With trembling hands, Spidena set the mushroom Filif had gifted her in the bowl of water that sat just in front of her knees. A candle that was already lit sat just past the bowl, and then just beyond the candle was Paulav.

  She had drawn a salt circle around them, and kept her ingredients close at hand as she reached for her connection to magic. Both herself and the merchant sat cross legged on the ground.

  “Paulav, once I start this incantation, I cannot stop. So please do not interrupt or things could go very, very wrong.”

  The merchant was sweating profusely, but he made a show of saluting her earnestly—though there was still a glint of fear in his eyes.

  “After the incantation is complete, we throw all ingredients outside to be consumed by nature. Understood?”

  Paulav gave a firm nod.

  Spidena’s eyes were already watering from the keen stress she was feeling. “Okay.”

  The caravan rocked gently around them as Ben had taken up the reins in order to ensure Lord Earhav didn’t catch up to them any time in the immediate future.

  Letting out a long breath, her heart in her throat, Spidena pressed her palms into the rough boards of the floor.

  “O, Magic, allow a switch of masters

  With years of effort to offer

  Forget the former trade

  This is to be remade

  Weave your balanced way over

  Like the firmest of drovers

  Take the offered payment

  And let this man claim it.”

  Spidena paused and took a steadying breath before she plunged the knife into the floorboards in front of the bowl, leaving it standing and waving upright.

  Paulav gave a small jolt at the action, but dutifully didn’t say anything.

  Spidena then dropped in the bowl the long braid that used to be attached to her head along with the fingernails they’d cut, and locks of Paulav’s hair. She then poured in the vial of Paulav’s blood and sweat before at last pulling out Conquestorov from her bag. Her palms were clammy, but she hastily clamped down on the duck’s bill before finishing the incantation. Conquestorov squirmed ferociously, but as soon as Spidena resumed speaking, he went still, as though in a daze.

  “Master to minion

  The old be gone

  Minion to new master

  New master to minion

  Minion to new master

  New master to minion

  Minion to new master

  New master to minion

  Conquestorov!”

  The duck’s head rose slowly, still entranced, as Spidena unclamped her hand from his beak, and set him down in the bowl of water. She watched the familiar silvery glow brighten to a near blinding point.

  “Conquestorov, greet your master,

  Paulav Sweeney.”

  The duck blinked.

  Sweat dripped off Spidena’s nose as both she and Paulav held their breaths.

  Then… Conquestorov slowly lowered himself in a bow to Paulav. “Master, I greet you, and acknowledge you.”

  The merchant looked up excitedly at Spidena.

  “What are your three unbreakable rules, master?”

  Spidena’s own smile fell, and her eyes went round.

  SCUM! WHAT?

  She swallowed with difficulty.

  She hadn’t known that Earhav had woven in unbreakable rules into the minion’s construction! Those would be far harder to break!

  Creeping dread was already making Spidena fear the spell may not have worked as flawlessly as they had hoped.

  “M-my unbreakable rules?” Paulav looked up nervously at Spidena who was floundering in her panic.

  He must have seen this, as the merchant cleared his throat, and cast her his most reassuring smile.

  “Conquestorov,” Paulav started to say slowly. “The first rule is that you can never kill or do something to lead to someone being killed.”

  “What if I have to choose between a lot of people dying either way?” Conquestorov’s monotone question made Paulav raise a wary eyebrow.

  “Well… You should choose the option that will protect our allies and friends the most.”

  “Understood. And what are the two other rules, master?”

  “Be fair, helpful, and respectful,” Paulav added easily.

  “Who should I be helpful to, master?”

  “People who need help with small things. Things that aren’t evil, or a crime.”

  “Yes, master. And the third rule?”

  Paulav’s mouth twisted thoughtfully for a few seconds. His blue eyes lost in thought.

  Spidena reached into her bag and withdrew a hand towel she used to mop up her face.

  “You won’t have secrets unless it’s a personal one you want to keep to yourself. You have to be forthcoming on your feelings. So if you’re feeling lonely, or want a friend, you tell me.”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Good. Oh, please call me Paulav!”

  “Yes, Paualv.”

  The merchant beamed and looked up at Spidena.

  She still couldn’t quite share in his happiness. The fact that Lord Earhav had woven rules into the building of the minion was still making her gut roil.

  “Should we have Ben stop the caravan?” Paulav asked gently, drawing Spidena from her spiraling thoughts.

  “I… I guess. Yes. We need to get rid of the ingredients.”

  Paulav smiled kindly. Then, gently grasping Conquestorov, he rose up to his feet and thumped his fist three times against the caravan roof while Spidena reached out and held onto the candle to stop it from toppling.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Paulav?” Conquestorov asked suddenly as the caravan came to a halt.

  “Yes?”

  “Is the witch an ally?”

  “She is, and even better, she is a friend.” Paulav smiled warmly at Spidena.

  “I understand,” Conquestorov affirmed as Paulav braced himself, while still carefully holding onto the duck.

  Spidena looked up at the duck, her head swimming, and her body damp from the heat thanks to the confined space of the caravan. “Do you remember everything from before Paulav was your master?” Patches of golden sunshine would occasionally stream past the wooden wall to her left from the window as they traveled.

  “My memory is… hazy, friend of Paulav.”

  “Oh, you can call her Spidena,” Paulav explained in doting tones as he began to gently stroke the duck’s back. The merchant continued to croon over his new magical minion.

  Meanwhile, Spidena’s hearing was starting to turn inside out, and her mind was scrambling on what they should do if Lord Earhav was still able to find them, when a shout from outside the caravan snapped her back to the present.

  “OY! GET DOWN FROM THERE YOU THIEF! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THE MERCHANT?”

  Spidena swung around toward the window where the voice of an angry woman had pierced the air.

  “Oh, oh dear!” Paulav breathed before turning and exiting the caravan hastily.

  Goddess… What now?

  Despite the possibility of a new threat, Spidena ensured she gathered up all of the ingredients to the spell, and proceeded out the carriage.

  Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any kind of assailants at the back of the carriage, and she could hear astonished voices carrying over from the front.

  Tossing the bowl and its ingredients into the brush, Spidena rounded the caravan to see a woman, and a man who appeared to be her partner, standing and laughing. Paulav spoke with the two newcomers with great excited gusto, his cheeks pink with happiness. Ben loitered just behind Paulav looking equal parts bored and wary. In other words, like he usually did.

  Venturing forward cautiously, Spidena could smell sweet grass in the air, meaning they had to be approaching meadow clearings that signaled the thinning of the Drebin Forest.

  “-Thought you’d been robbed! Thank the Gods!” she heard the woman say with a laugh.

  “Oh, no, no! This here is my fine friend Benthrop, and over there is Spidena!” Paulav gestured toward her, making Spidena’s eyes dart over to the couple.

  The fresh air was cooling the sweat on the back of her neck, reminding her that she had significantly less hair than when she started the day. Her cheeks flushed.

  “Ben, Spidena, these are my old friends Galev,” Paulav nodded to the man before addressing the woman. “And Celestra Steen.”

  When the couple turned, Spidena first met the man’s eyes.

  They were the color of champagne, and they shone warmly in the afternoon sun. His chestnut brown hair was straight, and flopped dashingly over his sun kissed brow. He looked to be in his mid-thirties.

  For all of Galev’s earthly good looks his wife’s striking beauty was celestial. Which was most likely where her name originated. She had white blond hair, big blue eyes, pale skin, and was incredibly petite. However, there was a quirk in her lips and tilt of her eyebrows that hinted at a mischievous nature.

  Spidena went to smile politely, her hand rising up to offer a greeting, when a flicker caught her eye, making her pause.

  Just as Celestra paused when opening her mouth to presumably say some form of pleasantry.

  The two women stared at one another in silence.

  “Well,” Celestra grinned after a three second pause. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a witch is traveling this way. There is all kinds of big magic around… I swear it’s three leagues thick!”

  Spidena felt a wry half smile lift her own tired face as she pretended to ignore the comment about big magic. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised about seeing another witch either.”

  The two women shook hands while Paulav, Galev, and Ben watched them with new interest.

  “It would seem, Paulav,” Galev interjected with a chortle. “We all have much to talk about.”

  Spidena tried to make her expression more friendly at this supposed good-natured encounter, but she couldn’t help but feel a fresh swath of anxiety overtake her.

  She had a hunch that Celestra just happened to be one of the witches affiliated with a coven… A coven she knew a great deal about.

  She swallowed, and thought desperately how she hoped that Celestra wasn’t the kind of witch to pry too much…

  “Paulav, are these friends?”

  Conquestorov’s interruption from Paulav’s arms made Galev jump back shouting: “GODS WHAT?” While Celestra gave a wordless shriek.

  Chuckling a bit nervously, Paulav patted Conquestorov on the back. “Yes they are. And Ben is a friend too.”

  Celestra, overcoming her initial alarm, descended on the duck with wide, fearful eyes. “Oh Paulav… What have you done?”

  Ben looked at Spidena, and she could tell when he saw her face that he knew to be just as worried as she was. It would seem the world did not believe that Spidena should have a restful moment for the entirety of her journey to Kintel.

  “Conquestorov he is… erm. He’s… He’s going to come with us to the wedding! He’s a lovely fellow!” Paulav explained bashfully.

  “Paulav, you probably don’t know this, but the only warlock who could create a minion like this is—”

  Ben cleared his throat and stepped forward, cutting off Celestra’s next words. “How about we all find a nice spot for an early dinner and we talk then. Maybe in another league or five?”

  The tension in Ben’s voice must have tipped off the couple enough of the precarious situation they were in, as they merely shared a wordless look with one another, and nodded slowly in assent.

  “Right, we will… We will meet you there,” Celestra called out to Paulav. Her eyes darted to Spidena then, and her brows tilted to a frown.

  Her suspicions were evident in her face.

  Spidena swallowed with difficulty.

  Once the couple had clambered back into their cart and set their mule back into motion, Ben sidled over to Spidena. Though she continued staring after the cart.

  “Did the spell not work?” Ben ventured quietly as Paulav busied himself placing Conquestorov on the driver’s bench.

  “I think it did.”

  “Then why do you look like you’re about to get eaten alive?”

  “Because there was a hidden layer of the spell. Lord Earhav didn’t just blindly trust that Conquestorov would be loyal to him. He put in three rigid unbreakable rules into it for Conquestorov to follow. And while we may have made the magic forget, or reroute who his master is… I don’t know if I completely changed his original rules.”

  Spidena at last looked at Ben.

  He had that annoying frown on his face that he got whenever he was struggling to piece together her explanation about anything magic related.

  “Long story short… It worked, but I don’t know if Conquestorov has any loyalty remaining that I missed.”

  Ben let out a labored groan. After a moment he went on to ask. “You looked nervous around Celestra. Why?”

  “She… She might know… She might know Pesch. And if she figures out who I am…”

  “Oh for the love of—The world is not this small! How does this keep happening—if you say fate tie or big magic one more time I’ll dump out your hair oil while you sleep.”

  Spidena glared and said nothing.

  Ben, apparently realizing that was the answer she was going to give, sighed. “We’ll avoid sitting next to them at the wedding. Come on.”

  “We’re going to have dinner with them, remember?” Spidena reminded acidly.

  Ben raised an eyebrow at her. “Then don’t bring up Pesch. I doubt Paulav is going to want to. Talk about something nice for a change. Like the weather. Painting. Food. Anything else.”

  Spidena let out a long breath, then reached up and rubbed her face.

  She felt Ben gingerly pat her back, prompting her to drop her hands and turn back to the caravan. Drinking some water would be nice…

  “Your hair doesn’t look bad by the way.”

  Spidena shot him a narrowed glance over her shoulder, but noticed by Ben’s relaxed features and softened eyes that he didn’t seem to be jesting.

  But she also had no idea how to handle a compliment.

  So she simply bobbed her head once to show that she’d heard him, and continued back to the caravan just in time for Wolf to swoop down from overhead and croak at her.

  Well, hopefully Ben was right, and all she had to do was think of something else to talk to Celestra about… Who knew… Maybe Filif would rejoin them and he would provide yet another interesting topic for conversation.