The helmet—a burgonet with runes painted on it—had a full face plate, reducing visibility to just what was directly in front of me.

Staying exactly three steps behind Melinda, there wasn’t much I could see aside from her dark curly hair and gently swaying hips.

Even in the black dress, her every move was sensual. I tried to think of anything else, but despite my efforts, I kept picturing her in her former attire. Guilt forced my focus to the walls of the hall, then I’d be forced to look forward again to ensure I didn’t fall behind, move too close, or miss a turn.

The halls were mostly clear now, no one except a handful of patrolling guards was in the halls. Most of these guards ignored us and the ones that did stop never seemed to notice me. Each time they only addressed Melinda, cautioning that light bearers might still return.

I learned through those interactions that Melinda was expected to stay away from combat. It seemed to me that she could likely fight evenly with Sizal, yet for some reason she had been forbidden to fight. After realizing that, it was hard not to see her as a bird in a cage.

Our path led to the wall behind the throne. The path down to the saint's glade was already open, though the entry to the narrow stairwell was hidden in the throne's shadow.

With no eidolon or soul gem below, there wasn’t much need to hide the chamber's existence. Even if others still called it a holy place, I found it difficult not to picture the saints statue completely covered in blood.

Silently, I followed Melinda down which was perhaps the greatest challenge of our walk. I may as well have been blind trying to walk down those stairs.

There wasn’t a railing to hold on to and each step was shallow, only coming out far enough to be useful as a foothold but not so far that my entire foot could fit in any individual step. I had to rely on memory and my senses to avoid skipping a step. Somehow I managed without falling, although I very nearly did go for a tumble.

In the saint's glade a familiar man, the one with the floating sword, sat alone. The weapon rested beside him on the ground and he appeared to be meditating. As concentrated as he was, I figured he wouldn’t notice us, but the moment Melinda stepped down the last stair, he opened his eyes.

“Melinda, you…” he paused as his eyes traced over her appearance, then he shifted his gaze toward me but quickly looked back at Melinda. “…why are you here?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he stood.

The pressure in the room shifted uncomfortably as he moved. His aura grew darker, more oppressive, but he maintained a nonchalant posture as we advanced toward him.

“You know me, Kinzy. Always doing what I can to be useful.” Melinda replied, then blew the mage a kiss.

He appeared unconvinced, lowering his brow and staring deadpan at Melinda. “More like doing what you can to get into all manner of trouble.” Once more his eyes glanced over me, then back to her in an instant as if repulsed by my appearance. “Something isn’t right here Mel, what’s really going on?”

“I told you honey, I just want to break that bitch before my darling returns. I figure if I get her ready for him, then he’ll have more time to spend with me.”

Kinzla shook his head. “You’re lying. You brought someone with you…” again he looked toward me, but immediately his gaze snapped away. “…who’s there?” He demanded taking a step left as his sword floated into the air.

‘Shit’

“What are you talking about?” Melinda asked, looking back frantically as if she’d forgotten I was there. “There’s no one else Kinzy, stop being silly.”

“It appears that way, but I can…” Kinzla smacked his lips a few times. “…taste his fear.”

Melinda bounced closer to the mage, leaning on his shoulder affectionately as she said, “Kinzy, you’re being a little weird.”

I was unsure if I should move, but my body reacted on its own, following her like a puppy on a leash.

“It’s…gone.” The tall man frowned as he looked again at the place where I was, this time his gaze lingering for several tense moments before it returned to Melinda.

“See, I told you.” Melinda said as she stood on her toes to peck Kinzla on the cheek. “You’ve been using dream shade so much it’s starting to haunt you.”

Gently, Kinzla pushed her away as the pressure in the room lifted; the atmosphere lightened and the tension eased.

“Whatever, Mel. Stop your games and go find a grunt to entertain yourself or something.”

She shook her head. “Not a chance. He’ll be back soon, maybe if I do this then I’ll be forgiven.”

Kinzla backed away, turning his face slightly and looking frustratedly at the ground. “You won’t, Mel. If you really want to be useful just stay out of the way. I don’t want to see what he does to you if you fuck up again.”

Melinda sighed deeply, shaking her head and placing a hand on her hip. “Kinzy, if I don’t do something then things will never change. He’ll just keep pushing me aside and pretending I don’t exist.”

turning completely away from her, Kinzla withdrew something from his pocket and pushed it into the wall. A section of vines pulled back, unweaving themselves to reveal a path down. Seeing this, I realized he had the key to the holy sanctum.

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Kinzla dropped his head, pressing it against the wall. Speaking barely above a whisper, he said, “Go on Mel, just don’t hurt her.”

Melinda nodded. “Of course. Thank you dear.”

Kinzla didn’t outwardly react, but his sword plunged into the floor as he let go of the magics animating it.

I managed, clusimly, down another flight of stairs before we came out in the holy sanctum. I hadn’t been here since that day with Vale and Lumia. The chamber above shook me, but Kinzla demanded my full attention. This chamber was different.

Images of the bloody scene projected from my mind overlaying reality. I could hear Lumia’s cry for help and I felt the desperation and fear of that moment as if it was happening now.

I froze.

It took all of my focus just to catch my breath. Unconsciously I had fired four bolts of pure mana. Three behind me at the stairs and one directly ahead at a shadowy figure.

I wasn’t sure he actually existed at first, then he held out a hand to deflect my bolt.

The mana bolt struck the floor, barely an inch from where Lumia…no, it was Lila…

In human form, Lila laid bare almost exactly where Lumia had been all those years ago. My uncle was absent from the scene, but in his place there was a shadow cloaked figure wielding a familiar green blade—the same blade that killed my mother.

The man turned toward me, parting his lips in a smile as he blasted past Melinda using burst. In an instant, he appeared before me.

I drew my sword as the shadow lifted his above me. Barely managing a block, I stumbled back from the blow.

My weapon chipped on contact. I was sure it wouldn’t take another hit, but I was forced to block again when he kicked me in the gut then spun toward me with a horizontal slash.

My sword shattered, barely affecting his momentum, but I at least managed to knock his blow off course.

The tip of his blade tugged at my shirt, as it slid past my chest, then he pulled back and lunged with a stab.

I closed my eyes. I was about to meet the same end as my mother at the hands of the man who raised me—or a shadow of who he once was. The squelch of flesh and Melinda’s pained scream pierced my ears, but there was no pain. I opened my eyes already anticipating what I would see, though wondering how—no, why she did it.

Melinda and I had swapped places. The green blade, wreathed in wind mana, was stuck between her ribs, possibly puncturing a lung but otherwise missing anything vital.

Shadow Vorlin retracted the blade. Grabbing Melinda by the neck, he thrust his sword at an angle up through her midriff.

It was exactly the way he’d killed my mother, only this time he looked his victim in the face.

Drawing Amara’s sword from storage, I imbued it with mana. At first I gave it only wind mana, but the blade wanted something more. Recalling how the light bearers had added fire to my vortex, I tried doing the same.

The wind and fire meshed together, intensifying each other and in a few seconds melding into lightning. The sword drank happily. Once I felt the blade had taken as much mana as it could handle, I released it into the air.

Carried by my intent, the weapon shot across the chamber like a missile, decapitating the shadow before slicing off his sword arm at the wrist.

The shadow stumbled backward, reaching for the blade with his good arm. I bust punched across the chamber, letting my mama clad fist pound into his back with all the fury I could muster.

The impact felt light, hollow even, but the dark energy split apart evaporating into the air.

Malinda pulled the sword from her gut, tossing it aside as she slumped against the wall.

Observing her for several seconds I realized quickly how serious her wounds were. I could only heal the surface, her injuries were too deep and severe for my skills to handle. If she couldn’t heal on her own, then she would die.

My gaze drifted to Vorlin’s sword. Tears came to my eyes as I considered the weapon—now devoid of mana and lacking its green sheen. In life, Vorlin had been a great man. He used the sword to defend his home and those he loved, but corrupted by dark magic, his hand committed unforgivable sins.

I didn’t blame him, I knew it wasn’t his fault…the shadow wasn’t really Vorlin, only something conjured by darkness. Now his shadow was dealt with, my mother avenged, and Vorlin’s soul allowed to rest, but what of his weapon?

Likely, it was given to him by his father, and should he have raised a warrior, he would have handed it down to his son as well. I lifted the weapon, examining it more carefully. The blade was dull and plain. It had no more wind, but I felt remnants of something still trapped within it. Probing deeper, I touched something and it stirred.

Shadows crept out from the sword, climbing up my wrist and wrapping themselves around me.

A soft voice whispered incoherently and I felt something like a hand reaching into my mind.

I resisted. Then the whispers became clear.

‘You seek power…lend me your body and I will make you strong.’ An unfamiliar voice echoed.

I shook my head then tried to speak yet my voice didn’t come out, instead I only heard my thoughts. ‘Your strength is false. I will not be your puppet.’

The sword must have heard as well because it lashed out angrily. Searing pain spread through my body as I felt the force of ten thousand wind blades railing against me.

I knew the pain was mental rather than physical, but that did little to ease my suffering.

‘Submit’ the voice commanded. ‘I will end your suffering and let you live your life in peace.’

I shook my head, feeling a sense of relief as I was now certain it wasn’t Vorlin who killed my mother, but this entity within his sword. ‘My suffering will only end when your existence is extinguished.’

The pain intensified, reaching a point that I felt as if I was being ripped apart from the inside out.

‘You are a feeble existence to me. You can neither harm nor end me, but I can do this to you eternally.’ The voice was both calm and forceful as he spoke.

Fear filled me hearing his words. It was true, I could do nothing but resist as he hit me with a seemingly endless barrage of mental attacks. Remembering how Vorlin was devoured in the shadow, I wasn’t even sure my body still existed. The evil spirit might have already reformed and used me to finish off Melinda.

My resolve slipped. What more could I do? How could I save myself?

"Darling…" Malinda moaned, her voice reaching me through the shadow. She was weak, breathing heavily between words. “Where’s your…Tenacity.” She spoke the word with a certain finality. Her breathing slowed, then there was nothing but the shadows rumbling laughter.