Seraphine lay in her four-poster bed, her face hidden beneath the covers. She had always taken pride in how well she slept, even as a child. And while she knew that sleeping with her head covered by a blanket wouldn't actually make her any better at it, she still loved the comfort that it gave her. This had become something of a nightly routine for her as an adult—to fall asleep with her head under the covers, cocooning her in a warm, secure shell.
She stirred from her slumber, vaguely aware of something gently tapping against her shoulder. It took a moment for her mind to catch up to what was happening. Then, in a sudden burst of realization, she threw off the covers and shot upright in bed, reaching for the dagger hidden beneath her pillow.
"Forgiveth the intrusion, Lady Elmswood," an automaton said, standing by her bedside. "I bringeth tidings of urgent import."
She pointed her dagger at it, nonetheless. It took a moment for her to recall its familiar visage. "You're one of Aubrey's cohorts..."
It bowed low before her. "Thaddeus Vanholt stigmatized, my lady. We hath need of thy assistance."
"How did you find this place? Did you track me somehow?"
"Verily. Since your capture of Milady Aubrey, I followedth thy route home."
"That... isn't exactly comforting." She grimaced as she slowly lowered her weapon.
Even against experienced trackers, she'd always thought herself proficient at covering her tracks. Her skill in that regard had come naturally to her, as though it were instinctive. And yet, here stood this machine, having managed to do what none had accomplished before. How unsettling...
If this had been an attempt to assassinate her, there would have already been a blade across her throat by now. Still, that didn't make the situation any less nerve-wracking. She glanced at the clock hanging above her fireplace—an hour past midnight. So much for a good night's sleep...
So, with a small sigh, she slipped the dagger back under her pillow and stood up from the bed. "Fine. I'll hear you out."
She padded barefoot across the wooden floorboards and grabbed a robe from her wardrobe, slipping it over her nightgown before turning back to face the machine. It hadn't moved from its spot beside her bed. Its glowing blue eyes stared unblinkingly at her as she approached.
"What's this about?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It concerns Milady Aubrey," Thaddeus explained. "She hath devised a plan to infiltrate the Twilight Cabal."
"What?!" Seraphine blurted out in shock.
Thaddeus quickly explained Aubrey's strategy of allowing herself to get captured by the cabal to extract information. In response, Seraphine groaned and rubbed her temples with both hands.
"By The Five, that's reckless... How did you let her go through with it?"
"Milady Aubrey art quite forceful when she putteth her mind to something," Thaddeus remarked dryly. "There wasn't much I could do to persuade her otherwise."
"Well, at least she's not completely irresponsible. Where is she now?"
"Currently detained within a Cabal safehouse," Thaddeus explained. It pulled a paper out of its pocket and handed it over to her. "Here's the address."
Seraphine examined the note closely. It appeared legitimate enough. But... "Why did you come to me with this? And how did you know I'd be willing to help?"
The automaton hesitated slightly before answering. "Thou art renowned amongst Hunters as an individual of honor and integrity, Lady Elmswood. Moreover, thou art more capable than most when it cometh to extricating oneself from perilous situations. Also, I believe Milady Aubrey might like to have thee close by."
Seraphine raised an eyebrow at that last part. "So... you want me to rescue her? On my own?"
"I hast come to asketh for thy aid in this endeavor," Thaddeus acknowledged. "Though I wilt also endeavor to assist as much as possible."
She folded the paper up and tucked it away inside one of her pockets. "Fine. I'll gather my gear. Wait for me outside."
"As thou wish," Thaddeus replied, bowing again before turning to leave.
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Strapped to a fixed metal chair with her arms and legs bound, Aubrey looked around the room as the robed figures approached. The bright spotlight above her caused the silhouettes to cast long shadows across the floor, obscuring their faces.
But she knew who they were—members of the Twilight Cabal.
The man with the raven mask from earlier stepped closer to her, his grey eyes glowing through the mask's slits. He leaned down, placing a hand on her cheek. "It would seem we've caught ourselves quite the specimen."
"Indeed," said another voice behind him. "The insistence that agent from the Luminous Consortium had to approach us regarding her immediate disposal... I'm curious as to why..."
"Well, whatever the reason, we shall determine it soon enough." The raven-masked man removed his touch from her cheek before walking off into the shadows.
"We should get started immediately," one of the others suggested. "Who knows what might happen if they come back to take her?"
There was murmuring amongst the group before they began to gather around Aubrey.
One member began chanting softly under his breath, drawing a symbol in the air with his fingertips while a second approached with an empty jar filled with a blue liquid. Once he'd finished chanting, he dipped his pointer finger into it. The liquid instantly turned into a glowing purple ichor.
He began painting symbols upon her skin, starting on her forehead and working his way down towards her navel, all while mumbling the words of an incantation.
Meanwhile, the other two took up positions on opposite sides of the chamber, holding an odd assortment of artifacts. One of them held what looked like a golden scepter adorned with various jewels, and the other held a small leather sack that appeared to have some sort of small creature inside it, struggling to escape.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Despite all this happening right in front of her eyes, Aubrey felt strangely calm about the whole thing. Compared to the ordeals she'd endured in the asylum, these men hardly seemed a threat at all. This almost seemed childish in comparison. So why should she fear?
The man with the scepter spoke first. "Power of light and dark! Give us strength! Fill this vessel and make our spells true!"
He took out a small pocket knife and drew it across the palm of his hand, causing blood to trickle out from between his fingers and fall onto the floor.
Then the second spoke, "Great spirit of the beasts beyond, come forth from this offering!"
He placed the sack on the floor, opened it up wide enough to expose its contents and slit its neck with a quick slash of his own blade. Out poured not only blood but also the carcass of some kind of small animal—it looked like a rat but wasn't one she recognized.
At the same time, the person painting Aubrey's skin with purple sigils finished the last symbol and stepped back, gesturing toward her with an open hand. His lips moved wordlessly but quickly, keeping pace with each syllable.
Once everyone else had done their parts, all four turned their gazes in unison toward where Aubrey sat. They stared intently as if waiting for something to happen. And for a moment, she worried it actually would.
However, after a few minutes passed by without incident, one of the men sighed and shook his head in disappointment. Another started fidgeting uncomfortably. The third simply looked confused. But the one closest to her—the leader with the mask of the raven head—continued staring intently at her.
When he spoke again, he sounded irritated. "Something's not right here."
"No shit," one of them answered back. "What went wrong?"
"I don't know yet," the leader said slowly, his gaze locked onto Aubrey's. "If she was human, that spell would've turned her into a Cambion. If she was already an Unhallowed, the other two rituals should've either revealed her true form or caused the corpse in the sack to animate. But neither happened..."
The third finally piped up. "Should I repeat the ritual?"
"I don't think that will help," the masked leader replied. "Whatever it is about her seems unique enough that we shouldn't force the issue. In all my years, I've never encountered anything quite like this."
Aubrey couldn't help but laugh despite the situation. "Wow, guess I'm special, huh? Not every day I get treated like this... It's kinda exciting, y'know?"
That comment earned a few chuckles from the men standing around her. Even the one nearest to the leader—the one who seemed more annoyed with everything than the others—couldn't help snorting under his breath at Aubrey's remark.
"Well, if nothing else, this little exercise has proven informative," the masked man said. He stepped closer toward Aubrey and reached for her hair, lifting it up to expose her neck. "Yes. You most certainly are special. Now... what to do with you?"
His overfamiliar touch was beginning to grate on her, but she forced herself to remain calm.
She counted a dozen robed people—including the four in her immediate vicinity—standing in a semicircle around her chair. A single armored guard stood by the only door she could see in the room, which she assumed led out.
Maybe it was time to make a break for it...
She made eye contact with the leader of the cabal, staring deep into his dark pupils. "Let me go and you won't regret it. I can assure you."
His lip curled into a sneer as he laughed bitterly, releasing his grip on her hair. "Oh, really? That's quite bold of you to say when you're bound to that chair like an animal."
Aubrey ignored him. She began humming quietly under her breath as she concentrated on one of her powers.
[Ability: Enthrallment Activated! Duration: 30 seconds; Cooldown: 90 seconds]
Her voice rang out, belting an enchanting melody into the room. The four robed individuals nearby reacted first, staring at her with rapt attention as their bodies visibly relaxed. Their jaws slackened, and their eyes became vacant, glassy orbs. Soon after, the rest of the cabal members started swaying slightly in rhythm with her tune.
"What...?" The leader of the cabal hissed, staggering away. "How...?"
Aubrey kept singing, building the power of her ability even further. Her voice carried across the room, filling everyone present with a sense of euphoria. As she increased the volume, their expressions softened. One by one, the members of the cabal began to smile dreamily at her.
"Wake up, you fools!" the masked leader yelled. "Don't let her influence you!"
[Ability: Chorus of Disarray Activated! Duration: 20 seconds; Cooldown: 60 seconds]
At this command, the song changed to something far darker and more chaotic. She launched into a frantic melody, her pitch rising sharply with every beat. As she built towards the crescendo, the tempo became frenzied.
The effect on her audience intensified along with the cacophony. They started dancing wildly about the room, bumping into each other and throwing themselves across furniture. Several fell to the floor and thrashed in pain. Two even vomited violently onto the ground. All the while, Aubrey sang louder than ever before, losing herself in the performance.
[Ability: Dissonant Chord Activated! Duration: 18 seconds; Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Ability: Veil of Despair Activated! Duration: 24 seconds; Cooldown: 60 seconds]
Soon, the entire room descended into chaos. Members of the cabal attacked one another indiscriminately, their screams rising above the noise. Fists flew, blades flashed, and blood spilled everywhere. Even the leader fought desperately against the others, attempting to defend himself from their assault.
Aubrey continued singing, reveling in the pandemonium. Her powers may have been diminished by the shackles, but it still proved enough to cause utter turmoil. She cycled through each ability once again to ensure she kept her hold on them.
Through the confusion, she noticed someone trying to creep behind her and place their hands on her mouth to silence her, but the necrotic aura from her Veil of Despair stopped them dead in their tracks. She watched them collapse, gasping in agony for a few more moments before dying.
When things began to slow down, most of the members of the Cabal lay dead, and the masked leader remained the only conscious one in the room, besides Aubrey. His mask had been knocked off during the fighting. She now saw him clearly as a middle-aged man with pale skin and short gray hair. Blood poured down from cuts and bruises covering his face and limbs. Yet, he still stood there staring at her.
"What... What in the name of The Five... Who... Are you... a demon?" he rasped hoarsely between ragged breaths.
She continued to sing to him, weaving a more subtle form of compulsion into her lyrics, compelling him to walk closer to her.
After a moment of hesitation, he complied. He dragged himself towards her as if possessed, stumbling across the pile of corpses scattered across the floor. Eventually, he staggered into arm's reach and collapsed at her feet, laying prostrate before her.
With a grin, Aubrey stopped singing at last. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm no demon. Just a gal with some abilities... One that you assholes should've left alone."
[Ability: Veil of Despair Activated! Duration: 24 seconds; Cooldown: 60 seconds]
The leader cried out in anguish, convulsing violently as the dark energy of Aubrey's ability consumed him. She watched as his skin began to crack and flake away, peeling off in bloody strips to reveal the sinew beneath. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his jaw dropped open, revealing a decaying tongue lolling out of his mouth.
But as she waited for him to breathe his last pathetic breath, something strange began to occur. The body twitched erratically, and the veins on his neck and face began to throb and swell. Slowly, the skin on his arms and legs burst, revealing clusters of pulsing green growths. He began to grow larger, his torso expanding and stretching until it tore open to reveal a mess of writhing tentacles and gnashing teeth.
Aubrey's eyes widened in surprise.
What the... it's happening again. But how...?!
In the span of a few heartbeats, the twisted abomination that had once been a simple cabal leader rose to its full height, towering over her. Rivulets of melted flesh oozed from its face and chest, dripping onto the floor below. Its eyes glowed red, and its jaw unhinged, releasing a horrific screech that reverberated throughout the room.
She was still bound to the chair.