem like the best idea, but my only other option is contacting Cerulea, to see if she can convince Lebec to stop the tournament. That seems like an even worse idea. She''s somewhere off the coast of Florida on an ocean rake. How would I even contact her? I close my eyes and sigh. There''s really only one option that doesn''t immediately end with me in another pair of Austerium handcuffs. I look around. What I''m looking for is twenty feet away, to my right. A shallow place in the gold wall that''s lined with witchstones. At the center of this is a detachable lumadex. I pick it up. Moment of truth. I scrolled through the contacts until I come to the L section. I tap the name and bring the phone to my ear. It rings once before it''s picked up. ¡°This is Lebec,¡± the bumbling voice says from the other end of the line. ¡°Lebec, I need you to listen to me and listen carefully.¡± ¡°Hexana? Is this Hexana?¡± ¡°I told you to call me Hex.¡± ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°Focus on what I''m saying.¡± They''re already tracing the call. Too bad they''re expecting it to be coming from the stick world, not from within their own house. That will trip them up and take a little bit longer. I still need to move quickly though. ¡°I spoke to Cerulea,¡± Lebec says. ¡°You dropped her on an oil rig?¡± ¡°I don''t care about that,¡± I say. ¡°What I need you to¡ª¡± ¡°You should care about it. She twisted her ankle. She''s furious with you.¡± ¡°Lebec. Focus. What you need¡ª¡± ¡°You know, ¡°Lebec interrupts, ¡°I''ve had your back since day one. I fought for you. I can''t believe you would turn on me like this. Aiding and abetting a witch? Murdering¡ªno¡ªslaughtering seventeen Austerium adepts? And for what? You didn''t used to be a witch. You don''t hold any blood ties to Belladonna. Why did you do it?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I didn''t. There was a man.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Lebec says. ¡°Maldive. He said you would say this.¡± So Renald''s boss'' name is Maldive. Lebec continues, ¡°Maldive says that you told Renald that you were going to kill Maldive and blame it all on Renald.¡± ¡°I don''t know a Maldive,¡± I say. ¡°Devlin. Devlin Maldive. He says you know him.¡± I have his full name. Finally. I smile. ¡°I didn''t kill any of those adepts.¡± ¡°You didn''t?¡± Lebec asks. ¡°Well, yeah, I did, but it was in self-defense. They attacked me. Maldive made them attack me.¡± ¡°And what about Renald? What did you do to him?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t me. That was Maldive.¡± ¡°There you go lying again. First you say you didn''t kill the adepts, then you did. Then you say you didn''t kill Renald. Is now the time where you tell me you did kill him? Because Maldive told me everything that happened.¡± ¡°If Maldive was there, why didn''t you see him when I left?¡± Lebec pauses for a long moment. ¡°He says he was getting reinforcements.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I ask. ¡°You saw me in Sulis. Where had he gone to get reinforcements from? Did you ever see these reinforcements?¡± ¡°Look,¡± Lebec says, ¡°I''d like for both you and that other witch to come in. To answer some questions. We can get to the bottom of this.¡± I laugh. ¡°Just like you could get to the bottom of my exile. No thanks.¡± ¡°Hex, you have to understand, I¡ª¡± ¡°I''m done listening to you. You listen to me. Maldive is inside the Forbidden Library right now.¡± Lebec is quiet for a moment. ¡°That''s impossible.¡± ¡°It''s really not,¡± I say. ¡°He''s not a wizard.¡± ¡°No shit. Why don''t you catch up with the rest of the class and listen to what I''m saying? He was in Sulis to begin with because he needed a witchstone from me. A witchstone his little lackey, Renald, failed to deliver to him. So he stole it.¡± ¡°A witchstone? What are you talking about?¡± ¡°He stole an ampstone.¡± ¡°What''s an ampstone? I thought you said he stole a witchstone.¡± ¡°Ampstone is just what I call it. Don''t worry about that part. The witchstone amplifies a caster¡¯s powers. For a short window of time their innate magickal ability is amplified. Are you getting it now?¡± Lebec is quiet. ¡°Hey,¡± I say. ¡°Old man. Are you paying attention?¡± ¡°Yes. If what you''re saying is true, come in. Turn yourself in and we''ll talk it through. We¡¯ll even get Maldive in here, we¡¯ll find him.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± I ask. ¡°Can you get adepts into the Forbidden Library to apprehend him?¡± There is a long pause. ¡°No,¡± he finally says. ¡°Then how are you gonna get him? How are you going to catch him red-handed if you can''t even get into the place where he is?¡± Lebec sucks in a deep breath and blows it out. ¡°Well, I guess I don''t know.¡± ¡°Riddle me this, dickhole: he has a witchstone he used to access to the Forbidden Library where this once every one hundred years tournament is being played. Why?¡± ¡°I guess I don''t know the answer to that either.¡± ¡°I don''t have an answer to that either but¡ª¡± Something the second adept I spoke to mentioned clicks with several other things in my head. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°This prize the Austerium put up. Is there any way it could be something more valuable than the Austerium realizes?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I chuckle. ¡°It''s all connected, you dummy.¡± ¡°You sound crazy, Hex.¡± ¡°Maybe I am. Did you know that Arbor was being trained to play scheme?¡± ¡°What?¡± Lebec asks. ¡°By a wizard. She was being trained to play scheme by a wizard. Are you getting it yet?¡± ¡°That doesn''t make any sense though,¡± Lebec says in a quiet voice. ¡°If a witch played scheme, nothing would happen. They would just absorb¡ª¡± And it all really slides into place. I finally understand. ¡°She was a ringer,¡± I say in a quiet voice. She was an automatic win condition. ¡°If they played scheme, nothing would affect her. She would just absorb the magick and continue playing while her opponent fought the effects, right?¡± ¡°Assuming what you''re saying is true, yes.¡± ¡°So why would one wizard spike the tournament with a witch? And why would a caster do everything in their power, even sending adepts to their death, to get a witchstone so they could gain entrance to this tournament?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°It''s the prize. The prize is important enough that people are doing desperate things to get it. You hired me to figure this all out, and that''s what I did. Stop the tournament, Lebec. Something''s wrong.¡± Lebec swallows from the other end of the line. ¡°I can''t.¡± ¡°You can''t? Not even if the blood wizard¡¯s involved?¡± Lebec size. ¡°You can''t keep leaning on the blood wizard.¡± ¡°I can if I saw him earlier today.¡± ¡°You didn''t.¡± ¡°I did. Go to Nightsbridge. The caster¡¯s name is Marist. She was possessed by him. And then I got to see him appear in the cars next to me as I tried to get away.¡± ¡°You''re saying the blood wizard is in Nightsbridge.¡± ¡°No, I''m saying the blood wizard was in Nightsbridge, at least inside of several people.¡± ¡°But that''s impossible.¡± ¡°That''s your area of expertise. I just work here.¡± ¡°It won''t matter.¡± ¡°What won''t matter? Take it to your boss.¡± ¡°He''s tired of hearing about the blood wizard. He doesn''t believe it. He doesn''t believe you. You''re a blooded witch who¡¯s suspected of killing a caster. Even though we can''t prove you did it, the visibility of your horns are evidence enough that the Austerium can''t trust you.¡± I close my eyes. ¡°You''re so stupid. You''re so, so stupid.¡± ¡°Then the Austerium is stupid as well.¡± ¡°That''s right.¡± He blows out a huge breath. ¡°Hex, you''re wanted for killing seventeen adepts.¡± ¡°Lebec, keep your eye on the prize, literally. Something''s wrong with this tournament. It smells.¡± ¡°You''re also wanted for the death of Renald.¡± ¡°Listen,¡± I say, ¡°you don''t understand¡ª¡± ¡°Additionally you¡¯re wanted for harboring a witch. A full-blood witch, I might add.¡± I close my eyes. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I''m telling you what you''re going to be arrested for. We know you''re in the Austerium. Adepts are on their way to apprehend you outside the Forbidden Library. I''m sorry, Hex.¡± Chapter 24 I have to get out. I have to escape. And fast. No. Take a deep breath. Relax. You''re fine. You can''t keep running. Everyone is against me. Lebec. Cerulea. Even Kiora left me, abandoned me. I can easily have Silvy open a portal to some other place, but I don''t want to do that. I want into the Forbidden Library. Pixie is counting on me. She''s in there. Somewhere. Against her will. I look around the lobby in front of the Forbidden Library, scanning the crowd for any adept that might be on the lookout for me. I have at least a few minutes before Lebec''s adepts get here, which is better than nothing. I have to figure out what my next best move is, but I don''t have many choices. I could take an adept hostage. I can imagine that one playing out. As soon as I take the person hostage, all the other adepts would turn towards me, attack me. Or, worse, they would let me walk right to the door and destroy myself on the ward protecting it. Additionally, I could take a wizard hostage. The odds of me being successful at that are about as good as the odds of me becoming a wizard. A wizard would destroy me where I stood, even if I threatened them, it''s not like they wouldn''t go down without a fight. Even if I did take a wizard hostage, and they did comply, they could still walk right through the warded door and I would still burn up unless they allowed me in. And then there''s my last option. It''s probably both the safest option as well as the riskiest one. I could take all the witchstones in my holster, activate them all at the same time to temporarily boost the magick in my system, and hope the ward protecting the door detects enough magick to pass me as a wizard. I have quite a few strong witchstones in my holster, but I''m not sure if I''ll be able to handle the amount of damage I''ll take just from using them. Some of the witchstones even create opposite effects in the body. My mind flashes back to elementary school when our science teacher made a volcano, putting baking soda down at the base and then pouring vinegar inside. I imagined activating two different witchstones, the magick racing through my veins, the magick hitting the opposing magick force, fizzing up through my veins, through my throat, through my brains. I swallow. I want to throw up. It''s my only option though. Pixie is depending on me. Marist is depending on me. ¡°So,¡± Silvy says, ¡°what''s the plan?¡± Staring over at the door, I turn my decision over in my head. It''s risky. It''s dangerous. The timing will have to be perfect. I can''t use all the stones too early before reaching the door, otherwise the adepts guarding it might suspect something. I''ll have to trigger the witchstones right as I come up to the gate. ¡°We¡¯re going through,¡± I say. ¡°Through?¡± Silvy asks. ¡°Through what?¡± I nod in the direction of the Forbidden Library. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Silvy asks. ¡°I mean truly, have you completely gone stark raving?¡± ¡°No,¡± I say in a quiet voice. ¡°It''s what I have to do though.¡± ¡°You have to die?¡± Silvy asks. ¡°Far be it from me to stop you from destroying yourself, but I''d at least like you to do it in a more entertaining way than this. Burning to death? Being led off to an Austerium dungeon? The whole thing just reeks of desperation. It''s embarrassing, darling. Pathetic even.¡± ¡°Thanks for the vote of confidence.¡± ¡°Are you not getting it? I have no confidence in you. I''ve never had confidence in you, but I must say, this is a new low. This is tragic. You''re tragic.¡± Silvy''s just worried about her own existence. If I die, I don''t think she knows exactly what will happen to her. I was cursed with her presence when I''d been cursed with the horns. If I no longer exist, does she no longer exist? The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I slowly start walking toward the giant doors that lead into the Forbidden Library. I take in my surroundings, it may be the last time I''m able to see anything. ¡°You really must think about this a second time,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Possibly a third if the second time doesn¡¯t take.¡± ¡°I''m going to use all the witchstones in my pocket.¡± ¡°And what?¡± Silvy asks. ¡°You think that''s going let you pass through the ward? The ward only lets through those who have the magical stores of a wizard, not those who have magick racing through their veins like some junkie.¡± ¡°You don''t know that,¡± I say. ¡°Of course I know that. I can see the ward¡¯s magick right now. All you''re doing is walking into a death trap. You''re going to burn alive. Why don''t we portal out of here, take a breather, and re-collect ourselves?¡± ¡°Not gonna happen.¡± ¡°Not gonna happen?¡± Silvy asks as I got closer to the door. ¡°What do you mean not gonna happen? You¡¯re going to burn alive, and that''s not even considering what sort of damage using all those witchstones at once is going to do to your body. You''re a witch in horns only, you don''t have a witch''s magick abilities. The magick from those witchstones, once it''s in your system, is going have to go somewhere.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I say. ¡°That''s one of the things I''ve been thinking about.¡± ¡°It''s one of the things she''s been thinking about¡­ Well, isn''t that nice?¡± I''m within ten feet of the door now. I slip my hand into my pocket. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I ask. ¡°No,¡± Silvy says. ¡°I''m not ready. This is a dumb idea. And you¡¯re dumb for doing it. The idea is dumb and you''re dumber. Congrats.¡± I nod, screwing up my courage for what''s to come. I start flicking the witchstones out of the spring-loaded holster, feeling them in my pocket, cold and filled with so much magickal energy. I swallow as I get closer to the door. ¡°Stop,¡± Silvy suddenly says. ¡°Stop. Turn around. Right now.¡± ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°This is going to happen. Pixie is depending on us. Pixie doesn''t deserve what''s happened to her.¡± ¡°No,¡± Silvy says. ¡°It''s something else.¡± I glance around, thinking it''s Lebec¡¯s adepts coming to get me. But so far I don''t see any adepts who are scanning the crowds for a witch. I hesitate for just a moment, but it''s enough. ¡°Something about the ward changed,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Something''s different.¡± I peel off to the left. I''m still clutching the witchstones in my hand, and can easily use them any time I want. ¡°I''m making one loop,¡± I tell Silvy. ¡°One loop of this chamber and then I''m going through those doors. Why did you stop me?¡± ¡°The ward¡­ relaxed. I don''t know how else to explain it to a stick.¡± ¡°What?¡± I ask, my grip on the witchstones loosening the tiniest amount. ¡°When you approached it, the ward relaxed its stance.¡± ¡°You''re saying I can enter the Forbidden Library?¡± ¡°I think so,¡± Silvy says. ¡°I''m not sure how, but you can.¡± ¡°When we were in the Shadow Vaile, I thought you said you couldn''t portal into the Forbidden Library.¡± ¡°I couldn''t, but maybe I misinterpreted the reason why.¡± I frown, thinking back to the witchstone I''d used that resulted in my horns. It was an imitation of the Builder''s Stone, the stone that had been used for centuries to make the new Lord Wizard of the Lumaverse. I still can''t inherently use magick like an adept or a wizard. I have no gifts. Wizards can cast spells on a whim. I can''t. I have nothing like that. I can''t even absorb magick. I swallow. ¡°You''re saying I have the magical stores of a wizard?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Silvy says hesitantly and there was confusion in her voice. She isn''t lying. This isn''t some sort of deception on her part. ¡°If I have the magical stores of a wizard, why can''t I do magick?¡± ¡°I don''t know,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Maybe it has something to do with the curse.¡± ¡°You think?¡± ¡°Look,¡± she says, her voice urgent now, ¡°I do not fully understand why you''re able to enter the Forbidden Library, but you can. I suggest you do it now.¡± I look around and that''s when I see them. To either side, adepts are closing in. Four on the left, seven on the right. Every single one of them stares right right at me. My legs move briskly towards the large doors of the Forbidden Library. ¡°Stop!¡± several of the adepts to either side of me call out. ¡°Stop her!¡± The adepts guarding the Forbidden Library look in the direction of the adepts closing in. The two groups don''t seem to have the same information. The adepts guarding the Forbidden Library step forward, maybe thinking the adepts approaching are some sort of threat. Two of the adepts guarding the door glance at me. ¡°They¡¯re blooded witches,¡± I say, putting on an urgent, terrified voice. Truth be told I am terrified. I''m two seconds away from either getting arrested and executed or burning myself to death if the information Silvy gave me was wrong. ¡°What?¡± one of the adepts asks, but widens his stance, looking at the approaching adepts. ¡°They want to kill the wizards inside,¡± I say. ¡°They''re all witches. They''re here to kill the wizards.¡± Several of the other adepts guarding the Forbidden Library here this and assume battle readiness. I don''t hesitate, I reach my hand out, through the Forbidden Library''s ward and turn the knob. The door clicks open and I don''t burn. This seems to be the final straw in convincing the adepts guarding the door. I glance back as Lebec¡¯s adepts approach. The adepts who guard the Forbidden Library form a wall in front of the door, bright green seals already glowing into existence as they prepare to attack. I smile. ¡°Fucking idiots.¡± I step through the ward and close the door behind me. The massive doors echo in the giant, empty space I now stand in. I look around. Directly in front of me is an enormous light floating above the ground and chained there as though it might float away. Beyond that initial light is another and another. I look to either side and suddenly feel dizzy. Bookcases line the walls, but all the book titles are upside-down. I look up and my knees buckle. I''m on the ceiling. To either side of me are what look like seventeen stories of bookshelves. There are columns of bookshelves holding the ceiling up. Down on the floor, the opposite direction of where I stand, are what looks like multiple tables where people sit, reading in silence. ¡°The Forbidden Library,¡± Silvy says in a quiet voice. ¡°Look how far we¡¯ve made it,¡± I whisper. A deep voice speaks from behind me. ¡°Too bad it''s as far as you''re gonna make it.¡± My hands are pulled behind my back and I feel magick encircle my wrists. The magick of Austerium handcuffs. Chapter 25 No Kiora to bail you out this time... Whoever slapped the handcuffs on me must have had a good suspicion that I shouldn''t be there. I couldn''t see them randomly placing these handcuffs on a wizard. ¡°Uncuff me,¡± I say in my most indignant, wizardly voice. ¡°Uncuff me and set me free at once.¡± ¡°No,¡± a polite man''s voice says. ¡°I don''t think I will. I don''t believe it''s in my best interest to let you free. You''re not a wizard after all.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I ask. ¡°It is,¡± he responds. I open my mouth to say something else, but before I have a chance, the man jerks the cuffs to the side and starts moving me across the ceiling. I can see an opening in the bookshelf off to the right. ¡°You realize that once inside the Forbidden Library, a wizard has to vouch for you and take you up to the main floor, correct?¡± the man asks. I swallow. ¡°I am a wizard. So let me go.¡± The man laughs. ¡°You''re a wizard? Okay, free yourself then.¡± The man lets go of the cuffs and I turn to face him. He wears the robes of an adept. He''s my height with curly blonde hair. His mouth is tiny and his eyes regard me not with disdain or disgust, but amusement. There''s something underneath that amusement though. A sort of desperation I don''t like. What about Maldive? How did he get past this guy? I open my mouth to ask this man that exact question when he places his hand at the center of my chest, right between my breasts, and pushes me. I fall back, bouncing on my ass, sneering up at him in anger. Silvy chooses that moment to appear on my shoulder. ¡°Bad news. I can''t portal out. You''ll either have to walk out or figure something else out. I can''t get us out of this.¡± ¡°Wonderful,¡± I say. The man lifts an eyebrow. ¡°Do you talk to yourself often?¡± I lean forward and use my momentum to get onto my knees. I stand and face him, arms still handcuffed behind me. ¡°You''re going to leave me handcuffed to fight you? Seems cowardly.¡± The man raises an eyebrow and snaps his fingers. The magick encircling my wrists falls away and he tilts his head slightly to the side, your move. ¡°A little help,¡± I say to Silvy, but she''s floating over by the bookcase, leisurely reading the titles of the books. She glances over at me. ¡°You¡¯re completely outmatched right now, darling, and you don''t even know it. No amount of help is going to actually help you.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I say, looking back at the adept. ¡°I''ll do it myself.¡± The man''s initial look of amusement shifts to concern. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asks. ¡°I feel like you''re probably in over your head. Why don''t you just let me¡ª¡± I drop my hand in my pocket as fast as I can. My fingers are greeted with a jumble of witchstones. I can''t tell the difference between any of the witchstones there. They''re all out of the holster, out of their memorized slots. It feels like I have a pocket full of glass rocks. The man raises an eyebrow. ¡°Looking for a snack?¡± ¡°No,¡± I snap. ¡°This ends now.¡± I pull out one of the witchstones and glance down at it. It''s a bubblestone. That''s fine. I slip it into my mouth and the adept rolls his eyes. As the magick moves into my veins, the adept doesn''t do anything. He just stands there waiting patiently. No battle stance. No green seal beginning to form in front of him. He doesn''t even move his hands to his pockets. That''s fine with me. I want this over with as fast as possible. I spit the depleted witchstone into my hand and slip it into my back pocket. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with as much air as I can and blow out. Lightning-fast tracers of magick zip out of my mouth like tiny fireworks, moving towards the adept. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. And then moving right past him. My eyes widen. I''ve used this type of witchstone before. What''s supposed to happen is the magick surrounds the person you''ve spit it at, wrapping them in a sort of tightly webbed cocoon of magical energy. It''s as if the adept is coated in oil and the magick just slipped by him. I frown, pulling another witchstone out of my pocket before the adept has time to regroup. As if the adept needs time to regroup. He crosses his arms and is now looking at me as though he''s half interested. I glance down at the witchstone, see the colors, and squeeze it as hard as I can. It cracks in my hand and the magick flows through my veins. I take a deep breath, blink twice, and prepare. I squeezed the witchstone even harder and feel the secondary crack. One crack to open it, the second crack to activate. I blow the witchstone dust towards him, and it flows out in a massive cloud that grows thicker and thicker until it completely obscures him. When I can''t see him, I put my hand back in my pocket and pull out another witchstone. There''s a sudden snap of fingers and when I look up from the new witchstone I''m holding, the cloud is gone. The adept stands there, and he no longer looks interested. He looks more annoyed than anything else. ¡°Are you done?¡± he asks. My mouth falls open. I''ve never met an adept who could dodge spells like this one could. My stomach sinks. I''m in the Forbidden Library. He puts his hand behind his back and when he brings it back around in front, he flicks it at me, like he''s throwing a frisbee, only I don''t see anything leave his hand. My hands whip behind my back and I feel the magick encircling them there. ¡°You¡¯re not a wizard,¡± he says. He walks up to me, shaking his head in disappointment. ¡°And here I was¡ª¡± I spit in his face. It''s not the nicest thing, but I''m irritated by how easily he''s defeated me. I feel like a toddler fighting a parent. I have nothing on him. I have no way¡ª His eyes blaze with anger and my entire body goes rigid. My shoulders slam down and I my spine cracks in several places. My head lifts up away from my shoulders and it feels like my neck is trying to separate itself at every vertebra. Oh God. This is bone magick. He¡¯s a bone wizard. I try to open my mouth, but find that my jaw is frozen shut. ¡°Listen,¡± he says. ¡°I don''t know how you got in here, and I don''t care. One of those Austerium idiots kidnapped my girlfriend. And you know what you''re gonna do? You''re gonna go with me. You''re gonna be my new thrall. How does that sound?¡± I want to answer, I want to say something, but I can''t move my mouth. ¡°Let''s go,¡± he hisses and even though I''m not the one in control of my legs, I start walking anyways. Silvy, floating by the bookshelf, shrugs at me. ¡°I said you were outmatched. Maybe you should listen to me more often, darling.¡± That little vermin. She''s known all along that this guy is a wizard, not an adept. Why is he wearing adept robes then? Why was he lurking at the entrance? The wizard leads me to a large room filled with light. There are tables, chairs. He makes me sit in one of these chairs and he sits down opposite. ¡°I''m not a rude person,¡± he says. ¡°Normally. I need you to understand something though. What you''re about to do, I wanted you to do it of your own free well. I wanted you to do it in promise of release. I know you''re not a wizard, and that''s fine. You''re obviously someone who has powerful enough witchstones, but you should realize that those have no power over someone like me.¡± He rubs his face with his hands and leans forward, putting his elbows on the table. He stares down at the table for a long, long time. ¡°I don''t want to be doing this,¡± he says. ¡°They made me.¡± I watch him, unable to do anything else but scream internally. ¡°They kidnapped my girlfriend. Do you get that?¡± I can''t respond. ¡°I don''t suppose you do. They kidnapped her because they figured out what I was doing. They figured out my plan.¡± My eyes dart around the room, looking for Silvy, praying that she''ll do something. I''m not sure how much she''ll be able to do against a wizard though. ¡°I just want her back,¡± he says. ¡°I just want Pixie back.¡± My heart starts pumping. Pixie. Girlfriend. This was Dom. I found the person I''ve been looking for and now I can''t even speak to him. ¡°I was doing what was best for Nidema and the rest of Anara, do you understand that? I was trying to keep Filigree out of the hands of the blood wizard, but do you know who doesn''t care about the blood wizard? Do you know who doesn''t believe the blood wizard exists?¡± He waits a second. ¡°The Austerium, and do you know why?¡± He waits a second. ¡°Because the blood wizard has apparently infiltrated the Austerium. He has people working for him. From within, you get it?¡± I want to scream. I want to tell him I''m on his side and want to help, but the only thing that happens when I try to open my mouth is a sharp grinding pain in my jaw. ¡°I''m telling you this so you understand why I have to do this. Why I have to do what I''m about to do.¡± My heartrate kicks up again as he puts a collar on the table between us. It''s gold and studded with red witchstones. Being in the business, I immediately recognize them as bloodstones. He then pulls out a bracelet that''s studded with bloodstones. I recognize the collar. I''ve seen it in use before, in the Red Market. The collar uses blood magick. So does the bracelet. Once the collar is on someone, the person wearing the bracelet can slip into their mind, controlling every bit of them even if they aren''t a blood wizard. ¡°When they found out about the witch I was training, they tried to blackmail me. They killed her when I told them I wouldn¡¯t help,¡± Dom says. ¡°Then they kidnapped my girlfriend to keep me quiet. They¡¯re going to kill her though. I know it.¡± He looks at me with sad eyes as he picks up the collar and pulls my hood back. He sucks in a quick breath when he sees the horns. He walks back around the table and examines at me with his eyes. ¡°Pink,¡± he says in a quiet voice. Magenta. ¡°You''re Hexana Covington.¡± He looks at me for a long time and for a moment I think he''s going to release his spell, let me talk, let me say anything. He doesn''t though. He looks at me with his sad eyes and gives me a sad smile to match it. ¡°I don''t know how you''ve got yourself mixed up in this, but you have.¡± He slips the collar around my throat and I feel the needles that carpet the inside of the collar pierce the back of my neck. He slips the bracelet around his own wrist and I watched as more needles press into his flesh. ¡°There,¡± he says and even though I can hear his voice clearly, his lips never move. He''s speaking directly into my mind. Dom, I know your name. I know who you are. I know¡ª ¡°This isn''t how I wanted to do this,¡± he says. The thoughts must only flow in one direction. ¡°It''s how it has to be, though. Let¡¯s see what the other wizards think of you.¡± Chapter 26 I want to scream. I want to do everything in my power to fight against him, but there''s nothing to do. I''m trapped, a prisoner in my own body, literally. I try to close my eyes and find that my eyes are still under my own control. Am I going to end up in that abandoned house, floating in a line on the second story until it''s my turn to come down to the table and play? Maybe that''s what he means about the other wizards. Maybe the wizards come to that abandoned house to play scheme, to practice against people who can''t fight back. And that brings something else forward. He''s using blood magick. If he has nothing to do with the blood wizard, why is he using blood magick? Dom pulls the hood of my parka as well as the hood of my cloak back up and over my horns, hiding them away. As we move out of the small room and back onto the ceiling he snaps his fingers and we lift away, moving towards the floor far above us. Right as we''re about to hit, we slowly spin in the air so that our feet touched down on the real ground floor of the Forbidden Library. I look up and can see the giant hanging globes of light, so small from down here. We move away from the platform we landed on, making our way through several tables where people are bent over large books. We go to the end of the hallway where there''s a wall. The wall looks like it''s made of sandstone. At the center of this wall is a slit, chest high. Dom steps up to it, removing a necklace from inside his cloak. He places the medallion at the end of this necklace halfway into the slit and waits. He glances back at me. ¡°I don''t know what you were trying to do by coming here, but if you don''t have this medallion, there''s no way you can get access to the actual tournament.¡± I''m on your side, you fucking moron. How do you not get that? Dom removes the medallion from the wall once the slit glows with blue light. The blue light fizzles in a line, bisecting the wall like a line of gunpowder lit a flame. The magick arcs away from the slit to either side, curling in smaller and smaller circles until it eventually disappears. Then the slit cracks open, the crack moving six feet above and all the way down to the ground. The wall splits in two and opens. A massive hallway stretches on the other side of the door. The floor is covered in checkered tile that alternates between different shades of rich brown. The checkered pattern vaguely moves and I realize that what I am actually looking at is hair underneath glass. And the hair is moving. Dom glances down at the tile and back at me. ¡°Wizards,¡± he says as though that explains it. Sure. Wizards. They take you hostage in your own body and make you look at floors that have sentiment hair underneath them. Wonderful. Totally makes sense. As we continue forward, two small children approach us. They both wear maid outfits, but neither one of them has a nose. The longer I examine them, the more I feel like they aren''t children at all. ¡°Hello,¡± one of them says in a monotone voice. ¡°Dominic Marzone. Are you here for the tournament?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Dom says and then looks at me. ¡°They¡¯re Illween,¡± he says as though that explained anything. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I can do nothing except step forward after him. One of the Illween starts to ask, ¡°Would you like us to prepare¡ª¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Dom cuts them off. ¡°Two. I do not want to stay with my thrall.¡± No emotion appears on either of the Illween''s faces. ¡°As you will,¡± one of the Illween say and they both move away, fading into the darkness at the edge of the hallway. When we make our way through a door, the lights instantly grow brighter. We now stand in a massive chamber. The floor beneath us is glass and this floor doesn''t contain moving hair. This floor is transparent and you can see what''s below. A single long dinner table filled with candles. There are people sitting at the table, eating. Dom sees where I''m looking and explains. ¡°They''re preparing. They''re testers for next year''s Lumaverse chase. They''re preparing to test out the course.¡± He shrugs as if this is all supposed to make some sort of sense to me. A group of people clusters at the far end of the chamber. Everyone wears robes but some of the people there looked different than anything I''ve ever seen in my life. There''s a man who has to be at least eleven feet tall, spindly and looking almost as though he is made of sticks within his own robe. There''s another person, a girl who stands on the shoulders of a man whose eyes are missing. She holds a dagger above above the man''s head, the point of it slowly spinning at the top of his skull. A tiny rivulet of has dried on the left side of his face, but the man doesn''t seem to be experiencing any pain. If nothing else he seems completely oblivious to it. Far across the room I see Maldive. He''s wearing the robes of an adept, but he doesn''t seem to be looking in my direction. He also doesn''t seem to be with anyone else. He looks to be alone. I notice that several of the other people wearing robes also wear the same golden collars with bloodstones that I am. When I catch their eyes, I can see my own fear reflected back at me. I see several people not wearing the collars, but their eyes look dead, dull, as though they''ve been beaten into submission. To the left is a large stage and upon seeing Dom enter, a man sitting in a chair there stands and steps forward. ¡°Wizards, welcome to the Centennial scheme tournament. I want to thank every single one of you for making the arduous journey from wherever you''ve come from. I know we have wizards from as far away as Simula and Puul. I know that even Elichor sent a wizard. I am pleased with the turnout.¡± Dom eyes the crowd, looking around warily. He leans over and whispers, ¡°The main reason people are here isn¡¯t the actual tournament but the prize. Some of us know what it is and some of us don''t.¡± As my eyes scan the crowd, I can easily make out the wizards who know what''s at stake. Their eyes are fastened to the man speaking. Those wizards who didn''t seem to know were dozing, or waiting with bored looks on their faces. Silvy floats around, swiping buttons from different wizards as well as their thralls, stealing buttons from other worlds. The man on the stage has been talking for a while, talking about the history of the tournament, what it means to Anara as a whole, etc., etc. Now he gestures to the shadows behind him and a girl a little younger than me steps out. Dom''s breath catches in his chest and he whispers, ¡°Pixie.¡± Pixie wears next to nothing. She''s essentially wearing a rag around her chest and her hips. Nothing else. She holds a pillow in front of her. On the pillow rests what looks like a rotting leather glove. It doesn''t look like a modern glove, but more something you''d have seen in medieval times. Thick seams. Heavy studs on the knuckles. Flaking away in disrepair on the pillow. The man on the stage raises his voice. ¡°Wizards of the major plaines. We have brought forth this mysterious gauntlet from our vault. What its purpose is has been lost to time although you may experiment to find that out for yourself.¡± Is this what wizards do in their free time? Try to figure out the uses of things that have been forgotten in time? Dom leans over. ¡°It''s not a gauntlet. It''s one glove of a pair called the Plaine Piercers. That specific glove is called Filigree.¡± Another puzzle piece fell. Filigree, the other word was scrawled on the sheet of paper Marist mentioned. Filigree is the name of the prize. Filigree is the name of the thing everyone here is competing for, the thing that''s driven Dom to take me hostage and Maldive to sacrifice all those adepts. Filigree is the reason Arbor was murdered. Filigree is the reason Pixie was kidnapped. ¡°Now, wizards, is the time to bring forth your thralls for entrance into the tournament. First up: Dominic Marzone.¡± Dom steps forward and I feel my own legs move. Something else clicks. Fuck. ¡°Best of luck,¡± Dom whispers. ¡°Hopefully you live through this.¡± Get me out of here. Dom leads me onto the stage. No. The announcer smiles at Dom. ¡°I almost thought you weren''t going to make it.¡± Please no. Dom isn''t paying attention, he''s staring at Pixie. He''s going to do it. Pixie doesn''t so much as glance back at Dom. He''s going to enter me into the tournament. The announcer clears his throat and gestures at me. ¡°Is this your thrall?¡± This isn''t happening. ¡°Yes,¡± Dom says. ¡°She will be playing death scheme in my stead. As is the tradition.¡± Chapter 27 I''m going to die. Dom leads me away from the room once all the wizards have enrolled their thralls in the tournament. We don''t say a word, mostly because I can''t and because he''s not speaking to me. Once we walk through the doors, he takes a left. This leads to a long hallway with doors on either side. This hallway stretches off into the distance. There must be at least one hundred doors on either side. He stops at the third one down on the right, turning the knob and pushing it open. My legs power me forward, move me towards the bed and I get a sinking sensation in my stomach. I sit on the bed and move to my side so that I''m lying on my back. Dom steps up beside me, looking down. The unhappiness in his eyes has grown. ¡°We won''t speak until tomorrow,¡± Dom says. ¡°I''m sorry for all this.¡± He says he''s sorry, but I don''t really believe it. I don''t feel any sense of contrition in his voice. He crouches down beside the bed, pulling something out from under it. He then stands and lifts my arm. He pulls back the robes and slips a needle into my wrist, taping it down as soon as it''s in. I don''t feel any of it. He looks at me, I guess seeing the confusion in my eyes. ¡°It''s an IV. You need to be hydrated and fed. I can''t take any risks.¡± I want to ask him how long I''m going to be here. He looks down at me one last time, opens his mouth to say something, but shrugs instead. Dick. He walks out of the room and leaves me there, hooked up to an IV, staring up at a glass ceiling with nothing but blackness on the other side. In the reflection of the glass, I see a girl, held captive in her own body, betrayed by her own limbs as well as her familiar. Speaking of my familiar, my eyes search the room for her, lock onto her lying somewhere just out of sight to my left. I can see her forked tail swishing through the air. Silvy can''t read my mind, but she can feel my emotions. Maybe I can force her to free me. Maybe if I annoy her enough, she¡¯ll get me out of this, maybe she''ll even help me escape. Silvy, you goofy little rat. When we get out of here, I''m gonna wrap you up in a blanket. I''m gonna give you all the love you never had growing up. I know it was dark in the Shadow Vaile, but there''s no need for darkness anymore. We can turn on all the lights in Sulis. We can buy some special spotlights to light you directly, really bathe you in light. So much light that no darkness will be able to be seen. You won''t even cast a shadow. From the other side of the room, Silvy responds. It starts as a low meow but slowly grows deeper as I continue. I''m gonna attach Ivy to your neck. You and she can be best friends. She''ll always be talking to you, always be keeping you company. You''ll never be alone again. You''ll never be able to go anywhere without Ivy talking to you. Isn''t that wonderful? The growl deepens into a roar and Silvy appears on my chest, baring her teeth at me. ¡°Do you find this amusing?¡± she asks, but her voice doesn¡¯t have the high-pitched tone it usually carries. Now it''s lower, guttural. Saliva drips off her jaw, pooling on the robe I''m still wearing. I''m gonna take all of your buttons and give them away. I know about your collection. I know about the Mason jars filled with buttons you''ve stolen. Think about all the needy children who are missing buttons. There''s a veritable whole world full of people missing buttons and I''m gonna give all of them back. I''m also gonna put a muzzle on you so you can''t drink any more blood. It will be a witchstone muzzle too so that every time you even think about drinking blood, it''ll shock you. I''ll put little mittens on your paws so that you''ll always slide around on hard surfaces. I''ll also tie a bell around your tail, that way you can never steal another button. I think Ivy''s really gonna think you''re cute once I get those mittens on you. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Enough!¡± Silvy roars. ¡°The stench of sweetness is going to make me vomit. Stop it.¡± Once we get you in those mittens, I''m gonna put a little sweater on you too. I''ll make sure that it''s pink. Your favorite color. Silvy screams and vanishes. I can feel claws on the back of my neck, inside of my hood. Needles slip out from the back of my neck and the collar comes free. I gasp in a deep breath, finally able to control my own breathing. ¡°I''ll never forgive you,¡± Silvy says. She disappears from my hood and reappears at the far side of the room. I smile at her. ¡°I''ll never forgive you for leaving me in this collar for as long as you did.¡± I push it aside and rub the place where the bloodstones touched my throat. Even though the needles were inside of me, for some reason the place where the bloodstones touched feels worse, sore almost. Leaving the collar on the bed, I stand up, wobbling on my own legs, not used to being in control of them after so much walking under Dom''s control. After grabbing the IV stand, I move over to the door, turn the knob there, jiggle it, pull at it, before frantically beating on the surface of the door. There''s a soft click from the other side and the door opens. Before me stands one of the creatures Dom called an Illween. ¡°Hello,¡± the Illween says. I can''t quit staring at the place where the Illweens nose should''ve been but wasn''t. ¡°What do you desire?¡± ¡°I desire to leave.¡± She turns stiffly to look behind her. I glance in that direction as well and see nothing but darkness. I''m no longer looking out into the hallway. I have a sinking sensation that I''m staring into a part of the Shadow Vaile. I look down at the Illween who stares back at me, looking both bored but also engaged. I remember Dom''s statement about the Illween, I remember the way wizards seem to dislike the Shadow Vaile. I step into my room and gesture for the Illween to enter. She does, stepping just inside the door and closing it behind her. ¡°I can get you anything you wish to eat. Or drink.¡± Silvy¡¯s back is to me. She''s pouting. Still mad at the love emotions I''d sent her. ¡°Well,¡± I say, ¡°okay.¡± I really don''t know what to do. I can have anything I want to eat, but that''s not what I want. I want to leave. I want to get away from this place. I gesture at my wrist where the IV needle is inserted. ¡°Can you remove this?¡± The Illween shakes her head. ¡°What''s your name?¡± I ask. She stares at me in that disconcerting way for half a beat before answering. ¡°We don''t have names until we¡¯re given them.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I say. ¡°Fine. I''ll call you Nameless then.¡± She nods. ¡°I will not respond to that.¡± I smile. ¡°Okay. Well, I guess get me food.¡± ¡°Again, what would you like?¡± I run through a list of my favorite foods and things to drink and the Illween bustles away, returning as soon as the door closes. She opens it bearing a giant tray of everything I listed. Absolutely everything down to the triple brewed ginger beer from Trader Joe''s. A giggle escapes when I think about her entering Trader Joe''s, trying to find the ginger beer. I glance over at the collar, my stomach rumbling. If the Illween isn''t going to help me escape, I need to come up with some way to control myself while still giving the appearance of being controlled by Dom. I pick up the collar, look at the needles on the back. They''re much longer than I expect. I shiver involuntarily. I finger one of the needles and try to bend it, but it doesn''t budge. I look at the Illween, still standing by the tray, almost as though she''s waiting for me to finish. I hold out the collar and point at the needles. ¡°Can you break these off?¡± She takes the collar, grabs one of the needles in her tiny fist, and wrenches it off. She does this for all of the other needles. She hands back the collar in one hand and the needles in the other. I take the collar and tell her, ¡°You can keep the needles. I don''t need them.¡± She nods and slips them into a pocket of her apron. I eat and eat until I can eat no more. With that finished, I pull up the pillows against the back of the bed and sit there, staring at the Illween who''s still standing by the cart. ¡°What happens now?¡± I ask. ¡°You go to sleep,¡± she says in a quiet voice. ¡°You sleep for as long as you need to.¡± ¡°But the tournament?¡± My eyes are already growing heavy. ¡°That doesn''t matter now, the Illween said. All that matters is rest.¡± I look at the food. I look at the IV. Either one of them could be the culprit. I look at the Illween. For all I know, she''s casting some sort of sleeping spell on me. I try to keep my eyes open, but as they slip shut, the Illween creeps closer. Chapter 28 When I next open my eyes, the face of the Illween fills my vision. The hole in the Illween''s face is an inch away from my nose. ¡°You''re awake,¡± she says. A scream escapes me before I can stop it. The Illween doesn''t react. She stays right where she is even though I''m pushing back across the bed, rolling, doing everything in my power to get away. I roll off the other side of the bed and fall on my ass. I''m splayed across the tile floor, the cold of the tile freezing my back and my legs. I frown, looking down at my exposed breasts and the rest of my naked body. This entire time, the Illween hasn''t moved. ¡°Nameless,¡± I say, ¡°did you undress me?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± she says. ¡°Of course,¡± Silvy repeats from the other side of the room. I look in her direction. ¡°And you let her?¡± Silvy shrugs. ¡°I told her to wash the parka. It was beginning to smell. Like you.¡± So I guess Silvy''s still upset. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I look around the room. There''s no light source. I could''ve been asleep for ten minutes or ten days. ¡°How long was I asleep?¡± I ask Silvy. She doesn''t respond so I turn the question to the Illween. ¡°How long was I asleep?¡± ¡°In your time?¡± the Illween asks. ¡°At least eighteen hours.¡± My stomach gurgles as if to remind me of this fact. ¡°I thought the tournament was starting? When does it actually start?¡± ¡°It starts at noon.¡± Something obviously isn''t connecting for me. ¡°On which day?¡± ¡°That depends,¡± the Illween says. ¡°In here, time is fluid. You could stay in here for an entire year and outside nothing will move. You''ll still be on time for the tournament.¡± So we''re in the Shadow Vaile, or at least in a bubble within the Shadow Vaile. I don''t know how the Illween are coordinating it across all the other rooms, but I have a feeling that''s probably above my understanding. ¡°Can I eat before I go?¡± I ask. ¡°Of course,¡± the Illween says. ¡°Would you like the same food you ate before you slept?¡± ¡°I guess.¡± The Illween leaves and returns with a tray full of food. I eat as I focus on what''s to come. Death scheme. I''ve played death scheme before to make rent on Blackhart''s gateway, but I''ve never been in a tournament like this. My competition is the problem. Wizards live for hundreds of years, and if the wizards are controlling their thralls, they may have more experience, more expertise at scheme. May? I laugh to myself. They definitely have more experience and expertise. Maybe it would been better to let Dom continue to use me in the tournament. Something about that immediately makes me squirm. I can''t let some other person use me whenever they feel like it. Not on my watch. I finish eating and make up my mind. I''m going to win the tournament for Pixie. I''m going to free her. I have to. Her mother''s depending on me, assuming her mother is still alive. When I''ve showered and finished getting ready for the day ahead, the Illween approaches. ¡°Are you prepared?¡± she asks. I nod. ¡°What happens next?¡± ¡°I go and retrieve your wizard.¡± I smile. He doesn''t know that I''m in control now. ¡°Go ahead,¡± I say in a soft voice. When the door clicks shut, Silvy speaks. ¡°What are you going to do if he realizes that you''ve severed the connection?¡± I''ve already considered this and decided to play it by ear. I''ve made too many plans over the past few days that have come crashing down on my head. Better to move forward in a more fluid manner, dealing with things as they come and reacting instead of coming up with eighteen different possibilities of how I should deal with something. ¡°Well?¡± Silvy asks. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m playing it by ear.¡± Silvy chuckles, disappearing from the far side of the room and reappearing on my shoulder. Her forked tail swishes along the back of my parka. I pull up the hood, nestling my head in the back, trying to get warm. Shadow Vaile bubbles don''t warm me in the same way that the actual Shadow Vaile does. When the door opens, Dom stands there, appraising me with a raised eyebrow. I step forward, trying to mimic the mechanical walking I''d endured when he was in control. I make it two steps out the door when he puts his hand on my shoulder. I spin around and punch out as hard as I can, hitting him right in the stomach, feeling my fist travel deep. His breath shoots out and he bends over, wheezing in. I bring my knee, right into his nose, before he can recover. As his hands move to his face, I rip my hood back, leaning in hard with my horns. I press the sharpened tip of one horn right underneath his left eyeball, whispering softly, ¡°If you ever strap one of those bloodstone collars around my neck again I¡¯ll fucking gut you.¡± Dom wheezes something in response and I reach my hand down, grabbing between his legs. When I find what I¡¯m looking for, I squeeze. Hard. He yelps and gasps, ¡°I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I was desperate.¡± I press harder with my horns and squeeze my fist tighter. I close my eyes to the sounds of his whimpers. Letting go, I step back. There¡¯s a long cut beneath his left eye that''s dripping blood down his cheek. ¡°Never again,¡± I say. He swallows and nods. His nose leaks blood onto his lips. ¡°Clean yourself up. You look like a mess. Fucking wizards.¡± I turn away from him and the Illween looks at me with interest. ¡°What?¡± I ask. She shrugs. I follow her down the hallway to a door, glancing back over my shoulder once to see if Dom''s coming. He''s limping along, dabbing at his nose and the cut under his eye. He doesn''t look mad though, he just looks¡­ what? Spent? Exhausted? I imagine he''s had a tough couple of weeks. The person he''d been training to play scheme in this tournament had died, had been murdered actually, and his girlfriend was kidnapped. I won''t feel sorry for you. I don''t have time. I have a tournament to win. The blood wizard is also somewhere. Not necessarily out in the tournament, but somewhere close. I can feel it in my bones. The Illween opens the door and I follow her out, into what I had originally expected to be the room where the announcement of the scheme tournament had been made. That''s not where I am though. There are tables scattered about and when I glance up, I see a glass ceiling. I see feet standing on that glass ceiling. I''m in the room where I saw those people sitting at that long table with candles. The testers for the Lumaverse Chase. All the wizards are above, drinking, mingling, and generally enjoying themselves. Around me, people sit in chairs, staring blankly at the table before them. The majority of the people I see wear bloodstone collars. I look to the Illween and she gestures to a table. I take a seat and wait. For the moment, my table''s empty. A loud gong rings out in the chamber and all the wizards above us move away to the edges of the glass ceiling. I see why in the next few seconds as glass walls slide down from the ceiling, completely surrounding the grouping of tables. The glass forms an enclosed coliseum that keeps the wizards separated from the thralls at the center. The wizards spread out behind the glass, preparing to enjoy watching thralls die in the name of their tournament. I take in a deep breath and let it out. Silvy, nestled around my neck, whispers, ¡°Good luck.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I say. ¡°You''re going to need it, darling.¡± ¡°I know.¡± The table in front of me is just like the table from the abandoned house. I wait in my seat as the door to my right opens and more thralls enter the room. I look around for Silvy, but can¡¯t find her. I whisper, ¡°Silvy, is there any way you can look at the other players cards and tell me what they are?¡± Silvy doesn¡¯t answer. ¡°Silvy?¡± Still no answer. Chewing on my lip, I consider the fact that maybe this entire playing floor has been warded against any outside influence. Outside influence like a familiar. Thralls move mechanically towards their assigned table and soon my table is filled with other people. There are only four people, but that''s enough. The game starts immediately, without fanfare. The cards are dealt and I stare at my hand. Scheme is both a simple and complex game. You play by trying to match numbers and colors, outpacing your opponents and collecting as many cards as you can by the end of the game. The person with the most cards wins. The tricky thing about scheme is that every single card has a small ability written below the number. When you play a card that matches the number of a previously played card, you activate that ability. And those abilities? Those abilities allow you to do things like skip another player, to take all of their cards, to make them fold their entire hand. Below the ability text, on each of the cards, is also a destructive magick spell. These spells start from tiny things like making it feel like you have a pin inserted into your wrist, all the way to blindness. If you are hit with too many of the high-powered destructive spells, you die. The scheme table is what controls the magick and sends the spells, so even a stick can play scheme. It levels the field between casters, wizards, and sticks. I look up to see Maldive at one of the tables on the far side of the room. He still doesn''t seem to recognize me. Good. Play at my table starts fast and furious. The players are all making wild plays, gambling with their horde in a way that I''m not accustomed to. I realize what the issue is. They''re being controlled by people who have nothing to lose. No one is playing defensively because when the game ends, the wizards controlling the thralls won''t be the ones who die. I easily win the game, destroying one player after another. Allowing the wizards controlling them to make splashy plays that go nowhere. I hate everything about this. Around me I watch as people are killed by other players. I try not to focus on the fact that I''ve just killed three people. As the chairs at my table are removed, I wait. I watch Maldive win his table. I watch a tall, lanky man in a dark robe win his respective table and then I watch another woman with bright red hair and angry eyes win her table. The gong rings out above us again and the announcer speaks. ¡°The final four have made it. Please approach the center table.¡± I stand as the table before me sinks into the floor. At the center of the chamber, a larger table presses itself up out of the floor in front of us. We sit down and that''s when Maldive sees me. He blinks, his eyes turn tomato red, and he blinks again. A message. A warning. ¡°So,¡± I say, ¡°what''s it like being owned?¡± Maldive curls his lip at me. ¡°Owned? What do you mean?¡± ¡°The blood wizard,¡± I say. ¡°What''s it like being controlled by him?¡± Maldive stares at me as though he doesn''t understand what I''m talking about. That''s when I understand. He doesn''t know. He doesn''t know who he¡¯s working for. He doesn''t get that the blood wizard is using him, controlling him. I start laughing. ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± he snaps. He stands up from the table, picks up his chair, but before he can do anything with it, the Illween rush forward, out of the shadows, grabbing his arms and legs, pushing him down to the ground and holding him there. One of the Illween steps up onto his chest and looks down at him. ¡°This is your only warning,¡± the Illween says. ¡°If you attempt bodily harm to any of the other contestants, you will be ended.¡± Maldive doesn''t say anything and the Illween steps off. Maldive straightens his chair and takes a seat. He looks across at me and grins. ¡°So you play scheme?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I say. ¡°I''ve been known to.¡± The other two thralls glance at Maldive and then at me. The woman with the angry eyes smiles. ¡°You know that he wins tournaments, right?¡± The smile on my own face falters. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He''s won every underground tournament held over the past twenty years.¡± Maldive smiles at me. ¡°It''s true.¡± Chapter 29 Twenty years? I''m so screwed. ¡°Problem?¡± Maldive asks. The players to either side of me stare, waiting for my response. ¡°All streaks come to an end,¡± I say, but even as the words leave my mouth I can hear the way they shake, the flimsiness. Devlin hears it as well. ¡°All streaks? Sure, but this streak is going to continue for at least an additional year.¡± Devlin and the other players wait for me to respond, but my mind stutters. I say nothing. ¡°Well,¡± Devlin says, ¡°if there''s no other interruptions, shall we proceed?¡± The other two players nod and I find myself doing the same, hating every single bit of it. This is a mistake. Sure, I want to duel Maldive, but I only want to do so as a means to an end. The main goal is to free Pixie. What I''ve actually managed to do, though, is something very different: I''ve allowed Pixie''s kidnapper to lure me into playing a match where he holds the advantage. I try to keep my wits about me, staring back at him as though I know more about playing Scheme than he''ll ever learn in a lifetime. Maldive stands up from his chair to look at the wizards assembled behind the glass. He raises his arms and screams, ¡°Your champion has once again returned to take home another title!¡± Realizing how dire my situation is, I do the one thing that I think will give me an advantage. I stand up from my own chair, turn to the crowd, raise my own hands above my head, and scream in a voice that approached Maldive¡¯s ridiculously manicured accent. ¡°I doubt it!¡± Not my most eloquent, but it does the trick. Several of the wizards in the gallery cover their mouths and Maldive looks at me through narrowed slits. There are several full on laughs from the wizards, which I¡¯m sure won''t endear me to Maldive. Exactly what I want. Maldive has more experience with this game, probably knows more of the strategies to win, but I have something he doesn''t. Undeniable self-control over my snarkiness. He can do all the grandstanding he wants to. I''ll be right here, right behind him, ready to cut him off at the knees. And at every step, when I cut him off at the knees, the probability of him making a mistake will increase. Maldive speaks to me in a quiet voice seething with anger. ¡°I¡¯m going to destroy you. I¡¯m going to take you apart piece by piece in this match.¡± I open my mouth wide in a huge yawn and, as I allow my mouth to close again, I tap my left canine three times with my tongue. ¡°Right. Sure. Can''t wait. So much fun. Tell me more.¡± Maldive gapes at me and I can see the frustration already working on him. He wants me to understand how dire my situation is. He wants me to know how much better he is than me at this game. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The jokes on him though. I already know that. Before he has a chance to answer me, four Illween materialize from the shadows and approach our table. Each Illween approaches one of the players and instructs them to move away from the table. I follow the Illween who approached me and move towards the edge of the gallery where I can see Dom waiting for me. I glance over and see that the woman with the red hair and angry eyes is meeting with her wizard, the tiny girl sitting on the shoulders of the man. The tiny girl is still slowly spinning a dagger against his skull. The tall, spindly player is meeting with the wizard who looks taller and spindlier. Dom is speaking in hushed tones to a woman. If he has a wizard, why did he need to use the witchstone he stole from me to gain access to the tournament? ¡°Do you know how to play death scheme at this level?¡± the Illween asks. ¡°I know the basics,¡± I say. ¡°I made it this far, did not?¡± Dom closes his eyes and the Illween gives me a patient smile. Oh no. What is this? ¡°We play this round exactly the way we played the earlier round, correct?¡± I don''t see any point in acting like I know more than I do here. Any information the Illween gives me could be the difference between life and death. Dom shakes his head. ¡°No. It''s different. This is the ancient way to play death scheme.¡± My stomach turns over. I only knew about the three versions of scheme. This was a fourth. ¡°How is it different?¡± ¡°It''s more¡­ creative. And destructive.¡± I have no idea what he''s talking about. More creative? What does that mean? It''s a magickal card game. ¡°How is it more creative?¡± ¡°You''re playing with a different type of scheme deck than you''re used to,¡± he says. ¡°This deck doesn''t list what destructive magick spell will be inflicted on your opponent. When you match a number, the magick that corresponds with the color you played will become available to you. You¡¯ll be able to cast a single spell of your choosing in that magick style at your opponent. The table you''re playing at is an ancient relic that simulates and regulates the magickal ability for the player based on the cards played.¡± So that''s why Maldive was so sure he was going to beat me. I''ve never cast a spell in my life, so I don''t have a lot of knowledge of the sorts of spells available in the different magick types. The Illween speaks, ¡°Stay focused on your opponent¡¯s horde of collected cards, not on casting spells at them. The horde is what determines the winner. The magick spells are there to aid in taking your opponent''s horde and blocking them from taking yours by destroying their mind and body.¡± The Illween pauses for a moment before adding, ¡°Many a death scheme match has been lost by those blinded by a grudge.¡± ¡°I''m not playing with a grudge,¡± I snap. The Illween dips their chin at this. ¡°Without a doubt. I can tell you one thing, though: if you win this duel, every caster and wizard in Anara will know your name, Hexana Covington. In fact, by simply entering this duel, whether you win or not, your name will be known.¡± The Illween fixes me with a look that cuts to my core. ¡°Will you be known for winning? Or will you be known for holding on so tight to your grudge that you lose your life?¡± I think, had Dom asked me this question, I would''ve tried to break through the glass to attack him. As it is, I feel a stomach-churning need to succeed and save Pixie. I put my focus on Pixie, not on my anger with Maldive. ¡°Are you prepared?¡± the Illween asks. I nod. I''m not prepared, but I''m as prepared as I''m going to get. The Illween leads me back to the center of the room and seats me at the scheme table. Maldive return soon and sits down, staring across at me with a knowing smile. As the other two players settle into their own shares, the table lights aflame with fire. I flinch back, but the other players sit there as though this is normal. When the fire dies down, the table looks completely different. Instead of being a wooden table as the other tables had been, this table is made of shining black stone and covered with rust. Something like obsidian, but murkier. Upon closer inspection, I realize that what I had thought was rust is actually dried blood covering the entire surface of the table. The seriousness of the situation I''m in is immediately driven home. I do everything to clear my mind and calm my racing heart. I have a job to do. I''ll save Pixie, and I''ll take my revenge on Maldive for what he''s done. Above the table, over our heads, a circular screen blinks to life, displaying my face, Maldive¡¯s, and the other two players. Four words glow into existence on the surface of the blood-caked table between the other players and myself. Play to the death. Chapter 30 ¡°Are you ready for this?¡± Maldive asks, his voice echoing through the chamber. Okay. So we''re going to be mic''d up for this. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± I raise a single eyebrow. ¡°Are you?¡± He smiles across the table at me. ¡°Huh,¡± he says and rubs his chin. ¡°To think I took care of your reputation, your store, and now I¡¯m going to take care of you. Poetic, no?¡± He lets out a deep laugh from his belly and I try to lunge across the table to tear out his throat. A band of steel shoots across the arms of my chair pinning my hips in so that I barely even make it an inch. My arms flail uselessly, impotently, at his throat. I''m like a toddler strapped into a highchair reaching for food. ¡°We settle this the old way,¡± Maldive says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. The steel bar across my hips slowly retracts as though the chair isn''t sure whether or not I''ll play nicely. ¡°Do you know how this game came to be?¡± I didn¡¯t know. I also didn¡¯t care so I try to redirect him and take back control of his emotions. I lean back, mimicking his slouch and sending him a lazy grin. ¡°You do like listening to yourself speak, don¡¯t you?¡± Several titters of laughter go up in the gallery at this. Color floods into Maldive¡¯s cheeks, but he doesn''t bite. ¡°This game was created when those who came before us, those who practiced in the ancient ways, ultimately decided that dueling was a foul, baser thing. Dueling was left to the poor, the peasants, the downtrodden. Scheme was for the rich, the wealthy, the powerful. What other way was there that not only required you to use your intelligence but also your cunning?¡± Again, I don''t bother answering, but this time I don''t try to redirect him. Instead, I spin my fingers before my face: get on with it already. ¡°Yes,¡± Maldive responds. ¡°Spin your fingers at me. Continue living in your bubble of ignorance.¡± I stare across the table at him blandly. When it dawns on him that he isn''t going to get any further response from me, he turns to the wizards assembled and addresses them. ¡°I¡¯d like for you all to meet Hexana Covington,¡± he says like a carnival barker. He lowers his voice and adopts a tone of overwhelming pity and embarrassment for me. ¡°She believes herself to be fit for a higher station than she actually is. May none of you die like this embarrassing stick.¡± There are several gasps at the revelation that I must stick. I suppose most of the wizards hadn''t realized. Always underestimated. I clear my own throat and speak. ¡°I¡¯d like for you all to meet Maldive¡­ his last name is as unimportant as he is. Soon you will see him dismantled at this table and you will all know that it was a simple stick who sent him to the void.¡± ¡°You wish,¡± Maldive snarls at me. ¡°Of course,¡± I say. ¡°That¡¯s the whole point of this.¡± Before Maldive has a chance to continue bloviating, a rectangular box presses up from the center of the table. The box folds out into three smaller boxes. The walls of these boxes melt back down into the surface, but the bottom panels remained on the table. One panel is labeled Play, one panel is labeled Discard, and the third is labeled Draw. Four more boxes appear on the table, one in front of each player. The walls of these boxes melt down into the surface and leave each of us with a rectangular panel that reads Horde. Five slits appear around the edge of the table and cards float up from each. The cards stand straight up in a carousel and spin before both each player''s face, showing each of us that all eighty-four cards are present and accounted for. The cards float to the center of the table and shuffle themselves over and over, cutting the deck multiple times before shuffling again. When the thorough shuffling finishes, the deck floats down to the square that reads Draw. A packet of ten cards floats up from the deck and folded itself in half so no one could see what any of the cards are. This packet promptly bursts into flame. With ten of the cards missing, it makes trying to count cards next to impossible. Once the cards burn down to ashes and disintegrate, each player is dealt seven cards from the top of the deck. We all look at our cards as four dice press up from the center of the table and spin out to each player. Maldive flicks his back towards the middle and the rest of us do the same. Maldive rolls a five, the woman on my right rolls of four, the man on my left rolls a four, and I roll a two. Smiling across the table at me, Maldive says, ¡°Scheme is already favoring me it seems.¡± I don''t respond. I simply wait for him to decide whether he''s going first or if he''s choosing another player to go first. ¡°I¡¯m feeling magnanimous,¡± he finally says. ¡°Why don¡¯t you to go first, Hexana?¡± To be clear, there is nothing magnanimous about this. By forcing me to go first, he and the other players have the advantage. Typically the winner of a scheme match is decided on one or two of the hands played. I lay down a white ten to open play. It''s a safe, middle-of-the-road play. The man to my left place a white eleven, Maldive plays a white fourteen, the woman plays a white fifteen, and I pass, discarding a black eleven. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Play continues on like this for a while until Maldive matches the card the man before him played with a red card. Maldive smiles across the table at me and I prepare myself for what''s to come. He can target anyone at the table, but I know he''s coming for me. As he matched with a red card, he would have a blood magick spell to use on me. I swallow. The spell he''s about to cast is going to be strong, not the strongest, but strong enough that I''m about to be in a world of pain. I feel his magick snake across the table and into my body. I feel him try several different actions, all of them failing until one doesn''t. My body immediately seizes and I watch as I lift my hands in front of my eyes. My left hand reaches over and grabs the pointer finger of my right, wrenching it to the side at a 90¡ã angle. The finger pops out of the socket and stands at a perpendicular angle to the rest of my hand. I scream out in agony as Maldive leaves my body and leaves me to the pain in my hand. I stare down at my now mangled finger. ¡°Are we having fun now?¡± he asks. ¡°Lots and lots of fun?¡± I don''t respond. Play continues like this, but Maldive turns all of his attention on the other two players. He combos multiple cards in order to attack them both. Is he attacking them so he can have me all to himself? Or does he just think they''re bigger threats than I am? It''s not too long after he broke my finger that he destroys both of the other players in a combo. The combo leaves the angry-eyed woman bleeding from her eyes and nose, so weak she''s unable to continue. As I watch the blood drip down the woman''s face, the man to my left suffocates on his own lungs. Several seconds later, the woman''s calm look flutters away as I watch the skin do the same from her hand. It floats off in strange shapes on an invisible breeze, revealing the muscle and bone beneath. As Maldive and I both watch, me horrified and him bored, the muscle melts into liquid and drips onto the table. It soaks in as soon as it hits. The rustiness. It''s not just blood. The too-white bones in her hand disintegrate as well, starting at the tips and looking as though someone is lightly blowing down their length, turning them into an ashy cloud as her hand blows away. She seems to realize what''s happening to her and lifts her other hand. The problem is this hand has already disintegrated down to the wrist and continues up her arm. I watch as her hair floats away in an ashy wind. The translucent skin of her face and the muscles of her head are next. I don''t look away as she tells me her last words. ¡°The Shunned see clearest.¡± What does that mean? The top of her skull drifts away and her brain peaks out the top. I look down, not wanting to see the rest of it. After several moments, I look over to the spindly man on my left. All I see is ash on the table, blowing away. ¡°It''s just you and I now,¡± Maldive says. ¡°Me,¡± I correct. ¡°Me? What do you mean?¡± ¡°You and me. It''s you and me. You misspoke.¡± I pause for a moment and then channel Silvy. ¡°What''s that like for you? Misspeaking I mean.¡± Maldive growls as we wait for the hordes of the two dead players to be shuffled into the draw deck. I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my finger. I need to focus. I need to focus on defeating Maldive. He''s right in front of me. Pixie''s depending on this. Play continues. Maldive attacks me, I attack him, back and forth we destroy each other¡¯s bodies as the draw deck steadily gets closer and closer to the mat. Once there are no more cards to draw, the endgame begins. This is the land of last-ditch efforts and the hopes of combination abilities. We''ve both sent a multitude of spells at each other. For the first time, I''ve been able to feel what it''s like to cast a spell, or at least what I assume it''s like. Over the course of the game, I hit Maldive with several death spells of various intensities as well as several blood spells. He''s not expecting it when I hit him with a level twenty bone spell. Maybe it''s because he''s watched so many matches of Scheme that he expects me to use the bone spell to target what he thinks are the appropriate targets: the spine, the legs, the arms, the skull. I choose none of those, though. I need him to be in so much pain that he can''t focus on me or his play. I need him to be consumed with agony. I smile across the table at him and fire the spell. He looks confused at first, but when his pelvis cracks into three pieces and his tailbone shatters, his eyes grow wide with fear. He''ll have to finish the entire game sitting on the shattered tailbone and a broken pelvis. It''s the first time he realizes that he''s underestimated me. From this point on, everything in the match changes. Maldive starts making mistakes and I start capitalizing on those mistakes. He also starts shifting in his seat as the weight of his torso bears down on his broken pelvis and tailbone. The best part of this, and I hadn''t even planned for it, is that every time he shifts, that steel bar that protected him from my earlier attempted lunge across the table shoots across his chair. This forces his hips down as his broken bones grind. As we draw gradually closer to the end, Maldive dripping sweat and in pain, I remember something. Ten cards were burned from the deck, I discarded a ton of lower value cards, and Maldive hadn¡¯t. I stare across the table at him, only able to see a hazy version of him through the cataracts he''d given me with the death card. The majority of my vision is a hazy mess. Our hordes count is close to even but he has a ten point lead on me. I squint at the draw deck, trying to figure out how many cards are left, praying for a wildcard, praying for something. I draw a red one card. Useless for the most part unless I can match Maldive. Sighing, I look up from my hand and see that the play deck is gone. I drew the last card and the endgame is here. Maldive and I both have seven cards. The last seven cards in the game. One of us is about to die, him or me, and it depends on the play of these last seven cards. I focus, or at least try to, as my shattered left knee screams back at me. Maldive shattered the knee three plays ago and the pain has been steadily getting worse. We play through the cards in our hands and he wins the current play pile by activating an ability that forces me to discard on my turn, thus losing any chance of responding to his play. The spell he sends numbs my fingers. This would be fine, because it takes care of the pain in my broken finger, but it also makes it hard for me to hold onto my cards. I''m terrified of dropping one and allowing him any sort of advantage. His lead over me is twenty-seven. Him winning the previous play pile means that it''s my turn. I have to make up my mind. I have to decide what cards I think Maldive has in his hand based on what''s been played. All of this while gambling against the ten cards that were burned. Shit. The cards I have left are a red one, a green three, a red four, and a black seven. The only way I see that I can win is if Maldive is sitting on a one and plays it so I can match to use my ability. Chewing on my lip, I play the black seven. Maldive discards a red five. I collect the play pile. He has to play first now. He plays a black two. I discard my red four. He smiles across the table at me and tears of desperation fill my eyes. It''s here. My death is upon me. I play my green three and he discards a green two. I collect the play pile and add it to my horde. It''s not enough though. I''m still behind by too much. We''re both down to one card. A single card to determine life and death. His turn. His last card. My last card. It''s Maldive''s turn. Maldive places a black one onto the table and smiles across the table at me as though he''s just won the match. It''s in that moment that I realize that a spell I''d hit him with earlier, off the black sixteen, has finally come home to roost. The spell I cast with the black sixteen was dementia and Alzheimer¡¯s. Those were the things I thought as I cast the spell, but basically I wanted to encourage confusion. It had worked. When I keep staring at my card, he looks down at the card he just played, his brows creasing as he tries to understand why he played it, why he hadn¡¯t discarded it earlier. He looks up at me and I see fear in his eyes, but it''s more than fear. Terror blazes there. I smile across the table at him as the wizards in the gallery hold their collective breath. Chapter 31 I look into Maldive''s eyes, or at least where I think his eyes are, not really seeing him through the blur of the cataracts. I take my last card, the red one card, and place it on top of his black one. The ability on the one is the most powerful ability on any of the cards. The text reads as follows: Steal half of the horde, rounded down, of the player of your choosing. As there''s only one other player beside myself at the table, this happens automatically. Maldive¡¯s entire horde floats up from the table and splits in half. One portion floats over to my side of the table and the other portion stays on Maldive¡¯s. Once this is complete, both packets of cards float down and digits appear on either side of the table. Mine goes up, his goes down. The final score? I can''t see it. All I know is that I won. The assembled wizards are silent. Minus Dom of course. He lets out a whoop of exultation and there''s a relief there that brings me joy. All I can think about is Pixie though. Where is she? Is she safe now? Did I do a good job? As I stare across the table at Maldive, the blurriness in my eyes gradually fades. My finger, the one still bent at a 90¡ã angle, shifts back to its regular position. My kneecaps re-solidify. ¡°So,¡± I say. ¡°Was that fu¡ª¡± Maldive slumps in response and one of the Illween from the edges of the chamber rushes forward. The Illween checks for a pulse and finding none shakes her head. The announcer''s gong plays in the chamber and his voice returns. ¡°The award ceremony will take place shortly. Thank you for attending the Centennial death scheme tournament.¡± There''s something in the announcer''s voice I don''t like. There''s a sort of disappointment there that surprises me. Holy shit! A jolt of anger ripples through my body. I did it. I stand up and throw my arms into the air, screaming at all the wizards gathered behind the glass, all those who''d been watching. My eyes lock onto Dom''s and I spit in his direction. Several of the assembled wizards step back from the glass in shock, hands going to their mouths like the little sheltered creatures they are. I lift both middle fingers to everyone. ¡°Plenty to go around!¡± I shout. The silence in the main chamber is deafening. I stare across the table at my defeated foe, at Maldive''s lifeless body. I did it again. I fought the blood wizard and won. Again. Illween come in to the room. They sweep away the ashes of the other two contestants while staring in confusion at Maldive''s body. They glance in my direction as if I might have any sort of answer. I shrug and smile. ¡°I just work here.¡± They don''t get the joke and don''t laugh. ¡°So,¡± Silvy says from my shoulder, ¡°you did it. Congratulations. I always knew you had it in you.¡± ¡°Did you?¡± ¡°I''m sure that somewhere, deep down, there was some tiny little seed of faith. To be sure it was overshadowed by a Mount Everest of doubt, but there was still a seed. Somewhere. Probably.¡± ¡°Where were you?¡± ¡°The playing floor is warded.¡± Just like I thought¡­ I push all of this out of the way and focus on what¡¯s actually happened here. I did it. I saved Pixie. She''ll live because of me. I can finally get Lebec off my back. I can return to Sulis. I can take Pixie back to Marist, assuming Marist is alive and free from the blood wizard. Taking in a deep breath I watch as the doors open at the far side of the chamber. The Illween gesture in that direction, and I start heading there. I glance back to see what they''re doing to Maldive. They''re following me, dragging him behind them. ¡°Set him on fire,¡± I suggest. The Illween, without breaking stride, nod. ¡°It will be done.¡± I turn back to the door and head through. It''s time to go get Pixie. Finally. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. * * * We''re back in the initial chamber where Dom put me up as his thrall. All the wizards are gathered around, but the population of the room has been cut almost in half as most of the thralls are now dead. The announcer steps forward, and Pixie, beside him, looks resigned to her fate. ¡°Thank you all for coming out to the Centennial death scheme tournament. We hope you''ve all had an enjoyable time. Obviously, not everyone could win this, but, as we all know, so long as a wizard wins, we all win.¡± Someone steps up beside me. Dom. He looks at me, amused. ¡°You''re welcome,¡± I say. He merely dips his chin in acknowledgment. Dick. The wizard at the front continues speaking. ¡°As you all know the prize for this tournament was this glove, lovingly donated by the Austerium.¡± The man gestures at Pixie. She steps forward with the pillow. ¡°Not only will you get the glove, but you¡¯ll also get this nice stick girl to go along with it. Dispose of her in whatever way you see fit.¡± My eyes scan the room, looking for anyone who thinks this is as disgusting as I do. No one blinks an eye. Business as usual. Unbelievable. ¡°Can the wizard who won step forward and claim their prize?¡± the announcer asks. Dom takes a step forward and I grab his arm. He looks back at me, angry. ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°I''ll go up there and get her. You stay here like a good little wizard.¡± His eyes flash with anger, but I don''t care. I just went through hell to get Pixie back and I''m not about to let this idiot go and mess things up. I make my way to the stage and the wizard there looks at me with surprise. ¡°Oh,¡± he says. ¡°The thrall will accept the prize?¡± I stare into his eyes, and he takes a step back. ¡°Yes,¡± I say. ¡°I''ll accept the prize, and the kidnapped girl.¡± The wizard doesn''t flinch. I step forward and put my hand around Pixie''s elbow. She''s cold. She''s freezing. ¡°It''s okay,¡± I say. ¡°Let''s get out of here.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Someone in the back yells. ¡°She''s a witch!¡± I can''t see who the voice came from, but a murmur goes up among the wizards. ¡°A witch?¡± ¡°We have to kill her.¡± ¡°A witch can''t compete in the tournament.¡± Most of these wizards know exactly who I am and what I am. I read the situation for what it is. If they can get rid of me, they might have a chance to claim Filigree for themselves. Before I make it another step, the announcer reaches his hand forward and pulls back the hood of my parka. The crowd gasps upon seeing my horns. ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I say. ¡°I''ve got horns. Big deal. You act like you''ve never seen horns before.¡± The truth is they probably haven''t. ¡°She cannot win,¡± a wizard with a long mustache says. ¡°She''s a witch. That''s how she won. She simply ate the magick.¡± I look at him and shake my head. ¡°Is that right, mustache? You saw my bones break. You saw what happened to me out there. Tell me again that I ate that magick.¡± The wizard swallows instead of responding, but someone else takes up the cause. ¡°It doesn''t matter,¡± a woman in dark robes and what looks like a bejeweled hairnet says. ¡°You could''ve lessened the blow. Maybe the effects should''ve been more extreme than they were. Maybe you simply ate a bit of the magick to take the edge off.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Really? I''m curious, how do you take the edge off broken bones? You¡¯re a wizard after all, so I''m sure you''re all knowing and can explain it to the rest of them.¡± Hairnet sneers. ¡°I don''t have to explain anything to the likes of you, witch.¡± I take in a deep breath and let it out. ¡°So it''s gonna be like that,¡± I mutter. I raise my hand. ¡°How many of y''all have been to the Shadow Vaile?¡± The wizards look around at each other, but no one raises a hand. ¡°What about you, Hairnet? Have you been?¡± She¡¯s looking somewhere vague across the room instead of at me. I nod my head. ¡°Good. Let''s do it again. How many of y''all want to visit the Shadow Vaile and be left there?¡± The wizards look around again, this time their confusion is mingled with concern. ¡°Right,¡± I say. ¡°I won. Anyone who stands in my way will be delivered to the Shadow Vaile. Do I make myself clear?¡± The wizards don¡¯t move. I clap my hands, hard and all the wizards jump. ¡°Hey. Dummies. Do I make myself clear?¡± Several of the wizards nod, but I see defiance in the eyes of the others. If this ends up being a fight, there''s no way I can win. The wizards who look upset take a step towards me and I see their hands clenching at their sides. It''s gonna be a fight. I''m gonna die. Love to come all this way just to die on an award stage. My favorite thing. Dom steps forward, holding his hands up. ¡°Let''s not get hasty.¡± The wizards look to him, instantly disarmed. Fucking dick. ¡°She''s my thrall,¡± he says, ¡°and she''s not a witch. Sure, she has the horns, but she has nothing else. She''s a stick in all other aspects outside of the horns.¡± He''s missed a few things, but I''m not about to correct him. Several of the wizards voice their concerns. Dom shakes his head. ¡°If she was a witch with all that that entails, why would she threaten to take you to the Shadow Vaile? Wouldn''t she threaten to eat your magick? Wouldn''t that be much more effective?¡± This seems to sink in. A witch is a wizard¡¯s mortal enemy. A witch is the thing wizards fear the most. ¡°I see some of y''all are beginning to understand,¡± Dom says. A wizard in yellow robes with books embroidered along the fringe speaks up. ¡°How can she go to the Shadow Vaile if she''s just a stick?¡± ¡°A good question,¡± Dom says. He glances in my direction. ¡°Hexana, would you care to enlighten them?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± Dom''s eyes flash as he asks me the same question, only this time through clenched teeth. ¡°Hexana, would you care to enlighten them?¡± ¡°Oh, totally. Sure.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°I have a familiar. She can open portals into the Shadow Vaile. I threatened to portal y''all there because it''s doable.¡± I shrug. Several of the wizards turn white. ¡°There''s a familiar in here?¡± Hairnet asks the ceiling. ¡°Come forth, familiar.¡± From my shoulder, Silvy giggles, only it doesn''t come out in her typical sweet, tiny voice. The chuckle fills the entire room, deep and menacing. Several of the wizards spark magick shields, other wizards assume battle stances. ¡°Relax,¡± I say. ¡°She''s not going to kill you.¡± The wizards somewhat relax, but not entirely. I still see several shields active. ¡°So,¡± Dom says, ¡°we won the tournament. We did it in a fair fashion. If no one has any other objections, I think we''ll go ahead, take our winnings, and leave.¡± The announcer looks at Dom and back to all the wizards. He doesn''t appear to want to make any sort of decision on whether or not Dom can take Pixie and Filigree. Dom glances out at the wizards and sees exactly what I see. Resignation. They were prepared to kill me, but since Dom stepped up, they¡¯re somewhat mollified. I step forward next to Pixie and Dom steps to her other side. We only make it two steps down the stairs from the stage when another voice rings out from the back of the room. It''s the same voice that shouted out that I was a witch. This time, I recognize it. ¡°No,¡± I breathe. Dom glances in my direction. It can''t be him. The crowd of wizards part so Devlin Maldive can step forward. Chapter 32 What the fuck? How is he alive? I killed him in death scheme? How is he still walking? Sweat covers the palms of my hands as I stare into the eyes of Devlin Maldive, the man I killed not twenty minutes earlier. His eyes are normal. No red. He isn''t being controlled by the blood wizard right now. What is going on? A quick look around the room tells me that it''s split in two. Half the wizards stare at Maldive, the other half stare at me. The wizards staring at me are the same ones who at the beginning of the tournament seemed to know what Filigree was. I take in a deep breath and let it out. I know how this is about to play out and I hate it. Dom stares at Maldive, mouth wide open. ¡°Dom,¡± I say. ¡°We need to get out of here. Something''s not right.¡± Dom looks back at me, confusion there but also a bit of accusation. The announcer clears his throat and I shoot him a look. ¡°What happened?¡± I ask. ¡°I thought I was playing death scheme? How is he still alive?¡± The wizard shakes his head, just as confused as everyone else in the room. I chew on my lip for half a second before making up my mind. ¡°Dom,¡± I say so only he can hear me. ¡°We''re leaving.¡± I take a step forward, pulling Pixie with me, and Dom seems to startle into motion. We make it down the stairs before the wizards who know what Filigree is step in front of us, essentially walling us off from the exit. ¡°Where do you think you''re going, Hexana?¡± Maldive asks. ¡°You and I still have unfinished business.¡± ¡°We don''t,¡± I say. ¡°I killed you.¡± Maldive spreads his hands as if to say, are you sure? Hairnet lifts her voice. ¡°How is that? How are you standing? We saw you die.¡± ¡°I think you saw subterfuge. Only you didn''t know it was subterfuge.¡± Hairnet grumbles to herself and glares at me. ¡°Subterfuge?¡± Dom asks. ¡°How? The Illween were overseeing the tournament. No subterfuge should''ve been possible.¡± Maldive shrugs. ¡°You know how those tricky witches are. They always have their horns sunk deep into one thing or another.¡± ¡°That''s not an answer,¡± I say. ¡°If you¡¯re gonna say it was subterfuge, if you''re gonna claim I cheated, tell us all how. I¡¯d love to hear it.¡± ¡°I was poisoned, but you messed up the dosage.¡± I stare at him. I''ve been accounted for the entire time since entering the tournament, what is he talking about? And worse, will these wizard idiots believe him? Examining the faces, I get my answer. I swallow and my stomach twists in a thick knot. ¡°Dom,¡± I say, ¡°we need to get out of here. I don''t know what he''s doing, but we¡¯re outnumbered and outgunned.¡± Dom raises his finger at me. I contemplate biting it off. ¡°You say she poisoned you,¡± Dom says. ¡°How? She was under lock and key. The Illween themselves oversaw the rooms. They were in shadow bubbles. This is all common knowledge.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Maldive nods. ¡°Yes. And that''s how she did it. She told you all herself, didn''t she?¡± Several of the wizards look at each other in confusion. Several others close their eyes as whatever Maldive is getting at sinks in. For me, nothing sinks in. ¡°What?¡± I ask. ¡°What could I have done?¡± ¡°Your familiar,¡± Maldive says as though this is the answer. I look around. I have no idea what Maldive is talking about or getting at. I see other wizards nodding slowly though, as if they understand. I really wish someone would clue me in here. ¡°What? My familiar what?¡± Maldive clears his throat before raising his voice. ¡°She told you all, did she not? Bragged of it even. Portals. Her familiar can portal directly into the Shadow Vaile. And if the familiar can portal into the Shadow Vaile, then it can portal into other shadow bubbles. She poisoned me as I slept.¡± More wizards turn their accusing glares on me. Dom asks, ¡°Poisoned you with what?¡± Maldive shrugs. ¡°I''m not a wizard. I have no idea. All I know is that I came to as she was slipping back through the portal. I shrugged it off as a strange dream, because I surely did not expect that in a wizard-sanctioned event such as this there would be any cheating involved.¡± Several wizards nod and several others look aghast at what is accused to have taken place. Maldive continues, ¡°I didn''t realize what happened until it was too late. As I walked out of my room, I tripped. It was an uncoordinated move, an inkling of what had been done to me. My left foot spasmed. Something that''s never happened.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± I say. ¡°We¡¯re basing all this on a foot spasm?¡± ¡°No,¡± Maldive says, ¡°not just a foot spasm. Someone moved my foot.¡± Whispers go up in the crowd. ¡°Blood magick.¡± ¡°The blood wizard.¡± ¡°Is he here?¡± That question brings something else forward for me. ¡°Who is your wizard?¡± I ask Maldive. ¡°Who sponsored you in this tournament?¡± Maldive raises an eyebrow. ¡°You must''ve had a wizard enter you into the tournament, right?¡± I look around at the wizards gathered. ¡°I mean, that''s how it happens, correct?¡± Several of the wizards begrudgingly nod in agreement. ¡°So¡­¡± I look around the room. ¡°Where''s the wizard who brought you?¡± Hairnet steps forward. ¡°I brought him into the tournament. He''s my thrall.¡± Several of the wizards look as though they don''t believe her, and I wonder if this isn''t just a power-play on Hairnet¡¯s behalf for Filigree. ¡°Let''s say that''s true,¡± I say. ¡°Let''s say that you actually did vouch for Maldive, how would I control someone with poison?¡± Hairnet shrugs. ¡°Easy. If the poison was laced with blood magick, or possibly astra magick, you could take control of his body, make him play poorly, lose to you.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Right. Sure. A stick.¡± ¡°That''s just what you claim,¡± Hairnet shoots back. ¡°By the way, if you''re just a stick, why have I heard rumors that you''re able to use witchstones. Sticks can''t just use witchstones without massively damaging their internal systems. How is it that you can?¡± ¡°Dom,¡± I mutter again, ¡°we need to get Pixie and get out of here.¡± He looks at me, and shakes his head no. ¡°What I want to know,¡± Dom says, ¡°is how this magickal toxin laced with, as you say, blood or astra magick prevented Maldive from dying at the scheme table?¡± Hairnet answers, ¡°We do not know all the ways in which astra magick might interfere with our own magicks. There could have been a bad interaction between the toxin and the death scheme table. That''s truly the only reason why the other two players were disintegrated whereas Maldive remained in an unconscious, comatose state.¡± Silvy finally spoke. ¡°I didn''t open a portal into another shadow bubble.¡± The wizards look around, trying to see where the voice came from. Silvy sighs and drops her voice, ¡°It''s me, the familiar. Is this better?¡± Hairnet steps forward, speaking to the ceiling as if Silvy''s there and not perched on my shoulder. ¡°You say you didn''t open a portal into another shadow bubble, but how can we trust you?¡± ¡°What reason do I have to lie?¡± Silvy asks in response. ¡°You have every reason in the world to lie,¡± Hairnet says. ¡°If you want your master to have Filigree, you must understand the importance of it.¡± Silvy laughs. ¡°The witch is no more my master than Maldive is your thrall.¡± Maldive steps forward quickly. ¡°This is not your fight, Silvurn.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± Silvy says, a smile in her voice now. ¡°Do continue.¡± Maldive moves towards the wall of wizards. ¡°Let me through. That girl and Filigree are mine.¡± Dom tosses me my witchstone holster and spreads his feet, preparing to cast magick at any threat. Several wizards, working as one, drop a shield around him. Maldive steps forward, puts his hand around Pixie''s elbow, and drags her back up onto the stage. He takes the pillow from her, as well as the glove. He slips his hand into the glove and closes his eyes, flexing his fingers. He looks at all those gathered. ¡°Filigree is mine!¡± he shouts. ¡°Filigree is¡ª¡± Whole pieces of the glove fall to the ground as he clenches his fist. Maldive looks to the announcer, his eyebrows furrowed. The announcer steps forward. ¡°The girl put it on. Take the girl and Filigree will be yours.¡± Maldive grabs Pixie¡¯s elbow and moves away, across the stage, and towards the door at the far end of the hall. I step forward, but several wizards block my way. ¡°Get out of my way,¡± I hiss. They do not oblige, and one of them puts a finger at the center of my chest and flicks me. I shoot backwards across the room, crashing into the back wall, sliding down, my vision blurring. Maldive drags Pixie towards a door at the far end of the hall as I crawl to my knees. He doesn¡¯t open the door though. A black hole appears at the center of it and he walks through. Wizards close in around me. A witch to be executed. Chapter 33 They''re going to execute me instead of going after the person running away with Filigree. ¡°Where did he go?¡± I whisper to Silvy. Silvy says, ¡°He used a familiar portal.¡± Even as the wizards are closing in, my mouth falls open. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea.¡± There''s a smile in Silvy''s voice. ¡°I''ve been to where he''s going. A few times.¡± ¡°Let''s get out of here,¡± I say to Silvy. Silvy drops a portal below me right as one of the wizards casts a spell. It passes right over my head as I fall through the portal, slicing through several of my hairs and hitting my horn. The spell shatters, erupting into a ball of magick that shoots out and away from me. I don''t see the aftermath because Silvy closes the portal as a hand reaches through. The hand is neatly snipped off and Silvy floats up to it to lick at the bloody stump. As deep warmth floods my body and fills my bones, I shiver. ¡°Why are we in the Shadow Vaile?¡± I ask. ¡°I thought you said you knew where we were going?¡± ¡°You''ll figure it out,¡± Silvy says. We float in the air and off in the distance green light peeks above the horizon. For the first time I can see what the green light belongs to and turn away from it, not wanting it to know that I can see it. As we continue floating towards the ground, I ask, ¡°How did you open a portal? I didn''t think you were able to do that back there?¡± ¡°I wasn''t,¡± Silvy says. ¡°The wards blocking portals weren''t put up by the wizards. They were put up by something that wanted them there to keep you in.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Silvy sighs. ¡°Who just used a portal?¡± ¡°We did.¡± ¡°Besides us, dummy.¡± Maldive used a portal. Does Maldive have a familiar? I thought about all my interactions with him. He never seemed like he had a familiar. Then again, I don''t tend to seem like I have a familiar until Silvy makes herself known. What about Sulis? He appeared behind Renald out of nowhere. Even Renald seemed surprised. ¡°The blood wizard can control familiar portals?¡± I asked. Silvy sighs again. ¡°Just wait. You''ll figure it out. Hopefully.¡± We touch down onto solid ground. The part of the Shadow Vaile we''ve come down onto is actually covered in small hills, mounds, not flat as it appeared from up in the air. There are little mounds everywhere, and the mounds all have doors. Each mound is at least eight feet tall. ¡°Silvurn,¡± a voice croons from everywhere and nowhere. My eyes narrow as it all clicks. Before Maldive left the chamber, he called my familiar by her full name. Silvurn. I¡¯m the only one who knows her full name besides¡­ ¡°A familiar?¡± I ask, the logistics of it all still not making sense, but the beginnings of an idea there, the beginnings of a solution. ¡°Close but no,¡± Silvy says in a quiet voice. ¡°It wishes it was a familiar.¡± The door to one of the mountains creaks open and Maldive steps out. Behind him I can see Pixie, still holding the pillow, still looking lifeless. Surrounding her are tiny creatures, creatures I can see through for the most part, but that are solid in the hands and the teeth. They flow around her like dust, small as baby kittens, but with none of the cuteness. ¡°What are those things?¡± I ask. ¡°Dustkins,¡± Silvy says. ¡°What''s a dustkin?¡± ¡°The pupal stage of a familiar. The dustkin inside of Maldive seems to have airs.¡± ¡°Can you kill it?¡± I ask. ¡°Can you take care of it?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°No,¡± Silvy says. ¡°Much as I''d like to, I can''t.¡± ¡°Can''t, or won''t?¡± ¡°If I kill the dustkin, the brood mother will eat me for breakfast.¡± Brood mother? Silvy has never mentioned that before. I have a feeling I don''t want to tangle with whatever the brood mother is. Maldive smiles and his eyes flash red. I freeze. The blood wizard. Maldive blinks and the red disappears. ¡°I see it in your face,¡± he says. ¡°The fear. The horror. Oh no, the blood wizard. So scary.¡± Maldive blinks again and his eyes turn red. ¡°It''s almost like I watched you fight. It''s almost like I live in the Shadow Vaile and watched you kill the blood wizard. Or at least the vessel he was possessing for the moment. Do you know how easy this is to do?¡± Silvy floats off my shoulder and onto one of the mounds. She curls up and within seconds is snoring. I swallow and clinch my fists. ¡°Why?¡± I ask. ¡°Why did you do this?¡± Maldive, or at least the thing inside of him, smiles at me. ¡°Filigree. Why else?¡± ¡°What''s it do?¡± ¡°Do? By itself, quite a lot. But with its mate? Everything.¡± ¡°What about Nightsbridge?¡± I ask. I can¡¯t get the thought of the blood wizard possessing so many in Nightsbridge out of my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s a shithole,¡± Maldive says. ¡°And the insides of those people smell like rot.¡± I open my mouth to ask another question, but before I can utter so much as a syllable, Maldive lunges at me, throwing witchstones at my feet. I hurl myself backwards, unsure of what''s in the witchstones, unsure of what¡¯s about to hit. I roll to the side as two massive explosions rip through the air behind me. Hot knives stab into my calves and as I turn over, I see what Maldive did. The first witchstone contained a trap spell, sending out magical knives attached to chains in a perfect 360¡ã circle. The second witchstone contained a vortex spell, sucking in everything around it. The knives piercing my calves drag me towards the center of the vortex. I scream out in pain, reaching a hand down to pull the knives out of my calves. Both my hands light on fire, burning, the flesh crackling. I roll over onto my stomach, but the damage is done. My hands are ruined. I¡¯m slowly being pulled into the vortex by my calves in jerks and sputters, pain lancing up my legs, making it hard to think, harder to breathe. At the center of the vortex, green light writhes in fits and spurts. An unwell heartbeat of a pulse. I glance to my left, at the green light coming over the horizon and realize where that vortex leads. It''s some sort of portal that''s going drop me over deliver me directly to the green light. Is that the brood mother? As this thought slams into my head, I see Pixie standing in the doorway, behind Maldive, looking less blind and more aware of her surroundings. There¡¯s fear on her face, terror in her eyes. She''s looking at me as if pleading for my help. I think of Marist, her mother, who wasn''t possessed by the blood wizard at all, but by this dustkin. I think about the people in Nightsbridge, possessed by this dustkin. This dustkin has attacked my home, my livelihood, my everything. I realize what I have to do. It doesn''t matter if my hands are ruined, it doesn''t matter what happens to me, and I scream as I do it. Shoving my charred, ruined hand into my pocket, searching for any witchstone I can find. ¡°Magickal mindset, Hex.¡± Words grind out through clenched teeth. ¡°Magickal mindset. Come on, be fucking magickal.¡± I manage to pull out two witchstones. Not as many as I want, but as many as my ruined hands can manage. I look at the witchstones and see what I pulled. I close my eyes. I''m going to die. A strengthening witchstone as well as a water witchstone. Bad luck. I automatically crack the strengthening witchstone, feeling the magick flow through my veins. Using its power, I jerk the knives out of my calves, breathing hard, panting in pain. Blood pours from my legs, but I don¡¯t have time to worry about that. The other witchstone is a water witchstone. Why would I ever pack a water witchst¡ª Oh. I smile. That¡¯s right. ¡°What are you smiling at, meat? When I kill you, we¡¯re going to eat you.¡± I squeeze the water witchstone in my hand, and feel the magick flow through my fingertips. I pull my arm back and throw the witchstone at Maldive like I¡¯m throwing a baseball. Maldive, the big dumb idiot, catches it. He looks down at it, confused. ¡°Oh,¡± he says and then starts speaking sarcastically. ¡°What''s this? A little life spell? Oh no. Please. Don''t.¡± He drops it onto the ground and takes a step forward. He doesn''t realize what he¡¯s done. Water shoots up from the ground in a screaming roar, throwing him up into the air on a torrent of water. I can hear his screams as the torrent comes back down and Maldive hits the ground of the Shadow Vaile with a wet smack. The vortex blinks out of existence and Maldive lies panting. His breaths come out in tiny little gasps and his eyes alternate from red back to their original blue every single time he blinks. As Maldive continues sucking in sharp breaths, his mouth stretches wide. It can¡¯t stretch any wider. The ligaments in his jaw interrupt my thoughts with a wet snap. His teeth are pressed out of his gums like M&Ms through wet cake as the thing inside him, the dustkin, crawls out. It''s almost completely solid, only translucent in a few places. Its sharp, black talons reflect the green light of the Shadow Vaile. Its teeth are bared as it crawls towards me, leaving a long line of smoke that drifts up from the ground in its wake. It reaches out for me, opens its mouth, screams. I roll over and get up, crawling on hands and knees towards it. ¡°Let this be a lesson,¡± I whisper as I glance over at the dustkins surrounding Pixie in the little hovel. ¡°Let this be a lesson to all of you.¡± The dustkin that was inside of Maldive reaches out for me, looks like it''s preparing itself to pounce, possibly to tear my throat out of my neck. When it jumps, I catch it. I catch it right around its own neck. It claws in my hand, at my arm. ¡°You forgot something,¡± I say, the strength spell still flowing though my hand. To my left is the giant puddle where the water shot out of. When the dustkin sees this, it starts squirming frantically, trying to get away. I''ve got a firm grip around its neck, the strength witchstone amplifying my own strength. I clamp down, choking it as I push it into the water. Black smoke erupts from the water. It''s like one of those Army smoke bombs has gone off. The dustkin screams and I see one by one, the dustkin''s inside of the hovel begin to disappear. I push harder, submerging the entire thing. Only when it stops struggling do I relax. I swallow, trying to get my nerves under control. ¡°Good job,¡± Silvy says. ¡°You''ve made an enemy of the brood mother.¡± I laugh. ¡°What else is new?¡± I glance over at Pixie. She''s looking around terrified. I wave her over. ¡°What is this place?¡± she asks, her eyes wide. ¡°Where are we?¡± I laugh and lie back. ¡°Silvy, take us home.¡± A portal opens underneath us and when I next open my eyes I''m on the floor of the Sulis lobby, staring up at the ceiling. I close my eyes. ¡°It''s good to be home,¡± I mumble as I pass out. Aftermath One month later... ¡°Just stay calm,¡± Lebec says. ¡°And remember, these are the Lord Wizards of the twelve major plaines. They¡¯re used to having their way. If they find you trustworthy and filled with deference, they''ll remove your sentence of exile.¡± ¡°I thought you were going to handle all this,¡± I say. ¡°I thought you were going to vouch for me. We already cleared everything up. I explained it all.¡± ¡°You explained it all to me and I verified it. They, on the other hand, want to hear it from you.¡± ¡°What about the blood wizard?¡± Lebec shakes his head. ¡°I wouldn''t bring that up. Especially because, like you said, the abnormal behavior that took place in Nightsbridge was due to dustkin interference, not the blood wizard.¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Don''t mention the blood wizard. I''m serious.¡± I blow my hair out of my face and cross my arms. ¡°Fine.¡± Lebec leads me to a giant obsidian door. He pulls it open and gestures for me to enter. I walk in and when he closes the door behind me, the entire room is dark. A voice speaks from directly in front of me. ¡°Hexana Covington, you are here on charges of being a witch. How do you plead?¡± ¡°I plead as not a witch. I''m cursed.¡± ¡°Yes, that was brought to my attention. After careful review, we find that you contain no discernable trace of astra magick. You do however have some abilities which we do not fully understand.¡± ¡°I don''t understand them either.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°They wish they understood,¡± Silvy whispers. ¡°Silvy, shut up.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± the voice asks. ¡°Nothing. My familiar.¡± ¡°Right. And there''s the matter of the dustkins.¡± I don''t say anything. I wait for them. ¡°We understand there was an outbreak, an infiltration.¡± I say nothing. ¡°You had nothing to do with this?¡± ¡°No,¡± I say. ¡°I had nothing to do with it.¡± ¡°And the blood wizard? From what we understand, you speak of him often.¡± I chew on my lip. Don''t do it. I open my mouth to speak. Seriously, Hex, don''t do it. ¡°The blood wizard is real.¡± Oh my God, what are you doing¡­ A long silence stretches out for what seems like years. ¡°We understand that you believe the blood wizard is real, however we believe he''s no more than a myth. A rumor. An urban legend.¡± ¡°Sticks say the same things about witches,¡± I say. ¡°Watch your tone.¡± I open my mouth to say something else but close it instead. See? I''m learning. I''m getting better. ¡°Do you apologize for infiltrating the Centennial tournament? Do you apologize for your actions there and the embarrassment you caused Nidema?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I say. ¡°Yes, what?¡± ¡°Yes, Lord Wizard.¡± ¡°Good,¡± the Lord Wizard says. ¡°I think you''re learning. That''s good. And do you apologize for what happened in Nightsbridge? Do you apologize for what you did to the adepts there? The ones you slaughtered?¡± I swallow. ¡°Well?¡± the Lord Wizard snaps. ¡°What is your answer?¡± I clear my throat. ¡°I want you all to understand something. The blood wizard is real and moving among us. I fought for my life in Nightsbridge. I defended myself. I will not apologize for that.¡± Another voice speaks up. ¡°We''re not asking you to apologize for what you did. We¡¯re asking you to apologize to us. You did not ask permission to do what you did. That''s the issue at hand here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°So you agree. You apologize.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not going to apologize for what happened in Nightsbridge. I said it once, but if you need me to say it five more times before it sinks in, you''re welcome to ask an additional five times.¡± There''s silence. ¡°Your exile is lifted,¡± the Lord Wizard of Nidema says, rage lacing every single syllable. ¡°You will be monitored by the Austerium for the rest of your life though. You will be followed. You will be watched. If any other traits, besides the horns become apparent, you will be put down like the vermin witch you are.¡± I turn and walk towards the door, fists clenched. ¡°You were not dismissed,¡± the Lord Wizard says. I turn back around and wait, simmering. ¡°That''s better,¡± the Lord Wizard says. ¡°Dismissed.¡± I walk to the door and pull it open, doing everything in my power to stay under control. ¡°Hey,¡± I say in a soft voice, turning around. ¡°Was there something else?¡± the Lord Wizard asks. ¡°Yeah. Fuck you. Fuck all of you.¡± Epilogue I Epione Clinic ¡°Is she okay?¡± I ask. ¡°Yeah,¡± Pixie answers. ¡°At least, from what they''re saying she is.¡± Marist is floating four feet above the ground, wrapped entirely in gauze. She looks like a mummy. Resting on her eyelids are two green witchstones. Witchstones courtesy of Blackhart. ¡°And you?¡± I ask. ¡°How are you?¡± Pixie looks at me and just as quickly turns her eyes back to Marist. ¡°The Shadow Vaile isn''t a pretty place,¡± I say. Pixie shakes her head no. ¡°It''s not that. It¡¯s the Magick World. Anara. I don''t know what I expected, but it''s uglier than the Shadow Vaile.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I nod. ¡°It is. A lot of it is extremely ugly, but there are still parts of it that are beautiful.¡± ¡°Are there?¡± Pixie asks. ¡°When there¡¯s such ugliness, how can any of it be beautiful?¡± Dom walks in and as soon as he sees me, he glares. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I asked her to be here,¡± Pixie says. ¡°Be nice. Dick.¡± I laugh. Girl after my own heart. Dom continues his sullen glaring. ¡°I heard you had an appointment with the Lord Wizards today.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°How did it go?¡± I smile at him. I can tell by the look on his face he knows exactly how it went. I can tell he knows exactly what I said. ¡°Same to you,¡± I say. His face turns red. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What I said to them. The same goes for you.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± he blusters, trying to find the words. ¡°I don''t¡ª¡± ¡°I know.¡± I pat him on the shoulder. ¡°Whatever.¡± I turn my back on him and look over at Pixie. ¡°Let me know if you need anything. Whatever Epione needs from Blackhart, they''ve got.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Pixie says. She clenches her fist and, as I watch as the feathers of Filigree shimmer into view before disappearing, she still can''t look at me. Epilogue II Blackhart ¡°You know,¡± Silvy says, ¡°the brood mother isn¡¯t going to stay silent forever.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I say. The gateway buzzes and, when I look over, the witchstone above it is gold. I slip my fingers across the witchstone under the counter and the gateway opens onto the Night Market. ¡°Get out,¡± I say as Cerulea walks in. She just stares at me. She''s never been confronted like this. The gateway closes behind her and I repeat myself. ¡°Get out.¡± Her face pinches. Her left eyebrow cocks up she tilts her head slightly to the side. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Hex. I''m offended. I thought we were friends." She pouts out her lower lip. "We''ve been through so much.¡± ¡°Have we? Last I remember I had Silvy drop you off on an oil rig. That was you, right? It had to be. I can''t think of any other shrill adepts she dropped off at an oil rig.¡± Her tongue dips into her lower lip and swims across her teeth. "You thought that was funny.¡± ¡°Calling you shrill or leaving you stranded on an oil rig?¡± Cerulea swallows, and takes a deep breath. Her face slowly composes. She takes another deep breath. What is this? Why is she here? ¡°So, I was thinking¡ª¡± she tries. ¡°Your first mistake," Silvy says, puffing into existence on her shoulder. Cerulea shoulders shoot up and she swipes at Silvy, even though Silvy''s already disappeared and reappeared back on the counter of Blackhart. ¡°Cursed little thing," Cerulea hisses. ¡°Yeah," I say. "That''s the point.¡± Cerulea blows out a quick puff of air and tries to recompose himself. "For the second time. Hexana, if you¡ª¡± ¡°Hex. My name is Hex.¡± ¡°Right." She closes her eyes and her hands ball into fists. "Hex. I need your help.¡±