‘tent_Warning’This chapter tains ses of physical cruelty and dismemberment. Readers sensitive to such ses are advised to proceed with caution.

  [colpse][From the Perspective of Edna Louise Marwood]

  After fifty years of life, one would assume there to be little I was incapable of. I’d mastered magic at a young age. I’d hardly reached adulthood when others started calling me Marwood’s Great Witch. Despite all of this, retly I’ve felt so incredibly… i.

  My manor was infiltrated with spies. Even after living so long, I was alone. After the church’s healers decred I’d be incapable of bearing a heir, I pushed everyone away. After seeing the devastation on my father’s face, I began to see my dition as a curse. I told myself I didn’t want to ruin someone else’s life with my tainted blood.

  Even as I sided with Prince Edmond, I did so half-heartedly. He may have never noticed, but I always expected him to fail. My heart felt as if it’d been frozen. I lived a tent life, accepting things as they were, doing nothing to ge them.

  Tales of my exploits cimed I had the power to eliminate armies. That I crushed a force from Ezin all on my own. There was truth to what I’d done, but the force I defeated weren’t true soldiers. They were little more than bandits, disanized and poorly trained. Against a simir force of professional soldiers, my death would’ve e swiftly.

  Within my heart I khe great witch, Edna Louise Marwood, was a fraud. A legend made of more smoke than fire. If I’d cared, I could’ve at least tried to live up to my legend. But I didn’t, not until, ne appeared. She was trouble. From the moment the prince brought her to me, I knew ne would destroy the life of nguid ease I’d lived so far.

  "I couldn't possibly house and care for the saint!"

  I’d cried out my reje, despite knowing what the prince would say . There was no one else he could trust. I was his only option. I tried to sound reasonable. How could the tess of a backwater territory possibly house a saint? It was hardly a det argument, given the opulence I surrounded myself with. Still, I tried to sound as if I had ne’s best is at heart.

  "Very well, I swear to do everything in my power to proted guide you, Lady ne. Until the day es when you no longer need me."

  In the end I caved. It was true that I was the best match for a fledgeling saint, but that wasn’t it. Truthfully, something about ne broke me. Her expressive little ears fttening in sadness as she signed a plea for Prince Edmond not to force me into housing her. As I gazed at her, I just couldn’t bring myself to disappoint this girl. We were strangers a I wanted nothing more than to do something, anything, to make her smile.

  My emotions were a mess. My head a warred with one another. I screamed at myself not to accept o my home. I had to remain firm. But, I didn’t want to be a disappoi anymore. Not any longer, and especially not for her.

  After ne began living with me, I started to do things I never would’ve attempted. I began using magic to eavesdrop on my maids. I even checked correspondence leaving my manor. I thought it’d take me months to catch Prince Owen’s spies, I had identified many of them in days.

  My new mentality didn’t stop just at eliminating spies. It also expao those I allowed within my inner circle. Like Lydia.

  Never in my life would I have allowed Lydia to live in my neighborhood, let alone my home. She was too adept at magic to not have a history. Even if I was restraining myself to limit colteral damage, Lydia shouldn’t have been able to match me.

  When ne ran forward in the alley, I’d felt true terror. I couldn’t stop my magi time. Tired of drawing out our duel, I’d pushed for something that’d finally overwhelm Lydia. It ell few mages could hope to ter. I couldn’t call it back. Tears threateo break free as I watched the swirling sphere of bck fire, in my heart, I’d just killed the saint.

  With a gaze of defiance, Lydia matched my fire with lightning, bck lightning. As the air filled with the smell of sulphur I could only stare at her in surprise. Lydia was no simple hedge witch. She had the power of a grand enter. In our first meeting, Lydia cimed a crippling weakness kept her from making use of her strength, I didn’t buy it.

  Lydia was hiding something. How, or if, her secret reted to ne I didn’t know. What matted was that rusted her. So, I allowed her to stay with me. Even when she practically admitted to being an assassie my age, I was not fearless. Any noble willing to allow a tract killed live in their house had to be insane. Yet that recisely what I was doing.

  A sigh escaped my lips as I pondered just how far I would go to make ne happy. I’d done enough. If I were my old self, I would’ve let the knight captain die. I would’ve simply done all I could to prevent ne from ever learning Azmoria’s fate. But now, I didn’t want to.

  After wasting years of my unending youth, I finally felt pelled to a. In a way, saving Azmoria was more for me than it was for was time for me to earn my title. No longer did I want to think of myself as a fraud.

  I’ll show you all the strength of Marwood’s great witch. Mentally I made my decration as I slipped the tweh vial of ichor into my cloak. To even attempt to break into the castle dungeon, one had to be insane. But here I was, dressed for war.

  “Are you ready, Lydia?”

  “Yes.”

  I eyed the catkin and down for a moment. She was dressed lightly in tight fitting clothes. Instead of vials of liquid ichor, she carried a pouch of hardened ichor pellets. They weren’t as effective as the vials, but were easier to carry. Perhaps they were the preferable option. If I had time I would’ve liked to ask Lydia to teach me the basics of infiltration, but time was a resource we had little of.

  We said our farewells to ne and slipped into the night.

  “How do you pn to get into the dungeon?” Lydia asked as we made our way for the castle.

  “There’s a secret passage built for royals to use in times of war.” When King Loren had been a younger man, he’d attempted to make me his e. During a rather unfortable night party he’d held sisting of little more than himself and a dozen women he fancied, he’d let the existence of the passage slip. The man could hardly keep his lips sealed once liquor entered his system.

  “The passage will take us into the King’s quarters,” I tinued. “If he is truly so ill that his advisors are abandoning him, I doubt it’ll be well guarded. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to slip into the courtyard ued.”

  “And if we’re unlucky?”

  “Someone dies.” Just how many is would have to die tonight so that Azmoria could live? I didn’t want to think about it. I wao spare the lives of as many guards as possible. They were doing their job, I was the oraying our king and try.

  As Lydia and I approached the castle, I drank my first vial of ichor. Vaporizing it within my body I ed the two of us in an illusory bubble. To those outside it would appear as if we did.

  “ell is this?” Lydia asked, gazing at the swirling mist around us.

  “Vanish.” I replied with a half-cocked smile. Among all of the spells I knew, vanish art of a special css. As the magical mist swirled around us a sihread ected it bae. I ulling the ichor bato me before expressing out outward again. As powerful as my profane spells were, this was quite the trick. Few skilled mages would ever dare try.

  “You’ll tire yourself out before we’ve even reached Azmoria’s cell.”

  “This much is nothing. But follow closely, I aintain it perpetually.”

  Lydia and I followed the castle wall until we stumbled across a pce where the stone became unnaturally symmetrical. To the untrained eye, it simply looked as if part of the wall had colpsed and been repaired, but I knew better. Pressing ooh all my might, I pushed it inward. The unnaturally perfect se of wall rotated on a hidden hinge opening up to reveal an unlit passage.

  “That was too easy. I ot believe they don’t keep a guard stationed here.” Lydia gasped.

  “It was only easy because we knew where to look.” Simple as it was, the hidden passage wasn’t something just anyone could find. If one didn’t know it existed, they hardly stood a ce at disc it.

  Allowing my spell to end, I pulled a small sphere from my cloak and shook it. Immediately the stone began to shine as bright as a torch. Once again, Lydia gave me a look of surprise. How much of what I believed to be on was actually exceptional, even to the eyes of a talented assassin?

  “It’s just a sunstone,” I whispered as we walked into the dark. “Have you not seen one before?”

  “No. My night vision is pretty good, so I’ve not needed anything like it before.”

  “I always fet just how successful beastkin were with the geic lottery.”

  “A’s you humans that trol everything.”

  We shared a quiet chuckle over that. If humans excelled at anything it was taking things from others. How we’d e to be so politically dominant was mostly lost to history. Though given how tribal beastkin could be, and how withdrawn the elves liked to act, it likely came down to our human aors being more willing to cooperate.

  Or maybe we’re just gullible and docile sheep in the presence of charismatic leaders. I decided to keep my st thought oter to myself.

  Climbing the stairs at the end of the escape tunnel, Lydia and I silently slipped into the King’s residence. As soon as we were there I downed another vial of ichor. This time I used it to alter the color of my hair and eyes. Unwilling as I was to kill the castle guards, I o disguise myself. So that my as wouldn’t bring more dao my doorstep.

  As I predicted, the king’s residence was nearly devoid of guards. Though still alive, Loren was hardly the kingdom’s leader. In many rince Owen was already ent, he simply had yet to truly i the .

  Using my illusionary bubble spell once again, Lydia and I slipped into the courtyard and began making our way across the castle grounds. So far everything was going our way. If we were lucky, Azmoria’s cell would be unguarded.

  As roached the prison, I id eyes on our first challewo guards stood oher side of every entrance. Once we got y spell wouldn’t do enough to ceal us. We’d have to fight.

  Faster than I could react Lydia flung two small needles with a flick of her wrist. The guards were stru the neck, promptly colpsing before they could even shout a warning to the others.

  “Terrifying,” I mumbled under my breath, opening the door while Lydia collected her needles.

  “The prison’s huge. Where do you think they’re keeping Azmoria?” Lydia asked as we crept inside.

  “Likely in the basement. If Prince Owen’s truly trying to make an example of her, he’ll want to ensure even her final days are hell. The cells down there are inhumane.”

  “You say that like you’ve seen them before.”

  “Not as a prisoner.”

  Together we desded the stairs into the basement. The area was lit by the occasional sce, but there was not nearly enough of them. It left gaps of deep shadows which we utilized to ceal our approach.

  Twitg, Lydia froze as we crept through the hall of cells in the basement. Most of them thankfully empty. “Do you hear that?”

  “No. What do you hear?”

  “It sounds like a hammer against flesh. Hurry we have to go!”

  Rushing through the basement I finally heard what Lydia had mentiohe wet thud of flesh being pulverized. Drinking another vial of ichor I performed magiique to myself.

  Vaporizing the ichor in my blood, I ed the resulting mist around my left arm. Effectively, it gave me the power to cast a spell on the fly just like a demon. It was aension of the magic recyg required to keep spells like vanish from ending instantly. I’d ied it just to see if I could. Never once had I imagined I might o make use of it.

  As we he st cell, I froze, biting my lip to silence a scream. Captain Azmoria id on the ground, her body so badly bruised I hardly reized her. Standing over her was a woman with short brown hair I knew well… Viander Reika.

  Reika was silently pulverizing Azmoria with her fists. She didn’t care if the poor woman couldn’t fight baymore. She didn’t eveo see if she was alive. She just kept hitting her, over and ain.

  Trembling I grabbed another ichor vial. Before I could e it, Lydia darted past me. Leaping at Reika she thrust her dagger forward. It should’ve been enough. With preternatural speed, Reika twisted her body. With her bare hand she caught the bde of Lydia’s dagger. Despite having the full weight of Lydia’s body behind it, it didn’t even cut her.

  With her free hand Reika punched Lydia iomach, sending her flying out of the cell. Lydia struck the opposing wall with enough force to break bone.

  Downing another vial, I pointed a fi Reika. Bck fme fred ience. Following my will the fire leapt for Reika.

  Reika opened her mouth. I believed she was going to scream at me. I readied myself to hear the st words of a woman I’d once sidered an acquaintance. She bit down on my fmes with her teeth, extinguishing the spell. My heart chilled. Before my mind could make sense of what I’d just seen, Reika vomited my spell bae.

  Barely downing another vial in time, I threw up a wall of etherial force. My fmes crashed into the wall and for a moment, I feared it wouldn’t hold. Profane magic was the pinnacle of power. Few could cast it, even fewer could survive it. How could Reika have ed a spell of such power? How could she wield my own magic against me?

  “Lydia, run!” I lowered myself into a fighting stance. “Get everyone, a out of the city!”

  This wasn’t the Reika I knew. I should’ve noticed from the start. Her eyes had turhe color of dried blood. She wasn’t the viander of the knight’s order I’d once shared occasional pleasantries with. This woman, this thing, was a demon. An insanely powerful ohe kind of demon that could o after having decades to mature. How she became so powerful was beyond me. She was human when I st saw her.

  Ichor-bck Lightning danced off of Lydia’s fingers, encirg Reika. For a moment the demon stiffened as if she’d been hurt. Theurned.

  In a panic I downed another vial and attempted to crumble the grouh Reika away. To trap her before she could harm Lydia. The ground caved as I desired, but she simply leapt into the air, ging to the ceiling like a spider.

  “Lydia!”

  Drawing her sword, Reika lu Lydia. The two crossed bdes. For a moment they were locked in bat as I watched helplessly. Any spell I used on Reika could hit Lydia if I wasn’t careful. The only choice I had was to ehe melee myself.

  Downing another vial I finally felt my body begin to protest. The ichor caught in my throat. I nearly vomited. But I’d felt this way before. F myself to swallow despite the siing feeling within me, I strengthened myself beyond mortal limits. Drawing my rapier I charged.

  With my heighterength I was able to puncture Reika’s side. With tears in my eyes I pushed as hard as I could, but I couldn’t pluhe bde deep enough to be fatal.

  Reika screamed. The sound of it made my blood curdle. Her voice was raw magic, rippling off of her in waves. Lydia and I were both blown away. I struck the floor hard, gasping in pain as my rapier flew from my hand.

  Despite my legend, I’d never fought a demon. Killing fledgling demons was the domain of the temprs and the knights. How they mao do so was lost on me. If Reika was a fledgling, I couldn’t imagihe power an elder demon would wield.

  How could we be overwhelmed?

  A fledgeling demon like Reika had to be kilble. Lydia and I were both extremely powerful, yet we were being crushed like insignifit flies.

  Shakily downing another vial, I jured a swirling mass of pulsing psma around my fist. Charging forward I dodged Reika’s sword and thrust my palm into her torso, releasing my spell.

  Bits of Reika’s clothing vaporized and her skin boiled as I blew her bato Azmoria’s cell. Without missing a beat, Lydia let loose a spell of her own. A trated beam of fire surged from her outstretched hand. Reika burned.

  F more ichor down my throat I began to jure more bck fmes. From the dust and debris kicked up by our collective spells, Reika emerged. With unnatural speed she closed the distaween us.

  Charging through my fmes, Reika brought her sword down on my arm. Incapable of evading quickly enough I released the magic stored in my left arm, ing my body in a shield of force. The sound of shattering gss echoed as Reika’s sword bouny magic. The force of it dropped me to my knees. With her free hand Reika grabbed me by the throat.

  Before I could even fear what would bee of me she smmed my face against the wall. I tasted iron. Blood dribbled from my lips as Reika moved in for a killing blow. A dagger coated in miasma struck her in the chest, f her to release me.

  I colpsed to the ground as Lydia charged Reika. The two dueled as I wheezed for breath. Needles ged off of the walls as they were deflected. The dungeon basement filled with fire and smoke as Lydia pushed herself beyond her limits.

  I have to get up. I ’t die here. Blinking tears out of my eyes I forced myself to stand. Wing in pain, I looked to Reika. My gut twisted in horror. At some point, Reika had caught Lydia by the tail. As the catkin cried out, Reika’s bde passed through the air.

  Blood spttered all over the floor as Lydia’s tail came of her body. A deep gash appeared down her spine. Before Lydia’s body could even hit the ground I was downing two vials of ichor. If we were going to die anyway, I was going to take Reika with me.

  Holding out my hand to cast the spell I gaged. Two of my fingers were missing. A third was bent at an awful angle.

  For now, I couldn’t allow the mutition I’d suffered to bother me. What mattered was doing everything I could to get Lydia out of here. An inky bck mass maed from my mangled hand. It was hardly a spell, more a maion of raw unnatural power. The bck mass struck Reika with enough force to send her careening against the far wall.

  With more ichor I called up a massive spiked pilr of stohis time the wall gave way. My pilr broke open a hole to the surface, sending Reika careening out of the dungeon.

  Coughing up thick globs of blood I grabbed Lydia’s tail and dragged the pirl over to where Azmoria id. I didn’t know if the captain was alive or dead, but I’d e here to retrieve her. I wouldn’t leave until I did.

  Taking a steadying breath and closing my eyes I jured an image of my manor. Carefully I reted every siail exactly as it existed when I left. For the spell I was about to cast to succeed, I couldn’t be wrong about anything. A single errant element and they’d both be lost in some unknown pce.

  ing another vial, I held out my hand eng Lydia and Azmoria in a light blue mist. My heart pouhis spell took time, and I wasn’t sure I had enough. After everything, I doubted Reika was dead. She’d return. I had to finish before she did.

  After several harrowing seds, Lydia and Azmoria vanished. If my mental image erfect, they’d both have appeared right in front of my manor. From there, I could only pray that Bir would notice them in time.

  For Azmoria it might be too te, but Lydia could still be healed. If they acted fast enough, eveail could be reattached. Or at least, that’s what I assumed. Despite being capable of healing magic, reattag lost limbs was beyond me. But Bir had talent. I had faith in her.

  Crawling through the hole in the wall, I stumbled into the courtyard. Several knights were gathering. Their eyes went wide as they looked at their viander. Her red eyes gazed menagly. My spells had nearly evaporated her clothing a she cared nothing for modesty. Like a feral beast she stood, gripping a half-melted sword.

  A deep peing ache ed me. My insides burned. My skin had bee pallid and fked like ash. I’d long since reached my limit. Both in the wounds I could take, and in the ichor I could e. If I tinued, I’d either demonize or die, yet the knights around me were too stuo involve themselves. Reika wasn’t even known for her magic. She hardly used it. Seeing her bee a demon, was no different than seeing the sun itself wink out of existence.

  Reika crouched, a vile hiss eg from her throat. With trembling fingers I uncorked yet another vial of ichor. It would likely be my st. Shakily I brought the vial to my lips but Reika did not charge, instead she began to sniff the air.

  Narrowing her eyes, Reika turned in the dire of the city. My heart nearly stopped when I realized what she was about to do.

  “No!” I shouted, but it was for nothing. Kig off the ground Reika unched herself into the sky. I watched in horror as she vanished over the castle wall… in the dire of my manor.

  On quivering legs I stumbled towards the castle’s stables. I o get home. The demon was headed for ne, and she wasn’t ready.

  --——

  eri

  Demonization has been something we’ve talked about, but until this moment no demons have appeared.

  Reika’s demonization throws everything known about demons into question. Poor Edna came ready to prove herself a hero, but she could’ve never expected she’d have to deal with this. The showdowween reat witd the demonized viander was a chilling thing to write, but I hope I did it justice.

  Also spells which have turned bck (such as “bck fire” and “bck lightning”) get a name in this chapter: Profane Magic. It’s something few could ever hope to use, a both Edna and Lydia have used it. ne is surrounded by badasses.