Narvari belched loudly as soon as she finished her last slice of pizza. Eight stacks of large pizza boxes and twelve empty cans of soft drinks were scattered haphazardly on the large wooden table.

She rubbed her belly. Ah, she was stuffed. Never had she eaten so much in her life. When she and Zemeron had walked out of the portal they had ended up right here in this room.

He wasn’t the most welcoming host, but at least he gave her the food she asked for. And each time Zemeron returned to see if she was done eating, she would ask him to bring more. He never complained though he didn’t look thrilled to be chaperoned around like that. Narvari didn’t care.

Now that she was no longer dying of hunger or exhaustion, she decided to observe her surroundings. She was alone in a wide rectangular room. There were wall cameras situated at all four corners of the room while a glass wall was facing her. If someone had been watching her the whole time, they would have been mortified at the way she ate.

It seemed she had been brought to an interrogation room. Was she really under arrest?

Was she here because she was unlicensed? That was just ridiculous. Were they saying she should have let Stein get away with what he did? Or maybe she should have called the police on the demon-possessed super-human. Yes, that made sense. That made a lot of sense.

She clenched her fist. This was some bullshit.

Narvari glanced at the glass wall in front of her but all she saw was her reflection. She had a feeling anyone looking from outside could see her.

In hindsight, following Zemeron might have been a terrible idea. But part of the reason she came back was that she felt she could trust Trixan. There was something about the Elder that made Narvari want to trust her.

Narvari froze as she suddenly thought of something. With all these strange powers these people had, wasn’t it possible that Trixan might have put that feeling of trust in her? She shuddered. It didn’t sound too far-fetched though.

Pheera put her to sleep with a single touch so who knew what the Elder herself was capable of. Would Trixan do that to her though? Although the Elder wanted Narvari to join Draghein School, she still let Narvari go home. Shouldn’t that be enough reason to trust her?

Narvari shut her eyes and shook her head. She was being so paranoid. This was not like her at all. But after everything she had experienced, was she really being paranoid?

Was coming back a bad idea? But as the image of an ebony beauty with the most beautiful smile Narvari had ever seen emerged in her mind, she didn’t think coming back was all that bad. She wondered if she would see Pheera again.

Shit. Narvari hit the table with a balled fist. Was she thinking about Pheera right now? How stupid was that? She was being held as a prisoner in a place she didn’t even know and all she could think about was seeing a girl, who by the way, made her do things against her will.

What if she was thrown into prison for breaking their law and never let out? Did she need a lawyer? How would she find her father if she got imprisoned? Anana asked her not to hate her father. Finding Yabaga was the only way she could get the closure she needed to keep her from hating him sooner or later.

Could she ever forgive her father for lying to her about her mother? The thought of wanting to be with her mother had never crossed Narvari’s mind. It was difficult longing for something one never had.

But now that she knew her mother was alive, nothing would be the same anymore. She couldn’t just pretend the woman who brought her into this world did not exist. Narvari had to know why her mother abandoned her. And more importantly, she had to know why her father left only to go find the woman who abandoned them.

Narvari rested her throbbing head on the table. She was going to lose her mind with all this thinking.

She raised her head when the door creaked open. Zemeron entered.

Finally.

He asked, “Are you done?”

“Honestly,” Narvari said with a grave face, “I could eat an elephant right now.”

Silence.

She stared at Zemeron with seriousness. Zemeron stared at her with that same intensity.

“That was a joke. I’m a vegetarian.” Narvari finally gave up, shaking her head. She immediately decided that she preferred Yanvirrak’s company. He had a sense of humor.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Trixan wants to see you.”

“Ah,” Narvari shuffled to her feet, “about damn time.”

----------------------------------------

“I’m glad you’re back, my dear.” Trixan clasped her hands, a soft smile on her face.

“Again,” Narvari said, casually leaning in the comfortable chair, “I was forced to come here. But there was pizza involved so it’s all good. I guess.” It surprised her that this was not even sarcasm.

“Yes, I heard,” said Trixan. “I’m glad you had your fill. Exhausting your sacros can be a nightmare.”

“Do they tell you everything here?”

“I am the Elder.”

Narvari didn’t get what this title meant but whatever it was, it must be a big deal. The vastness of her office alone was even a power move.

“It was reckless facing a Vessel in your current state,” said Trixan more firmly. She sounded like a mother scolding her child. “You could have died. I already told you that you’re not yet a vanquisher. You need training for that.”

Narvari scoffed. Zemeron had said the same thing. She didn’t blame them. They had no idea who she was.

“I assure you that I am more than trained.”

Maybe she wasn’t trained as a vanquisher but she was a trained soldier and a master of Ntunomi. There wasn’t a single opponent she had never defeated — well, except Yabaga.

“I do not doubt that you are trained, my dear. But when you faced the wraith lord, you went into a coma due to sacros shock and the same thing almost happened after you fought the Vessel.” Trixan’s voice softened. “Hubert Stein sent the wraith demons to your home, didn’t he?”

“How did you know that?” This wasn’t something she had told Zemeron so he couldn’t have told Trixan.

“Hubert Stein was a Vessel. The Order has been looking for him for years.”

“You know, I keep hearing this Vessel word. What does it even mean?”

“They are adherents of a cult known as the Vessels of Bezvaros. They can summon demons and seal a blood pact with the demons in exchange for a favor.”

“So they are like the master of the demon?” The wraith lard had referred to Stein as his master. Besides, Stein said that soon he would be the master of all demons. Was that what being a Vessel was?

“Master of the demon?” Trixan chuckled. “Not even close, my dear. It’s more like a symbiotic relationship. The demon grants the Vessel power and the Vessel does something in return for the demon. That’s what the blood pact is about.”

A blood pact, huh? That must be how Stein’s body had suddenly transformed like that. A demon possessed his body. Narvari frowned. She thought humans could not endure demonic possession of any kind.

Maybe Vessels, like vanquishers, were not ordinary humans either. Still, if Vessels and demons had a symbiotic relationship, why did the wraith lord keep calling the man his master? Narvari asked Trixan about it.

“That couldn’t just be random, right?”

“No. It was not, my dear.” Trixan shook her head. “Hubert was an extremist even among the Vessels. He believed that demons were meant to be enslaved. I think he found a way to get demons to pledge their undying loyalty to him.” Trixan paused thoughtfully. “I did not want to believe this but this confirms it.”

“What confirms what?” asked Narvari. It seemed they were both talking about two different things.

“Do not worry my dear, this is not something you should concern yourself with.”

“Really?” Narvari snapped. “I think I should be more than concerned. I am directly involved in all this, so the least you can do is explain it to me.”

Trixan smiled. This woman never lost her temper, did she? Well, except that one time when she almost scared the crap out of Narvari when she lost a tiny bit of her temper.

“Azmel reported that the wraith lord consumed something that raised their order. That is impossible for demons. I believe Stein found a way to order up demons.” Trixan paused as if letting her words sink in. “My theory is that Stein was using addictive power to lure demons under his control. Even for a Vessel, that is unorthodox.”

“Are there more out there?” Narvari asked. “Vessels, I mean.”

“The Vessels of Bezvaros used to be a very powerful organization until we destroyed it twenty years ago.” There was pain in Trixan’s eyes as if the memory of it was too much to bear. “Most of the inner circle died. The few members that remained are scattered all over the world.”

“So that’s what vanquishers do? You fight against the demons and the Vessels.”

Trixan nodded.

Narvari paused thoughtfully. “The last time I was here, you told me demons come from the um… Lower Realm… or was it Lower World? It was Lower something.”

“Yes, my dear. It is the Lower Domain.” Trixan nodded. “You were listening after all.”

Oh, she was not. If she were, she would have remembered.

“Is the Lower Domain hell?”

“Maybe to religious folks. But Bezvar is simply one of the three domains found within the Inner Sphere.”

“Bezvar?” Narvari raised her brow.

“That’s the actual name of the Lower Domain.”

Bezvar. It kind of sounds like Bezvaros.

Before Narvari could ask about the relationship between the two words, Trixan added, “We vanquishers come from Agon, the Central Domain.”

“Agon?” Narvari raised a brow. Wasn’t that the same place she had read about in that book Trixan had given her? Well, she had read only one sentence, but she remembered clearly that the Ancient Order of Vanquishers was formed in Agon. It must be referring to the same thing.

“That’s where you come from?’’

Trixan nodded with a smile. “Yes, my dear.”

“So Agon and Bezvar are in the Inner Sphere,” said Narvari. “Where exactly is this Inner Sphere? Does it refer to a planet like the way Earth refers to the Outer Sphere?”

“It is not a planet, my dear. The three domains of the Inner Sphere are otherworldly dimensions.”

Narvari’s face went blank.

Trixan continued, “The simplest way to describe otherworldly dimensions is that they are invisible worlds found within physical worlds, usually planets. The domains of the Inner Sphere are like magical worlds found within the earth., coexisting side by side as one. This is why innies are still of the earth even if they are not directly from the earth.”

“And that’s why you’re not aliens.” Narvari nodded. “I see.” So everything she learned in science class was a joke, huh? Interesting. “But what about the third domain?”

“The Higher Domain. Qartras,”

“Qartras, Agon, Bezvar,” said Narvari. “Wow, I can’t believe there are invisible worlds within the earth.”

“Come, my dear. I need to show you something.”