Maddison tested the door one last time, giving the debris that had scattered into the room a frustrated kick. He looked around the room, scrutinizing every able body standing around him. Something on his face screamed that he did not like the choices one bit, but one piece in particular seemed to spark some hope in his eyes. He pointed to the hilt peeking from Sariel's bag, the enchanted dagger playing to the woman's scathing words. “Sariel, toss me that dagger.”

  Sariel eyed him up, holding the dagger tight. “Trade yer sword for it.”

  “They’re both mine.”

  Cody scoffed. “And what? You’d leave her defenseless?”

  “I’d leave her with a snarky magician and his fireballs.” Maddison bit back. “That thing can take a hold of minds, who would you rather fight? Me? Or Sariel?”

  Cody narrowed his eyes, glancing at Sariel and holding out his own dagger to her. “Can we trade?”

  Sariel stared at his simple dagger, frowning.

  Cody sighed, pulling a small chunk of shiny flint out of his pocket. “I’ll add this cool rock.”

  “Deal!”

  Cody tossed Maddison the dagger. “I’ll take Sariel with me to check for holes or an anchor.”

  Maddison nodded. “Kids as well, I’m looking for the sorcerer and don’t need hostages.”

  Cody sighed through his teeth. If there was a weak point, nine times out of ten the spell caster would be standing by it, or have their own protections stationed. The curse, although weak, was still ever present in his mind; and he was only as useful as the sword in his hands. His uses in magical combat were probably far lower than Tim’s knack for cutting words.

  He didn’t manage to get a word in before Maddison turned heel and headed for the stairs. It seemed he was going to clear the rooms above first, however far they stretched aside from the study with the living corpse.

  Cody looked to Sariel with a smile. “Where do you think we should look first?”

  “Well I was gonna go on up where the voice was coming from.” She pinched her chin, eyeing the two halls before them. “I say right.”

  Crow squawked to mock Sariel’s directive, firm to her shoulder as she marched off. Cody held back from requesting her reasoning, waving Timber to drag his brother along in the center of the group.

  The hall they came into was normal. Dark wood on the walls and floor, and a strong mixture of clay and minerals plastered to the ceiling with hand cut swirls. The walls were mostly bare, and many of the doors either opened or unlocked, leading to empty dead ends and closets.

  Aside from the barrier, Cody sensed no magic around them.

  That is, until, they found the final door. It was just like the others, wooden, polished, and unassuming. But as Sariel grabbed the doorknob they were quick to realise that, despite having no keyhole, it was the only locked one. Cody tried his luck, feeling the minor spell that had been slapped onto it. He didn’t have time to unwind the lock, and simply blew the entire thing in with a small bolt of fire. Shards of wood imploded inwards, tumbling down the dark stairwell beyond like a small symphony.

  The group eyed the path to the basement with some hesitation, but time was not a luxury they had to spend pondering the dangers ahead.

  Cody went first, the light of his hair barely enough to pierce the shadows. The stairs were solid stone, worn at the edges by objects that seemed to have been repeatedly dragged down them. With the sparse light that danced in his hand, he couldn’t see much of any stains on the walls or ground, his hair barely providing enough light for the three behind him to quietly follow after him.

  No one heard sounds ahead. A drip of water, and moans from the house’s age were the only ambiance that echoed into the dark room beyond.

  But still, his eyes could only cut through so much in the dark. A quiet spectator could have sat easily in the shadows ready to strike him first. He stopped at the last step, shooing Timber away to take Sajus back up, and waiting for Sariel to take his side.

  The fat black crow with green feathers still perched on her shoulder, its body lower as it looked on ahead, snapping its beak at the air and shifting its wings uncomfortably. Still, it wasn’t alive. And it was better to lose a false life that could be conjured again.

  Cody waved for the bird’s attention, making a flying shadow puppet with his hands and pointing into the dark room.

  Crow stared at him, miming a scoff at the order before diving off Sariel’s shoulder and into the shadows. He heard three wingbeats, and then a loud crash.

  And then silence.

  Cody stilled his beating heart, brushing the spine of his tome in anticipation. Had Crow run into something?

  He pursed his lips. Could crows see in the dark?

  A rattle echoed across the room, metal striking the wall as if a creature was tangled in it. Surely enough, Crow let out a shriek of displeasure, followed by more struggles which seemed to set off another bird, far smaller as it chittered in panic in the dark room.

  He sighed and stepped inside to assist the familiar.

  The basement was large for a town house, but still tight enough for Cody to see the other side of the space with his light. The main room was cleared of most items, a small bundle of discarded blankets soaking up the leftovers of a dripping crack in the wall.

  He saw where Crow had turned his struggles into a theatrical act, the black bird hanging at an awkward angle as it batted its wings to try and loosen its foot that had wedged between the iron bars of a golden cage. The delicate object dangled from a chain thrust into the ceiling, protecting and encasing a small brown bird that chittered in fear at the screaming guest as the cage swung about like a pendulum.

  But it was no ordinary bird.

  The small cage had been polished with magic to seal it inside, and a strong bronze glow emanated from the magic inside of the creature. It’s core was compact, far tighter than Crow’s, and stronger than a familiar had any right to be.

  Cody stopped Sariel from helping the two creatures, eyeing the bird with caution. “Do you speak?”

  Crow relaxed at his words, simply hanging upside down like a dead puppet to give the caged bird silence. The brown bird’s chittering died to a calm tweet, but no words escaped its mouth.

  Sariel stepped forwards, and Cody immediately grabbed her wrist, holding her from approaching further. “It could be dangerous.”

  Sariel furrowed her brow. “What you mean there Cody? She’s asking for help.”

  “Help?” He stared at the small bird, noticing how it had fixated its attention on Sariel.

  It had been trapped in a cage, just as they had been trapped in the house. An idea grew in his mind. There was no point in trapping a creature twice, unless you were worried it could escape. He had seen the threads stretching towards Maynard’s house, and no matter how small, there had to be a crack to allow the spell to spill out and control the dragon’s corpse like a puppet.

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  There was a very real chance the bird knew where that hole was.

  He approached the cage, feeling the pattern of the spell that bound the cage. He could break it like the door, but it would certainly cause the small bird harm.

  Crow squawked, ripping a yelp out of Cody as he remembered the dangling familiar. He wedged the bird’s foot loose, awkwardly holding it by the leg and distributing it in Sariel’s arms. Next, he reached for the cage door, hoping it was not the same barrier that encased the mansion and Bervolt. He felt the solid wall of magic blocking the lock, trying to gently pry into it with a few prodding strikes. The spell immediately bit back in protest, sending a surge of magic all the way to his forearm that left a stinging ache.

  His hand ripped back, smoke trailing from his fingertips where the enchantment had resisted. It was scaled down and far weaker because of it, but it was the same spell. He couldn’t break it. “It won’t open.”

  “Jammed hey?” Sariel’s soft footsteps met his ears as she bent to eye the lock, her gentle touch failing to trigger the barrier as she eyed the little golden door of the cage. Having seen enough in her mysterious mission, she wandered across the room, crouching before the soaked blanket in the corner. He eyed her curiously as she cut loose a section of the dripping cloth, carefully folding it up as she came back to the cage.

  She came closer to it, Cody watching her curiously as she brought the wet cloth up to the lock. No incantation escaped her lips as she started to scrub at the metal without resistance.

  And before Cody's very eyes, he watched the magic move. The spell unwound with whatever Sariel had done to the cloth, the residual magic soaking its way up into the wet cloth and fading altogether.

  Cody froze, eyes wide in shock as the cage clicked, and the locking enchantment faded.

  “How did you…?”

  Sariel peeked over her shoulder at him. “Little bit of water goes a long way. Just gotta get that stick out.”

  Cody stared at her blankly. Whatever she had done was definitely going to be a conversation topic once they escaped the house.

  The delicate door swung open and the small bird dived out, circling the dark room before disappearing into a shadowed corner. Its song like chirp was replaced by wet snaps as whatever had perched in the dark released its form. Cody could only see its glowing core expand into something larger, the figure of a person barely visible once the sounds subsided.

  He paled at the magic.

  A shapeshifter?

  The shadow charged Sariel, closing the distance far too fast for Cody to shoot a spell. His gut sank as he watched helplessly, every one of his spells risking striking Sariel at their proximity. But once the shadow reached Sariel it shot its arms out, wrapping them around her midsection in a tight hug.

  It was then that Cody shook off his panic and noticed the figure was smaller than a typical person, its shoulders shaking as it buried its face in Sariel’s stomach to sob.

  It was a child.

  She seemed to recognise the stranger, crouching lower to return the hug. She whispered some words that Cody couldn’t quite make out, reaching into her satchel to pull out some colourful petals, and a daisy she had picked in the town square. The shake in the child’s shoulders levelled some as she accepted the gifts.

  A scoff echoed through the walls, the creature that had trapped them returning. The spite was clear, it did not like what Sariel had done. “Careful what you distract yourself with. Five minutes remain.”

  Cody came closer, earning a flinch when he settled his palm on the child’s shoulder. They turned to him, pressed to Sariel’s hip as they gazed up at him through the eyeholes of an iron, squirrel-like mask. He crouched, careful not to terrify their new companion even more as he levelled his voice to a quiet whisper. “We’re trying to escape the house… do you know how?”

  They paused, carefully approaching Cody to unlatch the pouch at his side. He allowed them to poke through its contents until they came out with a small stick of chalk, keeping an eye on them as they wandered to a wall and drew a large circle.

  He watched them scratch out more details, runes and connectors chalked out in wobbly lines.

  It was the start of a ritual.

  “Say Cody…”

  He turned to a Sariel’s call, watching her scuff her boots on the floor, and then wander over to the wall to scratch at the cracks in the laid stones. “I been thinking about this town here, somethin odd about it.”

  Cody nodded. “The villagers are cursed, they’re acting insane because of the spell.”

  Sariel shook her head. “Not them villagers, good idea to keep all the crazy ones together though.” She said, tilting her chin to stare at the plasterwork on the ceiling, her gaze lingering in the corners of the room. “Besides Mr. Grey, who really likes fur and soot, never seen a smidge of dust or grime. Don’t seem right, reminds me of that forest, all spaced out an neat.”

  Cody froze, the pieces Sariel had so casually handed him clicking. The dusting of magic that had settled upon every surface of Bervolt, the barrier so powerful he had never seen anything like it. The obsession with rules and making the carnage a game of strange tasks and challenges. He grabbed her shoulders. “Sariel!”

  She grabbed his shoulders back. “Cody!”

  “You’re a genius.” His smile did not falter at Sariel’s confusion as he waved her over to the masked child.

  What they had started to sketch only solidified the theory. It was a ring with thirteen circles, partially interlacing one another to make the symbol somewhat resemble a flower. The runes that sat inside each of the circles could change based on the teaching or subject of the spell, but this did not change the audience they targeted. The child had made good enough progress on the calling circle, so Cody plucked the chalk from their hands, finishing the last of the sigils at a feverish speed.

  He tapped the finished drawing, making a few of the lines neater while he lectured his audience. “This is a fairy domain. We agreed to its game, so we’re stuck until we finish it.” He eyed the small golden cage, “just like the town.”

  The follower nodded along to his explanation, keeping close to Sariel as she puzzled over the drawing.

  He thought on his next words. There were plenty of malicious domains that travellers could accidentally stumble upon. They were left off the beaten path for entertainment and food, the latter being exceptionally rarer.

  But an entire town? He had heard of cases where they set their traps in abandoned houses or run down bridges. Places that still wouldn’t turn a head right away. They took a lot of time and magic to set up for a normal colony. To slap a domain on a bustling town before any of the villagers could flag the issue and stamp it out was a horrifying notion.

  He turned to the sigil, pricking his finger on a point on his circlet and allowing the blood to travel to his palm before laying his hand flat on the wall. He lingered in his position, considering if this was truly a good idea.

  But they were running out of time, and losing a game to a fairy was never a good thing.

  “With this blood I offer you a treat, in the terrible hope that we might meet.” He channeled his magic into the chalked lines, leaving the spell open for the other side to connect.

  And then, he waited.

  Without its name it did not have to answer, but Cody hoped this was a domain of entertainment, and the invitation would be irresistible.

  He felt a strange magic reach back, connecting. The first sigil in the circle lit with blue fire, the glow travelling around the ritual mockingly slow to eat up their precious time that definitely hadn’t stopped. Finally, as the symbols burned blue around Cody’s hand, the woman’s voice returned, no longer scattered through the walls as it boomed from a focused point within the summoning circle.

  “To summon me with rhymes is a mediocre feat, but tell me your number of verses and perhaps I’ll be sweet.”

  “Six” Cody said, hopeful that the lowball would still hold the creature’s interest.

  It hummed, taking its time once more. He didn’t doubt that it knew he had his first verse ready.

  Finally, it sighed dismissively. “What do I bet?”

  “Answers.” Cody replied, frowning distastefully as he looked to the spell. “What do I bet?”

  “Your hand.” The fairy mused.

  He watched the blue flames crawl up to his wrist. The fire did not burn his skin, but if he fumbled the challenge it gave him a pretty good idea of how the fairy was going to take its prize.

  He cleared his throat, saying his first verse. “You’ve made this game impossible to win, for you’ve trapped us in a house that you are not in.”

  A laugh greeted his accusation. “In this house I surely sit, but I can hide in places you’ll find hard to fit.”

  “Then tell me what’s the point to try…” he paused, realizing the small imperfection in his verse as it rolled off his tongue. “if I will never spot you with my eye?”

  He felt a tingle on his hand as the fairy taunted him, but thankfully it continued, accepting the soft rhyme. “Your claims are false, for I remain in the open. The rules of this game, I have not broken.”

  Cody thought on the response. The fairy sounded small, which did little to narrow his options. “The final verse will end our chits. Tell me the creature you are that a common name fits.”

  The voice breathed out a deep sigh. “A game of rhymes you’ll need to win. This is a word that pairs with my kin. Rider.”

  The flames retreated from Cody’s palm, choking themselves out as the magic withdrew and left scratches and smudges all over the runes.

  Sariel stared at the drawing in awe, flattening her palm in the same spot Cody had in some vain hope that it would light up again. Cody barely paid attention to it, his thoughts lingering on something decisively worse.

  There weren’t a lot of things that rhymed with rider. And frankly, he hated the main contender.