Emily couldn’t believe her luck. The first place she had tried had led her directly to her prey. Turning from the door, Emily shouldered her way through the crowd surrounding the two teens. By this point, Emily could tell by the snickers and growls from the crowd who they were voting for, and it was not Nox.

The kid could be annoying as hell, but the crowd seemed to want to see blood, and Nox was at a disadvantage in a close-range fight. The blonde teen was larger and currently locking his hands in place to prevent the kid from using magic, he used this advantage to wail on Nox with his free arm.

Emily heard the shattering of a bottle inside and had to assume more fighting was going on in there.

She was tempted to see what was going on in there but she needed the kid alive and the teen didn’t look like he’d stop until Nox stopped moving.

So with the smallest amount of source she could manage, Emily subtly made the two short gestures required for the lift spell, pointing it directly up.

The other teen let out a wail as he was suddenly yanked upward, hurtling five meters into the air before gravity dragged him back toward the ground’s crushing embrace.

Nox seeing this was surprised but he rolled out of the way before the teen fell directly on top of him. The sound of flesh slamming on metal rang out as the teen groaned while reeling. Nox managed to stand and began kicking the kid in the side of his ribs. Which only caused him to groan more and curl up into a ball. Then Nox took a step back and made a hand gesture in the kid's direction but Emily stepped forward and grabbed his wrist in a firm grasp.

“Enough, don’t get cocky,” Emily said firmly.

Nox took a moment for the adrenaline to leave his system as he focused on Emily. His eyes were angry, but then widened in realization and a trembling started in his bottom lip.

“Emi-” Nox started but cut himself off.

“Ashe is inside with a MageBane, he’ll take her away.”

Emily pursed her lips, helping Nox in a fight he’d possibly started was completely different from Ashe being under attack.

The thought twisted Emily’s face into a snarl and she turned towards the open entrance, dragging Nox behind her. If anyone wanted to stop them, they didn’t bother as Emily walked through the crowd with a look of murder on her face.

The door to the rusted gauntlet was open, but Emily would have loved to kick it off its hinges to assert dominance as she entered, unfortunately, it looked like someone else had already tried that earlier today.

Its cheap wooden frame was already splintered where it met the walls giving her a good look inside.

The building was just as Emily had expected—grimy, reeking of burnt tobacco, and filled with the scent of cheap booze. Scuffed furniture lined the walls, and a large corkboard crowded with hastily pinned commissions hung in the corner. Inside, the patrons, all mercenaries, barely glanced at her entrance with Nox in tow. None of their expressions carried even a hint of warmth.

At the center of the room stood Ashe, fragments of metal orbiting her like a violent storm. Near her, three individuals hesitated in their advance, wary of the spinning shards. The tension in the room was palpable, amplified by the leader of the group—a man sipping whiskey from a cracked glass, his slurred voice cutting through the din.

“Your kind hates my kind,” he sneered, gesturing toward Ashe with his glass. “You screw me over every chance you get, huh? Well, not today. Walking in here with a debt still hanging over you was a bad idea.”

Emily’s eyes flicked to the rest of the room. She searched for familiar faces, hoping to spot the wandering fangs, but her heart sank. Most of the other mercenaries were fixated on Ashe, their expressions hungry for bloodshed. If a fight broke out, Emily would need backup, but no allies seemed present.

Quickly, Emily grasped Nox by the back of his neck, his protests muffled as she hauled him forward. Stepping into the center of the room, she projected her voice with a commanding edge that echoed against the low ceiling.

“I don’t care how you settle bounties here,” she said, her tone laced with warning. “But I’ve been tracking that one since Tagrin’s Keep. She’s mine, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to steal my claim.”

The room stilled. Faces turned to her, some irritated, others openly hostile. Ashe’s expression flickered from faint relief to sudden fear as she realized Emily’s gambit. Nox writhed in Emily’s grip, but she kept her focus locked on the leader.

The man shifted his attention, studying Emily with dull, calculating eyes. He set his glass down with a clink, his posture lazy but his intent clear.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

“And what are you supposed to be—a Seeker?” he mocked, his lip curling into a twisted smile. “This isn’t a tea house. First to catch the prey, first to eat.”

Emily took a step closer, her boots ringing against the metal floor. “Good to know,” she replied, her voice calm. “But as I see it, you haven’t caught her yet. So she’s still fair game.”

His smile faltered for a fraction of a second before returning, sharper and more dangerous. “You don’t want to do this,” he growled. “I’m warning you—back off, or I’ll make you regret it.”

Emily tilted her head, her expression cold. “How about this: you hand her over, and I walk out of here. No mess, no fight, everyone wins.”

From the corners of the room came scattered jeers and mocking whistles. The mercenaries weren’t here to mediate—they wanted blood. Emily could feel the tension cresting, the leader’s subtle shift in stance betraying his intentions.

“You know what?” he said, a sly grin curling his lips. “I think we can come to an agreement.”

He moved toward Emily with feigned nonchalance, signaling the others with a subtle flick of his hand. They started to circle her, but Emily was already prepared.

With a swift gesture, she cast a spell, and one of the men near Ashe was yanked into the air as though an invisible hand had seized him. His scream was cut short as he slammed into the ceiling with a metallic crash, and then crumpled to the ground unconscious.

The room erupted into chaos. The leader’s grin twisted into a snarl as he hurled his whiskey glass at Emily, drawing a blade from his side. She sidestepped the projectile and shoved Nox out her way, grabbing her scepter in the same motion. As she began another spell, a sharp, invasive pressure flooded her senses.

The leader had made a gesture of his own. The source she was pulling in turned jagged and hostile, as if she were swallowing broken glass. The pain wrenched through her body, and the spell fizzled before it could manifest.

Distracted, Emily barely caught the leader’s blade as it arced toward her throat. Her scepter intercepted the first strike, the clash ringing out through the room, but she didn’t see the second attack in time. His blade elongated in a flash, slashing deep into her neck.

Blood poured from the wound, splattering his chest, the floor, and the onlookers. Laughter and gasps of horror rippled through the room, the crowd feeding off the carnage.

The leader grinned triumphantly. Emily could see the moment he thought he'd won. Even Ashe's face was a mask of horror and pain. But Emily wasn’t finished.

The flow of blood from her neck slowed unnaturally, droplets hovering mid-air. Her head tilted back, an eerie inhumanity settling over her as the blood from her neck coiled like serpents around the leader’s throat. His triumphant expression turned to panic as the tendrils tightened, lifting him off the ground.

The crowd recoiled as Emily’s blood lashed out again, piercing through his chest and hand, forcing him to drop his weapon. His gasping chokes echoed in the stunned silence of the bar until they fell silent altogether. The other two mercenaries seemed to raise their weapons but then lower them, paralyzed by the scene unfolding before them.

Emily’s voice, cold and venomous, broke through the suffocating tension. “This could have been easy. I could have got what I needed and walked out, but this was your choice. If anyone else wants to get in my way, feel free.”She retracted the tendrils of blood back into her neck and sealed the wound until not even a scar remained.

Emily pointed at Ashe and barked, “You, come to me.”

Real fear was evident on Ashe’s face, but she glanced around and began to walk towards Emily. When she was near enough Emily turned and searched for Nox. The kid was still on the ground where she had thrown him and Emily crooked her finger to call him forward.

Nox seemed frozen at first but then he shook himself and scaped to follow Emily out.

When they were back out in the street she saw that several of the bystanders were still standing out there but again they didn’t seem to care what Emily did.

Thanks to this, Emily began walking towards the elevator.

The silence was deafening and Emily kept glancing back to make sure her two ducklings were still following.

When they were a sufficient ways from the rusted gauntlet Emily broke the quiet.

“Where is everyone else? Are you guys staying somewhere nearby?”

At first, the questions went unanswered but when Emily glanced back giving them a frown, Nox piped up.

“Um, well, we only got here a couple of days ago, but we were in for question with the city guard. We got out a day ago and came here. We were staying at the rusted gauntlet until that ashole made shit for us.”

Emily pressed her lips into a thin line as this didn’t answer one of her questions.

“So where are the others? Surly they wouldn't leave you guys alone.”

Nox didn’t hesitate this time and shook his head.

“That's what we were trying to figure out. Ashe thinks we were released early because we were Mages but we have not seen everyone else since we were let go.”

Emily frowned, she didn’t like the connotation here. Something was very wrong in this city.

They only let the Mages go, but kept everyone else.

“And, Kael? What does he think of all of this?”

Now Nox looked uncomfortable.

“Um, we were separated before we got to the city.”

Emly’s eyes narrowed dangerously and she stopped in the middle of the street, the question already in her eyes.

Nox shook his head.

“No, he’s here in the city,” Nox said moving closer to Ashe’s side and subconsciously grabbing hold of her robe.

Emily glanced at Ashe and saw her avoiding her gaze.

Grunting, Emily looked around as they boarded the platform.

“Good… Look I have a place we can stay, it's safe but we need to talk so just stick with me until we get there, okay?”

Emily heard an answer from Nox but Ashe didn’t seem to say much.

When they got to the gatehouse to enter the upper campus, the Guards didn’t look so happy at the two other people following her. But Emily just pointed to her badge and walked through.

When they got to the houses Emily let them into the building and Nox rushed in to explore, but Ashe paused at the entrance.

“...Did you have to kill him?”

Emily stopped just behind the woman and mulled over her question. Selia had warned Emily that Ashe was not used to this world of death, but she would have thought she could at least see that Emily did what she had to.

“Yes…he tried to kill me, it was only fair that I did the same to defend myself.”

Ashes bottom lip twitched and she nodded and turned to enter the building.

Blood points: 304