Bart stopped at the open room with the flickering ceiling light that had originally housed Tamsin’s second body. He stood in the entrance, not daring to go inside, and scanned the contents of the room. It seemed a strange kind of room to be in an underground church. Then again, what could possibly constitute a normal room? Still, it seemed more like a room you would find in a modern office building, albeit a decaying one, filled with old rusted metal shelves holding up dusty cardboard boxes full of junk and papers. Records, perhaps? That didn’t excuse the large metal slab in the middle of the room, covered in coagulated blood and still marred with drying bits of viscera. He supposed a lot of strange research took place in the room, but he tried hard not to imagine what kind.

  “Bart? You stopped moving.” It was June. She tried her best to control the volume of her voice, but she was unsure exactly how far her quieted voice could reach her brother standing somewhere beyond her. “Did we make it back to the room?”

  “Yes, but it’s nothing. Let’s just keep mo—”

  “What’s this?” Tamsin cut in, pushing Bartholomew aside and striding into the room. “Boxes full of junk? Yawn. What a boring room.”

  The second twin burst in, immediately checking the contents of another box. She looked over one of the old documents found buried underneath a rusted pile of tools. “Do these heathens keep anything organized? Hmm. This could be important. Remind us to come back here once we’ve cleared the place out.”

  “This is where we found your body.”

  “What?!” Both twins turned in unison before recombining into one. “They just left me to rot in here? Among all this trash?!”

  “This will not stand.” The paper in her hand crumpled under her maddening grip. She tossed it aside and pushed her way back out into the corridor.

  “Good job, you two.” Ash sighed, looking over at Bart and June. “You got the other two nuts riled up. Now there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

  “Ser Tamsin!” June followed the authoritative clanging of her new favorite friend who seemed intent on shedding blood. “Please be careful! We could overrun by them at a moment’s notice!”

  “Good. Let the fodder come,” she replied without turning back. Her voice had taken a frightening tone. “More blood to polish my whip with.”

  She’s so cool! June’s inner voice was howling. Why did I not think to make friends with the Sisters before? Simply one bad experience? If only Mercedes had opened up about her experiences as a Scarlet Sister!

  It seemed to be corridor after endless corridor, with long sets of stairs in between. And the further down they went, the less the integrity of the structure seemed. Bricks crumbled around them, with some parts of the floor gaping open into a bottomless void. It was a dangerous trek for a woman who could not see, but she had put an unwarranted degree of faith in Tamsin and tried her best to follow her closely. The steady sound of the priestess’s greaves spurred the princess on. June wasn’t sure if the boys were even still following along behind her, but her need to impress overpowered any seed of doubt from growing. But eventually, the Scarlet Sister’s footfalls came to a stop, and a much more chilling sound had begun to thrum within the dark halls ahead.

  “Hold,” called Tamsin, raising her hand to signal the others behind her. She turned to see the princess resting her hands on her knees and catching her breath. Behind her, the other two were slowly—and a bit too casually—catching up. “You did pretty nicely keeping pace, princess. I was sure you’d fall into one of those holes and I’d never see you again. Color me impressed.”

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  “Ah?” June raised her head in elated surprise. She almost couldn’t believe her ears. “Oh! Yes—! Naturally! I assured you I wasn’t dead weight, didn’t I?! I followed you quite aptly and I knew there were holes in the floor by the shifting echo and change of direction in your gait. I must say, your breathing remained incredibly steady for such a long walk.”

  “What is it?” called Ash, running up after seeing Tamsin turn around. “Why’d we stop?”

  “There is a large chamber up ahead. If you listen carefully, you’ll notice it’s filled with ominous chanting.”

  “Shit. We can’t just walk into the middle of that, can we?”

  “I knew this would be a suicide mission…” mumbled Bart.

  “Well, we originally planned on killing you anyway,” replied Tamsin as she split herself into two forms again. “At least this way you’ll go out fighting for your country instead of like a little bitch!”

  “You should consider it an honor,” said the second twin as she unlatched the whip from her side. “But for now, let me scout ahead. We wouldn’t want you to die too quickly.”

  Bart pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “Remind me again, Sister. But isn’t this precisely how you were killed the first time? They’re going to hear you coming. Especially the way you sasquatch around in that armor—”

  Tamsin #2 rushed back and yanked the prince’s collar. “Since you’re so opposed to a death fit for royalty, do not think for a second I won’t use this whip to strangle the life out of you.”

  “Her footfalls are lighter when she’s split in two,” remarked June.

  “Oho! Bravo!” exclaimed Tamsin #1. “Score one for the princess! I’m surprised you picked up on that! Kudos to those finely-tuned ears of yours. I wish my hearing were that sharp!”

  “Wait,” called Ash. “But you’re an elf. I thought you lot had better hearing than humans.”

  The second Tamsin sighed quietly to herself.

  “A common misconception!” cried the first. “Elfwin hearing is no different from anyone else’s, despite our slender, sexier shape. It would make more sense to say that our senses are more attuned to our surroundings—but only slightly.”

  “Ugh, don’t tell them that!” Her twin scoffed, pushing the prince away and causing him to stumble back.

  “And being that we’re city girls, our senses have naturally dulled. Unlike our princess here!” Tamsin squeezed June’s shoulder affectionately.

  “Thank you! I think?” June blushed at the strange compliment. She then pointed oddly accurately toward a strange trail of light piercing through the darkness ahead of them. “Ser Tamsin, perhaps we should investigate?”

  “What?” The second twin walked forward, trying to get a closer look. Just ahead was a small beam of light peeking through a crack in the archaic stonework. She peered through the hole in the wall which seemed to be the source for the ominous chanting.

  “By the mad maidens’ moons!” exclaimed Tamsin. She had closed her eyes to be able to observe through her twin. She did her best to relay what she was seeing. “I see rows and rows of those cloaked bastards, gathered in circles around the room. What are they doing…? They're just standing there, like a bunch of creepy statues! But… they’re definitely reciting some kind of spell.”

  “We need to get moving. They could finish up at any time and there’s only one way they’ll be coming back through,” noted Ash as he walked past Tamsin, weapon at the ready. “Maybe we can sneak in there somehow, catch them off-guard while they’re busy. Pick them off one by one, if we’re lucky.”

  “Nooot loving that plan,” said Bart unenthusiastically. “Do you really think you can take these things out? June and I barely managed to take one down!”

  Ash scratched the back of his head, trying to word his next response delicately. “No offense, but… Look. Just leave the heavy lifting to me and Tam. You and the princess—Wait, where is the princess?”

  “June?!” Bart, now panic-stricken, looked around desperately for his sister who had suddenly vanished before them. “Where did she go?!”

  “She skipped on ahead!” replied Tamsin. “And surprisingly deftly for a girl in her condition!”

  “Why didn’t you stop her?!”

  “B-Because…!” Tamsin tried to stifle her laughter. “I thought it would be hilarious!”

  “Grah!! Damn you!” Bart cried before running off into the darkness after her.

  “Relax!” Tamsin yelled after him. “My mirror self is with her!”

  alternate scenes. If you're interested in seeing some kissing between a certain soldier and a certain witch, some pics are up on the Patreon for tier 3's. I've even added a free trial for those curious.