It took five more tries for me to get it perfectly.

The six, mutilated and misshapen left hands on the floor did not bother me as much as it probably should have.

The problem, as I found, had been that I simply pushed too much magic into the spell, altering its effects from mere healing to bringing about the more… exotic changes, like the scaled hand that ended in black talons or the myriad of other monstrous things that Lady Victoria very promptly ripped out of me. It explained why I had caused the woman’s bones to jut out of her body or when I caused her to explode a few moments prior to that.

I looked on in grim fascination as a new hand regrew from the exposed flesh. The bones grew first, forming the intricate structure of what I assumed was my wrist joint; it was followed by branching and snaking nerves that quickly wrapped around the pale bleach-white bones. After that came the muscles and sinewy tendons, growing and covering most the nerves and the bones underneath them. Last came the new skin, which was a shade lighter than the rest of my body, but I wasn’t about to complain about it.

“Good,” Lady Victoria nodded and gave me a slight smile. “That’s good – you learned and grew from your mistakes. I was afraid we’d end up with hundreds of your limbs on the floor before you figured out what was wrong.”

Opening and closing my fingers didn’t feel any different. It didn’t feel strange or weird, which was a good sign. I nodded back at her, but I didn’t smile. Happiness was the farthest thing from me right now. Did I feel relief at finally regaining my hand? Of course, I did. Did I feel some manner of pride at finally performing magic? Oh, definitely; I had never been more proud of anything before, mostly because I’d never done anything to be proud over. Was I happy? No.

I sighed and slumped.

It was over – finally.

“Get up,” Lady Victoria commanded simply. And, despite my exhaustion, I could do little else but follow. And so, I pushed myself up. My legs and arms shook. I wanted to lie down and sleep. I wanted to close my eyes and dream of nothing. But, of course, it was far from over. Now that I knew to properly control the output of my magic, I figured things would only get worse. And yet, I’d long resolved to see this through. Lady Victoria turned towards the still-breathing and living woman on the metal table and gestured for me to follow her. “We are far from finished, my cute little apprentice; there are other spells you need to learn before the day is done. And I expect only the best from you, sweetie – anything less will earn you something very ugly. Do you understand?”

I breathed in and nodded. “Yes, my lady, I understand perfectly.”

We stopped in front of the bound woman, mouthless and eyeless, writhing in terror. The dreadful whimpers that came from her longed for the sweet release of death. Were I in her position, I would’ve desired the same. But fate and circumstance had different plans for the both of us. Perhaps, if she had been chosen, as I was, then she might not have to suffer. But that was neither here nor there. The only path that mattered was the path forward.

There was nothing else for either of us.

Lady Victoria spoke, “Uri Ezeru and Suek Ezeru, the Blood Curse and the Heart Curse. One allows you to manipulate the blood of your targets; the other allows you to manipulate their heart. You will take this poor wretch’s life with the latter. I expect perfection this time, my cute little apprentice. And you would do well to expect a punishment should you fail.”

A faint flicker of something flashed in Lady Victoria’s blazing eyes. I didn’t know what it was. But, if I didn’t know any better, I could’ve sworn she seemed conflicted about something for a very brief moment. In that moment, the tall, pale, beautiful, white-haired Dark Mage looming over me could almost be called human. Whatever it was, however, lasted no more than the blink of an eye. And the spiteful, dreadful, and sickening veil returned. She blinked and the moment passed.

I nodded, doing my best to ignore the flicker, and bowed my head. “Yes, I understand, my lady.”

She smiled and turned, and – as she did before – grasped the bound woman’s shin with her unnaturally massive hands. The woman squirmed and struggled in her grip, but it lacked any real strength and resolve. I figured the woman simply did not want to die without a fight. Lady Victoria did not care, either way.

With her right hand firmly around the bound woman’s shin, Lady Victoria extended her left hand forward, placing it in the air above the bound woman’s chest. “Uri Ezeru….”

The bound woman did not scream when Lady Victoria uttered the incantation of the spell. She did not writhe in agony or shudder with painful spasms. She lied still and froze. I took a step forward and looked closer. There was something going on within her. I just didn’t know what.

I turned to Lady Victoria for some clarification. She was using the Blood Curse, which – according to her – allowed its user to manipulate the blood of others. Was that what was happening right now? Was she manipulating the bound woman’s blood? I couldn’t be sure, not unless-

The bound woman lurched forward, gurgling. It was then that I saw that she was bleeding from her nose, bubbling out of her as though her own blood had taken a life of its own. And then, she froze again as her crimson vitae turned solid, becoming red rods that smelled faintly of iron and copper. Lady Victoria curled her fingers, forming vague shapes in the air with gentle gestures. Beneath her, upon the metal bed, the woman’s body bent and writhed and was forced to move in accordance to the Dark Mage’s hand gestures.

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I wasn’t sure just what exactly was going on. But, blood was inside the body. If Lady Victoria was controlling the woman’s blood, then she would also be capable of controlling the body, right? The fact that the poor woman was bending and moving against her will told me that was probably true.

But, I still couldn’t be entirely sure.

Well, there was no harm in just asking her.

“My lady,” I began. “What exactly is the spell doing?”

“Blood fuels the body. Control the blood and you control the body,” Lady Victoria grinned, “A skilled practitioner of the Blood Curse can cause a target’s blood to boil within their bodies. With time, you may even perform the spell without the need for physical contact, unlike the Bone Curse.”

She released her grip and took a step back.

The spell did not fade.

The bound woman remained frozen even as Lady Victoria stood several feet away from her. “See? The Blood Curse, unlike the Bone Curse, does not require physical contact to function. But you’d need to be particularly skilled and talented with the spell to be capable of such.”

She turned to me and snapped her fingers. And, like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut, the bound woman fell onto the metal table with a loud thud.

“Now,” Lady Victoria began, speaking with a tone that bartered no arguments. “It is your turn. Remember, I expect nothing less than absolute perfection in your execution. You have the talent. You’re bursting with it. But you lack skill. Worry not; I do not expect you to be capable of performing the spell without the need for physical touch.”

I nodded and wrapped my fingers around the bound woman’s shin. Her skin was pale and covered in cold sweat. And she emitted a constant, low moan that might’ve been sobs if her mouth wasn’t covered in her own skin. She was crying too. Tears and snot both leaked from her nostrils and covered her face, which made breathing even more difficult for her than it already was. I wanted to say that I was sorry for what I was about to do, that she wouldn’t have had to suffer it had been up to me. But those words would be empty; they would mean absolutely nothing to her suffering. Instead, I kept my silence and raised my wand towards her, “Uri Ezeru….”

A familiar sensation followed immediately afterwards, a rush of magic streaming from me and entering the bound woman’s form. It happened incredibly fast, but there was a window, I noted, wherein I was able to observe just what was happening. The magic that rushed out of me was not wild or destructive. It had a purpose. If I had to guess, it was the spell itself that derived that purpose, giving my magic shape and direction where it should’ve had none of those things. The arcane energies seeped into her blood, gripping it as though it was a solid object, as though it was cloth… yes… it felt almost like cloth… no… that wasn’t right.

It felt like dry, but malleable mud.

I could shape her blood.

My eyes widened. Is this… Flesh-Crafting?

With a gesture, I forced her blood to rush down her legs, causing an immediate, jerking reaction as said limbs stiffened and straightened, accompanied by furious and rapid shudders. I panicked at that. And I sent all her blood upwards, into her arms and her head.

The bound woman fell unconscious almost instantly, the back of her head meeting the surface of the metal table with a loud thud, while her arms straightened out and stiffened as her legs did.

I released my grip over her shin and took a step back. Behind me, Lady Victoria clapped slowly and softly. Her burning eyes seemed to shine with both amusement and pride as she spoke, “Good; your execution of the spell was perfect. The amount of magic you inserted into her was just the right amount that she didn’t explode again. Congratulations. However, your ability to manipulate her blood was… better than expected. At the very least, you didn’t kill her or make one of her limbs explode; that’s something, at least. Don’t worry too much about it, sweetie; you’ll get better with some practice. Repetition, after all, is the mother of learning.”

“Now,” Her crimson gaze turned towards the bound woman, who remained unconscious. “Perform the Heart Curse; bring this wretch out of her misery. She has been praying to her god for some time now, hoping and wishing for death and salvation.”

She held up a black crystal that seemed to devour the faint light within the chamber. Its surface seemed to bleed with faint shadows and ashen smoke. I didn’t know what that thing was, but just looking at it made me feel queasy. “Well, her soul won’t be going anywhere, unfortunately; I don’t like waste. Go ahead and kill her.”

I nodded.

Lady Victoria hadn’t bothered showing me how to perform the spell properly. But, she was expecting me to do it anyway. I knew the words of the spell, words that Lady Victoria only ever spoke once, briefly, and in passing. I gulped, deciding to go with what my gut told me.

Once more, I stepped forward, but I did not wrap my fingers around her shin. Instead, I merely stood a foot or so away from her. I raised my wand at her and breathed in deeply. I was about to kill a person. I was about to take someone’s life. My heart… did not flutter at the thought. I just felt tired. I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. The woman on the table was suffering. She wanted to die. I was doing her a favor.

The words of the spell seemed to flow from within and without as I intoned, “Suek Ezeru….”

The magic flew out of me, surging from my core, into my wand, and flying out form there and into my target. There was a brief, but noticeable, choking sound that emanated from the bound woman immediately afterwards. It lasted for just the briefest of moments before she went still and limp.

I breathed in and out slowly. That felt… less than what I expected.

The woman on the metal table was dead.

And then, my eyes widened as something came out of her, a wispy pale smoke that was marred with ashes and cinder and faintly glimmering crystalline things that shimmered like jewels. Whatever it was lingered for a moment, before Lady Victoria held up the black crystal in the air and the thing flew into it, filling its black surface with starlight and moonlight.

Lady Victoria turned to me. Her face was blank – neutral. I couldn’t tell just what she felt or thought. Her burning eyes seemed to study me and bore into my soul. I gulped, but held my ground and my stare. I was tired. If she was going to kill me for something or another, then she may as well just get on with it.

And then, she nodded and smiled. Despite that, Lady Victoria seemed mildly annoyed. “Wand or no wand; that spell was not meant to be used without physical touch, at least not by Neophytes who’ve barely gotten out of their magic diapers. Tsk, a Category 10 indeed…. But, congratulations on a job well done, sweetie. Tomorrow, you’ll be coming with me to Lucifer’s Garden in Judecca; we’ll be plucking the souls of traitors and placing them in Soul Stones – a lot of old classmates of mine might still be there. You’re ready for that much, at least. And the Lightbringer’s been itching to have a chat with you.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I already knew that it was going to be horrible. I simply lowered my head and bowed. "Yes, my lady."