I watched with amusement as the life drained from the man’s eyes, his arm still actively bleeding despite the person inside being gone – his soul diminished into an indistinct life energy to supplement my own. Unfortunately, I’d have to share it with the girl while I was in this body, but that just meant I might be able to keep her alive forever, finally giving me a permanent body.
I hadn’t considered that such a thing might be possible, but with this girl’s power…
“Riella?” A familiar voice called out to me.
I turned my head at an angle to look at a horrified worgron pantherian staring at me in shock. Stupid wolf. I could do without both her and Eliakim though. Certainly, I’d have to come up with a solution for the latter, but with this filthy trash…
“You know what?” I commented loudly, a grin returning to my face. “I think I’ll eat you too.”
Instantly, the wolf-girl was wrapped up in my red chains, her eyes wide with shock and fear as they began to sink into her body. But her magic was stronger than I was expecting. She had more energy within than I anticipated. I struggled to force my chains in against the sudden explosion of magic radiating out of her in a panic. The room began to cool rapidly in response too – something that shouldn’t be possible with this girl’s chains preventing magic-use.
“Huh,” I mused, “You really must be the fons’radix after all. No matter. I bet I still have more magic than–”
‘NO! STOP HURTING HER!’
I laughed again, but it was cut short by an unexpected force shoving me down.
“This is my body!” I shrieked at the top of my lungs. “This is my body! Stop hurting her!” I slammed my fist down, shocked when I hit something softer than the floor. My eyes then focused on a very dead Demetri underneath me. I bolted straight up so fast my head spun, before looking around the room wildly and finding Risa slowly sitting up.
“Risa!” I exclaimed, dropping my sword and jumping off the podium. She flinched as I approached, prompting me to come to a halt. I immediately sank down to my knees in defeat. “Risa…I’m sorry,” I pleaded, my eyes filling with tears. “I’m so sorry!”
She held my gaze for a moment, before scooting closer to me.
I immediately began crawling towards her in response, before wrapping my arms around her and holding her tight. “Are you alright?” I asked quietly. I was still on my knees, so her head was a lot lower than it would be otherwise, considering our difference in stature.
Risa nodded against my shoulder. “My head hurts really bad, but otherwise I’m fine.” She then pulled away slightly, looking up at me. “What was…she doing?”
I grimaced. “Trying to kill you,” I admitted.
“But you stopped her?” She wondered seriously.
I nodded, my expression somber. “Yes. But Risa…” My head dropped as I lost the ability to hold her gaze. “What if she tries again? What if she possesses me when I’m asleep like last night?” I squeezed my grip on her shoulders. “She can’t hurt Eli, but she can still hurt you…” I felt tears slip out of my eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I whispered.
Eli’s voice unexpectedly appeared in my head. He was still very far away, but he knew what was going on through our connection.
‘Maybe she can wear the ring.’
My eyes widened in surprise as I met Risa’s teary gaze. “Eli thinks you should try wearing that shield ring,” I said in a rush.
Her eyes widened. “Is he okay?” She wondered.
I blinked at her. “Oh. Yes, he was sent far away, but he’s alright. He’s flying here right now, but he won’t reach us for some time.”
She nodded, before glancing over at the dead Demetri. I followed her gaze, only to cringe when I saw the gauntlet with half an arm attached lying more than ten feet away. The sight itself didn’t bother me as much as the memory of doing it…or at least my body doing it.
I quickly stood up and rushed over to collect the rings off the gauntlet’s fingers. I could hear Risa following after me, but at a slower pace. I glanced back at her to see her expression was still reserved. “Mira is still in danger,” I recalled, reminding myself just as much as her. “We need to find her.”
Risa’s expression became more determined. “I may be able to track down her scent,” she replied, automatically taking a sniff of the air as she did so. She then glanced back at Tobias still unconscious on the ground, his smell reminding her of his presence. “What should we do about him?” She asked seriously.
I shook my head. “I don’t know how injured he is, but Mira can heal him. We need to find her first before we lose her forever.”
Risa nodded firmly, her tail swishing briefly behind her before she took off running towards the doorway where we had entered. I started after her, the four rings in my hand, before I quickly backpedaled and grabbed my sword too. I stuffed the rings in the small pocket of my leather shorts, and then sheathed my blood-smeared weapon, knowing I’d probably have to get a new sheath after this. Getting the blood out would be nearly impossible, but I didn’t have time to clean my sword properly.
Risa had slowed down briefly to determine which direction Mira had been taken, giving me time to catch up to her without making her wait. As soon as she was ready, she took off again with me close on her heels. We were both much faster than humans, sliding around corners and clambering up a different set of the stairs than the set in the foyer. However, it became clear that I had misjudged her physical endurance the previous day. She seemed to be keeping up a quick pace without much effort now.
Surprisingly, we didn’t come across anyone until we reached the second floor.
I immediately snagged the man in my magic, only to have Risa surprise me by firing out a spike of ice straight through the guy’s chest. The impaled man slumped to the ground, the life from his eyes rapidly fading.
At least I knew she wasn’t upset at me for killing Demetri now. She wasn’t even hesitating to take lethal action in order to catch up to Mira. And part of me wondered if she was even eager to take out years of pent-up frustration on these unexpected enemies.
We bolted down a series of halls, making our way closer to the other side of the building, before stopping at a massive entryway with elaborate doors. Risa grabbed one of the gold-plated door handles and yanked it open, revealing a startled young girl with black hair and vibrant orange eyes. She was dressed in fine blue silk pajamas, and she couldn’t have been much older than twelve.
We both stopped short when we saw her, noticing that her left wrist was chained to the metal bedframe. Her bedding was luxurious, with a canopy and everything, like she was a princess – a chained-up princess. The girl, Evelyn as I recalled, immediately held up her right hand over her face defensively, the chain too heavy for her to lift her left.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she begged, seeing the aggression in our expressions.
I immediately crossed my arms. “Where’s our friend?” I demanded.
Risa, not viewing the girl as a threat, was already sniffing around the room for Mira’s scent.
“There’s a secret passageway,” Evelyn replied, her voice trembling. “Behind the shelves.” She pointed to a spot to our left where there was a bookcase.
We both moved in that direction.
Unexpectedly the girl spoke up again. “You should just leave!” She blurted out. “If my uncle finds you, he’ll kill you both…or worse…” Her voice trailed off.
I looked over at her tentatively. “Your uncle is dead,” I replied simply, prompting her eyes to widen in shock.
After a moment of smelling where people had touched around the bookcase, Risa was able to figure out that a candelabra mounted into the wall was probably the answer. “How do we open this?” Risa asked, trying to push on it, before attempting to turn the entire thing. But nothing happened.
“Take me with you!” The girl blurted out again. We both looked at her in surprise. “Please,” she begged. “Ever since he gained custody of me, he’s
done nothing but experiment on me.”
“But he’s dead,” I countered. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Evelyn quickly shook her head, her expression panicked. “Someone tells him what to do,” she replied in a rush. “If you leave me here, I’ll just be sent to that other person. I’ll never be free, especially not now.” She then pointed to her orange eyes for emphasis. “Your friend – the girl with blonde hair – made it work. I was dying from the experiment, but she helped my body accept the thing inside of me.”
“Accept the thing inside of you?” I repeated in disbelief. Did she mean something like Alabast? Or was it different?
‘Different,’ Alabast replied in response to me thinking her name. ‘There are none like me.’
“Please,” the girl begged again. “Don’t let them hurt me again. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll do whatever you want. Just please don’t leave me here.”
I exchanged a look with Risa, and that was all I needed. Having been a slave all her life, she could empathize more than anyone with the girl’s situation.
“Where’s the key?” I finally asked.
Evelyn shook her head, her eyes slightly tearful now. “I don’t know,” she admitted.
I sighed heavily, pulling out my sword as I took a step towards her. The girl flinched automatically, uncertain of what I was going to do. I spoke to Risa. “I need you to hold the chain tight,” I replied. She immediately nodded and rushed over to the girl’s bed, grabbing the heavy chain and pulling it taut.
“Can you really cut through it?” Risa wondered seriously, looking at my thin black blade.
I held up my unique sword, seeing that the red cracks were mostly covered in drying blood. “I think so,” I replied. “This sword is special. But I need you to hold the chain closer to her wrist – the less she has to carry around the better.”
Risa nodded and grabbed the manacle instead, pulling the chain tight again. The girl immediately scooted the rest of her body as far away as she could, her hand the only thing held in place.
Using the technique the blacksmith had taught me, I focused on pushing magic into the blade to activate it. The smeared blood began sizzling immediately as the red cracks glowed brightly. I gave Risa a quick nod and she grounded her feet more as she pulled even harder. Then I held up my sword, slicing it down swiftly.
As promised to me by its creator, the blade sliced right through easily, continuing on straight into Evelyn’s bed and down to the floor.
“Goddess!” Risa exclaimed in disbelief, almost falling backwards.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “I’ve only used its ability one other time. And that was just to practice it.”
“Well, it did the job,” she replied, holding up the end of the half-foot of chain still attached to Evelyn’s wrist. “We can figure out how to get the rest off later. But now,” she met the girl’s vibrant orange gaze. “How do we get through the secret door?”
Evelyn nodded, “There’s a special trick to it. I think you have to turn it slightly to the left while pushing in, and then you have to turn it to the right.”
Risa handed the chain to her in order to try out her instructions. In the meantime, the girl slipped out of bed and stood up, wobbling slightly as she did so.
I quickly reached out to steady her. Considering how short I was, it was unsurprising that she stood only a couple of inches less than me despite an age difference of at least six years. “Are you okay?” I asked seriously.
She grimaced. “Your friend healed me, but I haven’t been able to really walk around for months.”
I sheathed my sword and crouched down. “Get on my back then. I’ll carry you.”
Her vibrant citrine eyes widened in surprise. “Are you sure?” She wondered hesitantly. “I might be too heavy.”
I smirked at her. “I’m a pantherian – we’re a lot stronger than most humans.”
She looked over my small frame like she didn’t believe me. However, when Risa managed to get the bookshelf open, she hurried onto my back. “I’m Evie by the way,” she whispered.
“Nice to meet you,” I replied, rushing to follow after my friend. “I’m Riella and she’s Risa.”
“Pretty,” she whispered quietly.
I didn’t respond though. I was too focused on any threats coming up. We headed down a stone hallway that led to a circular stairwell twisting its way straight down. Risa rushed ahead, skipping three steps at a time. Carrying Evie, I decided to only skip a couple each time, not wanting to chance losing my footing with her on my back. I had decent reflexes, but I didn’t want the poor girl to get hurt. It didn’t help that Evie’s blue silk pajamas were slippery.
When we got to the bottom, we entered another stone hallway that mimicked the first. It was bare and cold down here. Risa had hesitated at the end of the stairs, probably waiting for me, before hurrying onward. There were only a handful of doors in the wide hall, most of them closed. However, the two that were open looked grizzly inside, with one having a metal table and smeared blood everywhere. Another was filled with potions, along with a few jars appearing as if they might have organs within.
Whatever they did down here certainly wasn’t humane. I was now glad we had brought Evie with us, because even if she had never been physically harmed, I doubted the experiments they had done on her were pleasant.
“Why are there almost no people around?” I whispered to Evie. I knew Risa could hear me just fine when her ears twitched.
“My uncle always gives most of the servants the day off when he has plans like this,” she replied quietly. “Less people to worry about snitching on what really happens here.”
I grunted in acknowledgment as we continued to make our way down the hallway. It had begun curving slightly, before intersecting another hall, leaving us with two options. Risa picked up on Mira immediately, and we continued on to our right.
Someone was just coming out of a door on the right, prompting Risa to stop in her tracks. She immediately held both hands up, palms facing each other. The moment the man noticed us, he froze solid, a slight cracking noise accompanying the unexpected statue. Risa quickly took off running again, but I stood there for a moment in shock.
I had never even heard of an ice mage killing someone like that. It was honestly a little disconcerting, and maybe even a little terrifying. I was definitely glad Risa was on my side.
By the time I caught up, she had already barged through the door. I could hear the bodies drop with my sensitive ears. When I entered the room, I found Mira lying unconscious on the ground, along with three men impaled with spikes of ice through the chest.
She was like a one-woman army.
“Think you can cut these chains too?” Risa wondered, crouching down next to Mira’s body.
Evie spoke up. “One of the guys probably has the key. You might be able to get mine off as well.”
Risa nodded, beginning to rummage through the men’s pockets while I set Evie down on her feet. She sucked in a sharp breath when her bare feet touched the cold stone floor.
“I think I found it,” Risa announced, running back over to try to unlock Mira’s shackles. It worked, and once they were off, she moved to unlock the girl’s single manacle too.
Evie sighed in relief, rubbing her thin wrist gently. “I had a really nasty bruise here before your friend healed me,” she commented quietly.
I nodded in acknowledgment. “Do you know how we can get out of here?” I wondered while Risa picked up a limp Mira in her arms. “Or do we have to go back the way we came?”
Evie ducked her head slightly. “I don’t know of another way,” she admitted.
I crouched down for her to get on my back again. “It’s alright. We need to go pick up another friend anyway. It’s probably best if we backtrack to avoid getting lost.”
She nodded while climbing on my back. Once we were ready, the four of us rushed out of the room and ran down the hall again. Risa was able to still keep up an extremely fast pace despite ca
rrying Mira in her arms. It made me wonder if she had some kind of exercise routine I didn’t know about, maybe something to take out frustration, because I couldn’t imagine anyone being this naturally gifted with endurance.
We made our way up the circular stairs and back into Evie’s room without incident. When we bolted down the flight of stairs we had originally taken, we ran into Tobias just coming out of the Great Hall where we had left him.
“My goddess!” He exclaimed, running over to greet us. “You saved her! Thank the heavens you saved her!” He paused when he took in the sight of Evie, but didn’t comment on it. “Where’s Eli?” He wondered seriously.
“Teleportation magic,” I replied in a rush. “He’s okay, but we shouldn’t expect to see him anytime soon. We need to get out of here.”
He nodded in agreement, holding out his arms for Mira. “I’ll carry her, so you can focus on fighting if needed.” He paused. “You can fight, right?”
Risa blinked at him in surprise as she handed over the man’s daughter. I answered for her. “She’s done most of the fighting so far,” I admitted.
Risa looked at me in surprise. “You killed Demetri,” she countered.
I looked away. “Sort of.”
Risa knew what I meant. She quickly changed subjects. “Let’s get going,” she urged, taking off into a slow jog – definitely slow for her. I dashed after her, with Tobias trying to keep up while holding onto his daughter. I considered stopping to get Eli’s clothes, but I didn’t think he had left anything valuable. Our money was in my pack, as was an extra set of clothing, which meant we could just buy new boots to replace the ones we were leaving behind.
I felt my face flush briefly when I thought about him returning to his human form. I quickly tried to clear my mind of the thought, embarrassed that I was thinking about that at a time like this. I felt Eli’s brief moment of amusement through our bond, but he was too worried about us to linger on it for long.
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