Tallah needed several heartbeats to understand why the world lay tilted at an odd angle. And several more for her lungs to begin working again. And just as much time to understand that she was one step away from dead.


    Everything hurt! Pain hit her all at once, lagged from the moment of regaining consciousness. She couldn’t draw breath. Couldn’t move.


    For a terrifying spell, she thought Falor had finally caught up to her, come to finish what he’d begun in Valen. The blow she’d been dealt had been just mildly less severe than Falor’s warhammer.


    But it wasn’t the princeling. Something tall and black loomed over her, somehow standing upright on the tilted ground.


    It bent down and agony speared through her chest and back. Something, somewhere, was broken. Badly. Breath wheezed in and out of her, but she felt she was drowning in blood. The monster’s fingers dung into her hair, grasped a fistful and lifted her up. It felt as if it dragged her all the way up into the high ceiling.


    Through the haze of agony and burst blood vessels, she realised that she was staring into a human face. Into the mask of one, at least. It had human proportions, same as the tall, spindly body had general human shape. There were no eyes but empty sockets. The nose was a smooth lump. Lips opened to smooth flesh, like a gag.


    If the monster had been human, the expression its features arranged into would have been of surprise.


    Why?


    Anna was in her veins, working feverishly to repair the damage inflicted. ‘Try and stay alive for a few heartbeats longer.’ Her healing, still, worked much slower than an accelerant.


    Her assailant didn’t seem interested in killing her. It brought her closer to its face. A breeze on her skin let her know it was sniffing her.


    The pain in her back dulled as her bones knit together. Blood drained away from her chest. A fresh cocktail of gland secretions hit her like lightning, igniting her strength from the bottoms of her feet to the crown of her head.


    “You should not be here.” Words sawed out of the creature, a quiet, dry rasp that had no discernible source. Like Brachus in the labyrinth, the words in Imperial were overlaid across some other, alien language. “You are expected elsewhere. Do as you are meant. This place is not for you.”


    Tallah spat in its face and swung an arm around. Her fire-wreathed fist smashed into the side of the daemon’s head. The fireball exploded and threw her clear of it, clothes and hair smouldering. Bianca righted her mid-air and she found herself free.


    And angry.


    Vergil was still where he’d been just before the monster had ambushed her. He stared slack-mouthed at the beast as it clambered up to its feet, no damage visible from the blast.


    He’s catatonic in fear?


    ‘Something’s wrong with him. It happened before you got hit. Pay attention to this one,’ Anna insisted.


    She fired off a lance and hit the monster in its pristine white mask. The flames guttered out on contact, washing harmlessly over it. It was eerily similar to how Panacea had negated her attacks.


    It, in turned, leapt at her. It came like a loosed bolt, long arms outstretched to grab again. Bianca denied it as she swung them away. There were plenty of places to attach tethers to in the inner city. This thing had nothing on Erisa’s hunters and their mad mobility.


    The beast leapt again, missed, and landed atop a rooftop. Tallah yanked on an overarching piece of masonry, ripped it off, and launched it. Bianca brought it sailing through the air in a wide arc to smash into the daemon’s back. Shattered masonry and monster crashed to the street below, the massive rock remains pinning it down. The tightness in her lower back suggested Bianca had just exerted quite a lot of strength for that one.


    To Tallah’s horror, the creature rose easily to its feet.


    “Go away, sorceress,” it repeated as it rolled its shoulders. “This fight is not for you. Go away.”


    “How about you kiss my arse,” she replied, mind racing on what to hit this thing with. It was frighteningly resilient. Nothing had yet even scratched it and she didn’t dare unless more powerful fire within the city. “I go where I please.”


    Why is it speaking? Daemons don’t speak Imperial.


    ‘Is it a daemon?’ Anna asked, watching with rapt interest. ‘Never read of this variety. I know most have limited presence on our side. This thing is a rock. It’s as real as you and I.’


    That gave Tallah momentary pause. Anna was right. Daemons were normally not fully solid, nor talkative. They were more akin to animals than to any of the seven, even if they often resembled creatures that should have been intelligent enough for speech.


    The thing regarded her for a long, uncomfortable time, then turned its head aside, as if listening.


    “Not yet time,” it said in a lower, softer tone.


    Great raven wings sprouted from its back as the creature threw itself up into the air. Two flaps of its great wings sent it high into the cavern. Crossbow bolts chased it. But it angled its flight and shot away towards the fortress, speeding easily over the buildings to burst out into open sky.


    It wasn’t interested in the hearth…


    Chasing it wouldn’t achieve anymore than this little scuffle had. If Tallah went after it, she was certain there was nothing in her immediate arsenal that could even singe the thing. She wanted support before she risked unleashing more destructive magic.


    So, instead, she dropped down and went to check on Vergil.


    He’d unfroze and stared about with wide-eyes, spinning in place as if struck in the head.


    “You alright, boy?” she asked as she approached. She reached a hand out and tendrils of blood drifted out from beneath her finger nails.


    Vergil shied away.


    “I… froze,” he mumbled.


    “I saw. Sit still.”


    Anna reached forward and pricked the boy’s skin, reaching inside him. It was a quick, invasive check, but one they had begun testing out in case Sil got blocked again by her goddess.


    ‘Boy’s fine,’ Anna said without preamble. ‘He’s likely to faint soon once he’ll get off that adrenaline surge, but otherwise physically nominal. Could have been fright. There’s enough of it in his blood to choke a dray.’


    Somehow, Tallah doubted he’d frozen out of fright when he hadn’t batted an eye at Erisa. But he’d been keeping up with efforts that made seasoned soldiers blanch. Maybe seeing something taking her down was one shock too many?


    It had happened and it may happen again. She made a mental note to have Sil checking with Vergil more in detail. He was a tough little bastard, but one could expect only so much out of a child.


    “You’re fine,” she said as Anna retracted the blood.


    “What was that? They can talk? They can fly? They’re…” He gestured madly with his axe. “What are they?!”


    To the torrent of words she could only shrug. “I’ve no idea what that thing was, but it was an anomaly. Never seen one that resilient.”


    Whistles echoed in the cavern. Another monster had been caught and killed. They both looked around, waiting for something to come charging. He didn’t cringe, so there went the fright theory.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    “It spoke to you.” Vergil’s axe trembled in his hands. In the gauntlet, Tallah could bet his knuckles were parchment-white.


    “Let’s not listen to a creature we can’t understand. Its words could have been anything. There are daemons that imitate people to draw them into traps. It’s best not to let them get under your skin.”


    She remained with him while he calmed down. Freezing had hit him rather hard, but she trusted he’d pull through it. It’s normal to choke, she wanted to tell him. But that would probably make his panic worse. Instead, she let him calm down on his own, answering his questions while letting the rest of the Rock’s militia handle the sweep.


    “Daemons are what we call creatures that don’t originate on our plane of being. They’re a little like you, just not as coherent.” He gave her a wide stare and she cursed at herself for the analogy. Still. “The more daemons are allowed to exist on our side of the portal, the stronger the next ones that come through. It’s why there are two fortresses here, to control their population.”


    “What portal?” he asked, drawn into the conversation as he paced. “There’s a portal? How do we shut it down?”


    “We don’t. Every so often, the rift closes and reopens somewhere different, often underground. Whatever it spews out must first dig out of wherever they appear. All we can do is cull the numbers of whatever comes through. The more we kill, the weaker they get. There are some ghastly ones out there right now since it’s been an entire season of no control.”


    Vergil, if she had as solid a grasp on him as she believed she did, liked to have a measure of control over his life. He’d accepted he had no control over events surrounding him, but understanding what went on and why provided him with enough distraction not to despair. Answering his questions meant a lot to the boy.


    And, for the time being, it looked like it worked. He calmed down, slowed in his pacing about, and came next to her.


    “All you need to do is kill many of them?” he asked.


    “Pretty much. The more we kill, the more we stem their flow out. It’s why this place has been established originally by the dwarves, we assume. Catharina made it into her way of protecting Vas from this threat.”


    He nodded along as if it meant anything to him, but the panic was fleeing now. He drew a deep breath and stowed his axe away. “Is that it for now? Are they gone?”


    The sweep would end soon. A group of soldiers marched past them and nodded amiably. They were the second sweep, checking after the first, and making sure any monsters were accounted for. Daemons did not work subtly. They rarely hid, and rarely planned ambushes and surprise attacks. If one managed to get inside the Rock, it usually revealed itself before it could do any real damage. Deaths inside the city were a rarity, but these were strange times.


    For now, everything looked to be under control. There would be some panic above from the creature tearing its way out, but she doubted there would be any lasting damage.


    She grabbed Vergil’s arm and marched him back down the twisting streets, towards their tavern. He didn’t squirm on her arm anymore and walked with confidence his shaking didn’t suggest.


    “We’ll all feel better after some sleep,” she declared.


    “You seem fine.”


    “Because Bianca’s holding me up like a puppet on strings. And Anna’s doing unspeakable things with my glands just so I can continue staying awake.” She let out an eye-watering yawn. “I need to sleep before the next wave hits us tonight. You and Sil can stay here once I head out. I don’t think I need your support for this next part.”


    “Sil’s not going to like it. She’ll want to be up there, helping with the wounded.”


    “She also needs to rest properly. Haven’t seen her get so ragged in a long time.” Tallah shrugged, aware her words would fall on deaf ears when Sil got in her moods. “Keep close, you and the spider both. I’m relying on you with her safety.”


    “You always say that, but I only mess it up.”


    Tallah tripped him as they walked. He almost fell face-first to the cobbled road and she almost let him, pulling him back at the last possible moment.


    “Don’t be daft,” she admonished as he scowled at her. “You’ve done more than expected or can be reasonably demanded. I rely on you, and I do not say this lightly. Have I made myself clear, Vergil?”


    “Yes, Tallah.”


    “Good lad.”


    Rhine glared at them as they walked, appearing from place to place as if it were some mirror illusion at a village fair. The wraith looked distorted, its mouth moving but no words making it out. Whatever Catharina was insisting on doing with her sister, it wouldn’t work now that Tallah understood the origin of the blasted thing. It was mainly active while Christina was under.


    Bianca and Anna lacked the control to cut the vision away from Tallah’s conscious mind. Christina simply sent it down a labyrinth of the imagination, obfuscating its way enough that she could effectively deny its presence. It was a crude way of guarding against the influence, but it normally worked.


    Like with the daemons, the more they denied Catharina’s puppet, the less strength it seemed to have. Part of Tallah worried at that and hated herself for doing it. Rhine existed within Catharina, a broken, feral thing that had been tortured into madness and then into compliance, but her essence had remained tightly tied to Tallah. To deny the connection felt like more betrayal heaped onto her sister’s fate.


    She stumbled and it was Vergil who kept her up this time.


    “You’ve gone quiet,” he noticed. “Thought you were sleeping with your eyes open.”


    Tallah took a look at the latest manifestation off to their left. It waved at her, speaking mute words, radiating malice. She shook her head. “Got a bit a wrapped up in my head. We can’t tarry here.”


    “You just said you want to stay and fight.”


    “Yes, until the cadre arrives… if it arrives. But we can’t stay here long. We’re far from Valen. We’re far from Solstice. This is not a place where we should linger.”


    “But you said—”


    She elbowed him in the ribs to a satisfying crack. “I know what I said. I want the city. But I will want to gain it quickly. The more we tarry, the more chance Catharina gets wind of us. I still have plans to finish.” She shrugged and yawned again, ignoring the wraith as it appeared right next to them, reaching a hand forward to clasp Tallah’s own. It passed right through and left behind a strange cold feeling. She chased it away by igniting a small flame sprite in her palm.


    Tallah wouldn’t let herself succumb to this flavour of despair. There were enough things here to worry over without dealing with that malfeasance.


    They found Sil still sleeping at the bar, the blanket drawn tight over her shoulders, head nestled in the crook of her arms. Tallah tutted at the sight.


    “Get her up and follow me,” she told Vergil. “We’re getting the royalty suite.”


    It wasn’t, really, a room for royalty. Situated just above the bar, isolated from the common sleeping room, it had a large bed fit for someone of Vilfor’s stature, and two more beds set up one above the other. A wash basin adorned the far wall, with a desk and chair next to it. If Vergil stretched down on the floor, his hands and feet could touch opposite walls.


    Tallah’s cell beneath Aztroa’s Crown had been several hand spans larger.


    Sil woke while being carried up the stairs between the two of them, and now walked in groggily. She took a look at the beds and nearly collapsed on the closest. Tallah grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, yanking the healer back.


    “Undress first, Sil. You’ll get blood all over the linen.”


    To Vergil’s blush, she turned a grin. “You’ll deal with seeing us naked. There’s no room for privacy. If you want to sleep in a bed, you’ll deal with a bit of shamelessness.”


    Regardless, Vergil turned around and resolutely faced the door while Sil undressed and washed herself down with a wet rag and Tallah’s help.


    Tallah did the same, dearly missing the hot water from the Meadow and the large tub where she could soak until the water turned frigid. They would have no such comforts for a long time to come, if their latest luck was anything to go by.


    The moment her back hit the hard bed and Bianca’s power retreated, the weight of her age and of an entire battlefield dropped onto her shoulders. Everything ached, from the marrow of her bones to the tips of her fingers. She’d expended a lot of power up in the killing field. Surprisingly, she found that she had more tucked away, a result of her training with Christina. They would need to continue that once Anna was able to handle the soul trap on her own.


    Sil had fallen asleep face down on the bottom bunk bed. She hadn’t spoken a word yet. Nor had she stirred when Tallah tucked her in. It wasn’t exactly cold in the room, but there was a chill.


    Vergil clanked and banged for a while as he washed himself with the sponge and then dried off. He climbed into the top bed. It groaned as he settled onto it.


    Christina needled her in the small of her back and offered a surge of power. Tallah answered it, and they fell into balance as they cycled the illum without increasing the strength. It was a different kind of exercise, where each offered a little and took a little, maintaining complete balance. The ghost wouldn’t let her rest until she depleted whatever dregs of strength she still drew on.


    And it all helped. Her limiters lay in her rend, shattered to pieces after the efforts in Grefe. But she’d found she didn’t need them all that much anymore. Pure control still eluded her, but she was getting better at guiding the illum flowing through her veins. And much better at stocking it up.


    Such a simple exercise… so much benefit from it. Her control sharpened against Christina’s own, and every day they could command more power, more precisely, much more lethal.


    Tallah answered eagerly the ghost’s prodding insistence.


    ‘I am working on the second concept. I may be close to a breakthrough,’ Christina said.


    Shush! Tallah meant to focus. She would be ready for the next clash with that white-faced monster, and it would not walk away unscathed again.


    By the time they were done and dismissed the power, Sil and Vergil were both snoring on the other side of the dark room. Tallah turned on her side, met Rhine’s empty eyes in the dark, and chocked on the bile rising from the pit of her stomach. She swallowed down the bitter taste and forced herself to close her eyes.


    “I am going to kill you,” she whispered her promise. “And I will make you scream.”