Vero saw no duplicity in her expression, but Isolde would never have turned to face her unless she was sure her face showed only honesty. Even if the priest was more than he claimed, which Vero was almost certain of, there was no guarantee that Isolde was not a willing collaborator with him.

  “That’s a worrying accusation.” Vero spoke wearily. “I like the idea of having two of you at my back even less than one. Could he be a member of the Lodge?”

  “The Lodge is a paranoid delusion of unwell minds. But no one in my association has half the skill to perform a working of the power I saw. And certainly not with such subtle ease, when he could not possibly have prepared beforehand. He could not have known that he would have the need for such a sudden spell, yet he slipped it through Pentarch’s defenses in a single phrase during the precise moment he was distracted by you. I would need hours of preparation refining the precise command to issue, and at least two expert acolytes to assist me during the actual casting of the spell.”

  “If that’s so, how can you be sure he isn’t listening to us at this moment, even through your wards?”

  “I can’t. But if he is, then we never stood a chance against him to begin with. It’s possible he’ll alter both our minds the moment we leave, and we’d never know it. But if it comes to that, I’d rather have a false hope than none at all.”

  “Perhaps Pentarch simply changed his mind on his own, or by the mundane weight of our opinion. How can you be sure he was put under a spell?”

  “I was thirteen when magister Aurelia took me as her apprentice. I was sixteen before she felt I was safe enough to be allowed to exhibit an independent thought. It was, and she ordered me to memorize the moment with perfect clarity, an opinion as to whether we should have chicken or pork for supper. I was eighteen when she allowed me to be unsupervised without placing me into a hypnotic slumber. I was twenty when I was accepted into the Umbrian University and finally escaped her. Since then, I have worked those same spells she once taught me on dozens- hundreds of others. For every day of the twenty-one years since, which I have hidden under dyes, creams, and vitality tonics. Believe me when I tell you that I know what a man looks like when he is placed under a compulsion.”

  It was a well delivered speech. Vero still did not trust her, but she decided there was more to be gained by cooperation than antagonism, at least for the moment. “If he can work your own spells better than any illusionist you’ve ever known, then what is he? A warlock?”

  “He began as such, I’m sure. To have such power he must be ridden by some spirit from beyond our sphere. I would believe perhaps a fae, due to the use of hypnotism- but the proximity to the mountain…”

  Vero briefly cast her mind over the dark sea of what she knew regarding the Fiend, she quickly withdrew it. “Perhaps he truly is led by the Veiled One? A goddess is certainly from outside of the material sphere, and a genuine miracle must be much more potent than any human magic.”

  “You believe in the gods? What am I saying. Of course, the farm girl turned courtesan, who thinks she’s a man playing at swords and blood magic, also believes in the gods. But do you truly believe that the gods, whatever or wherever they may be, intervene here on our mortal sphere?”

  “I’ve never seen a priest exhibit a power beyond what could be accomplished by natural magic. But my mother told me the stories of saints who always traveled protected by divine force.”

  “Well, your mother told you lies. And don’t glower at me-!” she added very quickly, when Vero took a step forwards. “I only meant to imply she told you a comforting falsehood, as many kind and gentle parents tell their children when the true answer is unknowable or frightening. Daemons, by contrast, are very real. And their only motivations are to sow chaos and do evil.”

  Vero was contracted to destroy a daemon which possessed the mind of apostate conjurers twice in the past. She did not wish to face a third. “The daemons I've faced were solely interested in destruction and revenge. Alexius has only followed us and insisted that we put this vampyre priest to the torch. If it is a devil of some kind, then what does it want?”

  “I confess, I don’t know. We can’t remain here too long or they’ll grow suspicious- but that is why I wished to speak with you, we must watch him and determine what he wants. Any action before we gather more information would be rash.”

  “At the very least, he seems opposed to the vampyres. Perhaps we can use one enemy against another.”

  “A dangerous game, but as we’re the weakest players at the table, that may be the only game we can win.”

  Vero noticed that whatever Isolde had been writing when she first entered was gone from the parchment. “What was it you were writing when I come in?”

  “A letter to my associates. I don’t know when I’ll have the opportunity to send it, but if I can catch some small bird, I can implant a command to bring it to my fellows and summon us aid. I doubt they’ll arrive in time to help us, but if we fail, at least someone will know what has happened.”

  “Let me see it.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “It’s in a cypher; they would simply throw it away if it wasn’t. We should return to the others before they think something is wrong.” Isolde stood up and moved towards the door.

  Vero could have stopped her, but she decided to wait and try and get her alone again later. She followed Isolde out. Vero felt eyes on her when she and Isolde sat at the table, but she ignored them.

  At its highest point the sun only just crested the mountains, so that would be their time to strike. It was already mid-morning, but the horizon was just beginning to brighten. Fra Heward unfurled a set of maps on the table once their food was cleared away. They were very detailed and contained many notes written along the sides.

  Fra Heward gestured towards them many times to elucidate his points as he spoke. “The cult shrine has been established in what was once the town’s guildhall. It’s located on a hill which overlooks the entire area,” he started without preamble. “Fortunately, the building was not constructed with security in mind. The cult took it because it was the largest building in town, but houses are built all around it, allowing a small group to easily approach unseen. My lads have collected several pieces of hardboiled leather as armor, but they only have pitchforks and knives for weapons. The exceptions being Ivan, who has an old iron short sword, and Vladimir Mikhailovich, who has a hunting bow for poaching.” He sighed. “Well, that’s about all of it. I was trained to protect libraries, and I haven’t the skills to plan a tactical assault such as this. I’ll gladly defer to superior knowledge on this matter, master slayers.”

  Pentarch nodded and they all went to work without further comment. The maps and notes Fra Heward prepared made their task much simpler, and they soon had the rough outlines of a plan put together.

  Sergei Konstantinovich and the lad Vladimir Vladimirovich lived together in a house near to the guildhall, which was their forward command post. Isolde would remain there and keep the enemy in confusion by conjuring an illusory army of phantoms to surround them. She gave each of them an enchanted talisman, which would allow her to shield them from the major effects of her spell as she wove it.

  The attack would set off by using the early stages of her working to draw out as many defenders as possible in small numbers to be taken in ambush. Once the fighting proper started, Vero, Fra Heward, and Pentarch would lead the assault and open the main doors with an explosive working Pentarch had devised.

  Vladimir Mikhailovich was to remain at the command post to defend the sorceress, and to shoot down anyone who tried to escape past them through the main doors. Alexius would remain with them as well. The Roscovich brothers, Sergei, and Mikhail, would follow the vanguard inside to provide support after the initial assault.

  Everything from there would be improvisation.

  Once their planning was done, all the members of their party split into less conspicuous numbers to surveil the area and familiarize themselves with the town first hand. When the fighting began there would be no way to know what would happen. They could not leave anything to chance, so each of them went with a local to learn all the town landmarks well enough to orient themselves, wherever they might pursue the enemy.

  Ivan Roscovich went with Pentarch, his brother Anton accompanied Isolde, Vladimir Mikhailovich went with Alexius, and finally Vero and Fra Heward formed the last pair. They traveled in heavy cloaks, and although it was late in the morning, it still was not bright enough to see fine features from a distance.

  Before they moved to the guildhall, Fra Heward led her on a circumnavigation of the entire town. It looked rather feeble to Vero, hovels with pathways of tramped down snow snaking between them. However, Fra Heward assured her this was the largest settlement he had seen on this side of the mountains. Vero’s natural sense of direction was strong, and it was not long before she could lead them on her own without becoming lost.

  “May I ask you a question, my Lady?”

  “You just have. However, I shall be gracious and allow you not only that, but another after.”

  If Fra Heward detected her irony, he did not show it. “Thank-you, my Lady. How can it be that his lordship the Marquis has allowed you to come on so dangerous a mission, and so far from Velois?”

  “He had no part in my decision. I left his company several months after you departed.”

  “Why?”

  Because the shades which follow you drew too near.

  “I’ve sometimes pondered that question,” Vero replied. “I suppose I haven’t the constitution to live as a kept woman.”

  “I can hardly believe any man could be so great a fool as to allow you to leave his side.”

  “What was he to do? Lock me in a tower?”

  “Is that not what one does with a precious treasure?”

  “For gold and silver. But when one’s treasures are living things, like rare herbs, how can they grow or thrive without sunlight and free air?”

  He nodded as though he thought her point was well made. “You speak with the wisdom of Orphia, Lady Veronique. I have nothing more to ask.”

  At length, they came to the guildhall. Although they remained hidden in the shadow of the surrounding hovels. Vero judged that this would be the best point for their ambush. She could see both the command post where the others were already waiting for them, and the front entrance to the guildhall, where two men were on guard beside the doorway.

  The guards were huddled close to a fire to keep warm, and their attention hardly strayed from the dice game they played together. Vero also observed a shuttered window over the entrance, which opened at intervals for a third guard to peer out.

  “Have you or your men searched for a postern?”

  Fra Heward shook his head. “No, my Lady. The guildhall was not constructed with such.”

  “Vampyres often create their own escape routes after they transform a place their warren. When we make our attack, we should keep Anna and the boy behind the hall to watch for anyone attempting to make an escape in that direction.”

  “Will that not place them in danger? I had hoped to keep them as far from the conflict as possible.”

  “Their association with us already places them in danger. If they remain hidden and only keep watch I don’t see why they should come to any harm. And if we know the direction any stragglers fled, it will be much simpler to hunt them down and finish them.”

  “I understand.”

  “I also wish you to be prepared for many mind tricks once the attack begins. We can offer no quarter and accept no surrender from any vampyre, they must be destroyed at once, by any means. If one of the humans gives himself up, perform a battlefield interrogation, then leave him for our local allies to hold until we’re finished. They've the ropes to bind them. Any sign of trouble, slit their throats.”

  “Each of them has committed crimes worthy of execution. I’ve already hardened my heart against any mercy for their kind.”

  “Good.” Vero knew it would not be so easy, regardless of what words they shared, so she let the matter drop.

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