An arrow streaked over my ears, slamming into one of the shadows. I sprinted forward, hurling my fire at another one. It shrieked in pain but did not turn its attention away from Raina and Terrowin.

“Raina!” I shouted. “I’m here!”

“Malzy?” she looked at me in surprise. Then she smiled. “Well, my furry friend, you have excellent timing, then.” She drew on our mana pool, confident that I would keep her safe. The temperature around the fight plummeted. She threw her hand forward, and mana turned into vicious shards of ice as soon as it left her.

The stream of shards streaked towards one of the shadowy figures. The shards shredded into the creature, cutting away bits of shadow before shattering on the stones. It let out another ear-splitting shriek, but the shadows soon coalesced back as if the attack had never happened at all.

“Malzy, what’s going on?” she called. I prepared myself to inspect the creatures, but Terrowin answered first.

“They’re shadow constructs,” he shouted. “They’re created to track down their target and kill them.”

Sure enough, Amsiii confirmed it once I inspected the first of the monsters.

Inspecting hostile creature: Level 15 Shadow Assassin

A mana construct created with the intent to destroy its target. There is nothing that will stop the assassin from pursuing its quarry to the ends of the earth.

“Kill them! Death is the only way to stop them!” I shouted. “But be careful! The ambient mana here is potent!”

Still, level 15 wasn’t the worst. Each of us was higher level than that. All that proved was that Lord Erik hadn’t done his research and didn’t know that we’d each gained 7 levels in Shaleheart Spring. Without an inspector of their own, he must have thought that a level 15 monster would be enough to defeat us.

“Lizzie, Lord Erik, we found them! Terrowin and Raina are under attack! Follow the beacon!” Cithrael shouted into his whispearl. A moment later, he whispered a command into a new arrow strung on his string. The tip shone extremely brightly as he drew it back and aimed high into the sky. He released it and it flew high into the air before exploding in a shower of light which hung in the air like a tiny star hovering over our position.

They’d find us for sure with that overhead, not that I thought we needed it. I wove between the shadow constructs, sending small balls of fire flying into them. The shadows weren’t fooled, though. Tendrils of darkness oozed from their bodies, snuffing out my fire before it ever reached them.

For level 15 creatures, they were awfully resilient…

“Hey, someone ask Terrowin to do his cool light dragon thing! They’re shadows, maybe the light will hurt them more!” I shouted. Though I said “someone,” I really just meant Raina, and she knew it. She relayed the request, but Terrowin looked at her with a practiced look of puzzlement.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” he shouted before slamming his glaive into a shadow. With a twist of his blade, he caught the shadow in his grasp and shoved it back from him and into the light of a nearby lamp-post. The shadow shrieked and writhed as its body seemed to melt in the light. Terrowin didn’t give it a chance to recover, swiftly darting forward and slicing clean through it with a decisive thrust of his glaive.

I grumbled. Terrowin was going to be stubborn, and so we’d have to win this without his fancy dragon spell.

Fine. We needed light? Leave it, once again, to Cindercat.

Mana swirled to life around me as I called upon Firestorm. Flames erupted from me as I unleashed the full fury of hell itself upon these vile shadows. Lord Erik and his son would rue the day they ever crossed the Great and Powerful Malzifrax! No shadows stood a chance against my brilliance! They would burn!

A tiny hurricane of fire engulfed the darkened corner of the market square. Forget Cithrael’s beacon, even Terrowin would have been able to find our battle, now.

I yowled at the top of my lungs. Raina stood above me, at the eye of the storm. At her command, shards of icy death wove between the flames, each one being kept potent by our magic.

The shadows leapt back, but they weren’t quick enough. They were shredded by the ice and disintegrated by the light of the flames. Soon, the three remaining shadows were gone without a trace of ever having existed at all.

Congratulations! Three Level 15 Shadow Assassins defeated! Experience gained.

Firestorm dissipated, and Raina’s ice shards disappeared into nothing. Cithrael approached, an arrow nocked to his string in case more enemies lurked nearby.

“Malzy! What’s going on?” Raina asked.

“It was an assassination attempt, Raina,” I explained bluntly. “Someone is after you, and I know who it is!”

“What? Who would want to kill me?” she said.

Terrowin shook his head. “I doubt they were after you, Raina.”

“Then why did they attack?”

“Because I’m a fool and an idiot for sticking around this long,” he hissed. “I’ve endangered you and everyone else by staying.”

“What are you saying? They were after you?” she asked. He turned away and hung his head. Raina put a hand on his arm. “Look, we are a party. We’re here to have your back, but we need to know what it was that just tried to attack us.”

Terrowin bit his lip but didn’t say anything. Me? I didn’t buy it. I had uncovered evidence of treachery in Kiren’s secret study. I knew for certain that he was after someone.

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But, had I misread things? They’d just said “her” in the letter…there were a lot of women in town. Was it possible that Lord Erik and his son didn’t have it out for Raina? Come to think of it, I didn’t really know why they would want Raina dead in the first place…I’d just assumed. Had I made a mistake? Were the shadows really after Terrowin?

“Why don’t we continue this back at the guild?” Raina said. “I’m sure if we ask Lizzie to borrow one of the back rooms, we can have some privacy.”

“Lizzie is on her way,” Cithrael explained. “She and Lord Erik were helping us find you.”

“Wait, why were they-” Raina never got the chance to finish the question.

My ears picked up the sound of rushing air too late. I looked up and puffed out my tail. “Raina! Watch out!”

A blade swished, and Raina gasped in shock. She collapsed to her knees, a black-clad woman standing over her, twin blades dripping red. This assassin was clearly solid, unlike the shadow beings before. She wore tight-fitting black armor. Her hair and face were covered by a black hood and a matching scarf which allowed only her eyes to be seen.

The woman took one good look at Raina’s injuries before racing off to the left. Terrowin stared at the scene in shock, but at least Cithrael was prepared. His arrow ignited with a blistering blue flame which streaked across the square at the retreating assassin. It slammed into her shoulder, causing her to stumble, but she kept running.

“RAINA!” I shouted. She was on her side, trembling as shock set in. I purred, terror fueling my mana, but this was one thing that Feline Favor would not be able to heal in time.

With the worst timing I’d ever seen, that was the moment when Lizzie finally arrived. She was followed by Lord Erik who rushed in and practically skidded to his knees at Raina’s side. His hands were glowing with divine power, and I felt his mana reaching out to knit my witch back together.

“Sorry, we’re late,” Lizzie said. “What happened?”

Terrowin was too shocked to answer, leaving only Cithrael to fill in the barkeep on the attack from the shadow monsters, to how we’d let our guard down, and, finally, come to regret it when the assassin made her move. Lizzie’s hair turned darker and darker with every word Cithrael spoke until it was nearly black with her fury.

“I’d wager there were two separate attacks here,” she muttered. “But we’ll deal with that later. For now, Raina’s survival is our top priority. How is she, Erik?”

The paladin lord had his eyes closed and was muttering command after command, trying to save Raina’s life. I purred, pouring everything I could into Feline Favor, but that ability was too slow, too small, to make any meaningful difference.

Raina’s physical injuries stitched back together at Erik’s command. Even with his potent magic, it still took far too long to get her stable.

“I’ve done what I can, but I’m a field healer at best,” Erik explained. “We need to get her to the Matron at the Temple. There’s something strange about this injury.”

Raina suddenly seized and whimpered as her body was wracked with pain, and not the kind that would have come from the injuries. She tensed and I could only watch as her fingernails blackened to hard, pointed claws. A moment later, I figured out why.

Corruption raced backwards along our connection, bypassing my filters entirely. It was coming from her! But…how was that possible?! All mana from the two of us was supposed to pass through me before it was passed to her! That was the whole point of the Soulbond! It was my whole purpose in being here!

But now…

No! This had to be a result of her injury. I didn’t know how it was possible, but something about the injury was allowing all the sinister mana in the air to bypass me, and that made me absolutely FURIOUS. THIS WAS MY JOB! I WOULD DO MY JOB, THE CONSEQUENCES BE DAMNED!

Kiren and Erik had challenged my superiority as a familiar, and I would prove to them just how much of a mistake that was! No one would bypass me! I would not let Raina be corrupted this way!

I growled at Erik as I focused on Corruption Resistance V. If I was the one actively drawing mana, then maybe I could pull the impure mana straight from her pool before it could corrupt her. I just needed a way to use it all.

Good thing I had a perfect target.

Blinded by my own fury, I called upon my dagger as it rested in Raina’s belt. It leapt to my command, and I sent it straight for the lord’s head. With lightning-fast reflexes, he batted it aside and scrambled back to his feet.

“Malzy, what are you doing?!” Lizzie hissed. “He just finished healing Raina, and this is how you thank him!?”

Yeah. That’s what he wants you to think! Don’t fall for it, Lizzie!

I poured more mana into telekinesis, pulling as much as I could from Raina and into me. It wasn’t enough. I was full. Her portion was still filling faster than I could take it.

Fine. More it is.

Mana leapt to my command as I activated two more spells. My focus strained as I commanded my dagger, a mote of fire, and the power of firestorm all at once. Cithrael and Terrowin scrambled back as the inferno sprang to life around us, spurred onward by the heat of the ambient mana all around us.

It was hard to keep that many spells active. Each flame burned weakly, the firestorm was hardly anything at all, and Erik had no trouble swatting my dagger aside as I pulled all the mana I could from Raina.

And it worked. I felt the hot, sticky mana burn like lava through my veins. I choked on smoke, yet there was no fire. I smelled brimstone and sulfur, yet there was none around.

“Malzy! Stop!” Lizzie reached forward, but Erik put a hand on hers.

“Let him,” he said. “I think he’s trying to help.”

“By trying to kill you?! Have you lost your marbles, Erik?”

“He’s less than level 20, I’m hardly in any danger.” Erik smiled sheepishly.

Ha. Not in any danger…I’d show him…

I hurled the dagger at his head once again. He moved his head just enough to avoid permanent injury, but my dagger sliced a thin line across his cheek.

How…do you like that!? I spun the dagger around. A red haze was starting to tinge the edges of my vision…maybe it was the firestorm? Maybe not?

Painfully, I added Heat II to the mix of spells I was wielding. I panted as the heat inside and out became unbearable, but the mana was flowing so fast that I raised my voice in a chittering laugh. Erik thought he could get around my filters?! I’d show him what a greater demon could do!

Corruption Resistance V upgraded to Corruption Resistance VI

Warning: Corruption exceeding maximum levels

Not good…at this rate, I was going to burn out before the ambient mana nearby was gone…what would we do then? Would it all be for nothing? Believe it or not, I really didn’t want to become Cindercat for real. Cindercat was supposed to be a flame wielding cat, not one actually made of fire. A cat made of fire wasn’t nearly as elegant, amazing, awe-inspiring, nor majestic as a cat made of flesh and blood.

Fire filled my lungs. I couldn’t contain it anymore. I felt my fur smoldering. My blood boiled and my muscles burned beneath my skin.

My paws gave way beneath me, and I collapsed into Raina’s arms. Her eyes were closed, but that didn’t matter. I reached out to her and put a paw on her cheek.

“Raina…” I whispered. “Raina, I’m sorry…”

I failed. The one job I’d been summoned for, and I’d failed.

There would be no more levels, no more second chances, no more clever plans. I’d done my best. I’d tried to do the job I was given.

But, I just couldn’t do it…I wasn’t strong enough.

The heat dulled. My firestorm disappeared. The dagger clattered to the stones. I closed my eyes, and the hot darkness wrapped me up.

…

…

System Activation of Physical Catalogue

Retrieving Ability: Nine Lives

Ability Granted: Nine Lives

Energy surged to life inside me. All at once, the flames inside my limbs cooled, but my mana pool grew immeasurably hot with my own fire.

“Guys? What’s going on with Malzy?” Cithrael wondered. No one had an answer.

I opened my eyes. Orange flames danced over my skin. My hand now caressed Raina’s cheek instead of a paw. My body was humanoid…and yet, I knew without a doubt that I was not human.

But, that would have to wait. I still had a job to do. I hadn’t failed yet.