I coughed in a way that I hoped wasn’t conspicuous, trying to draw Lot’s attention to the fact that I could NOT drink that potion. As weak as my magic was, there was a world of difference between having it, and not, and I wasn’t about to give it up. I’d rather kill the guard than do that. It seemed Lot was past his “pacifistic” stage, so I hoped he’d get a clue quickly. There wasn’t much I could do with my hands tied, not without giving it all away. Which I was very close to doing.

“I suppose it can’t be helped,” Lot said aloud, seemingly to the guard. “It’s either that, or she doesn’t get in, right?”

A screech of agreement came from another direction, and I was suddenly aware that there were at least two Kalamuzi in that room. The other one didn’t sound like a Talker, but it was hard to tell. “Can’t exactly have a witch in there, can we?” The first Kalamuzi said.

I coughed again. Loudly.

“It’s unfortunate,” Lot said. “I wanted to give it to her myself. I guess plans change, huh?”

“Sure,” the guard said. “Yeah, whatever.” I could hear the voice change as the guard must have turned his head. “Hand me that vial.”

What else could I do? I debated running, tackling someone, anything - but in the meantime, I just coughed.

“She’s not going to last long, is she?” the guard said, and I could hear his voice coming closer. “Already sick, sounds like.”

“She’ll be fine,” Lot said. “Sick or not.”

I hacked and coughed like I was dying. I tugged on the rope that Lot held in his hands.

Fucking idiot, I thought. Untie me and let’s just kill these pieces of shit. You’re worried about fucking Kalamuzi casualties? Really? I don’t care if you’re a quarter rat, get your head out of your ass and untie me!

I wished I could shout that all out at him, but I was still holding out some hope that Lot had a plan. It was much harder to accept that I’d chosen my companion so badly.

“Better get her bred quick,” the other guard said. “You can say what you like, but I’ve seen enough prisoners to know when one hasn’t got much left in her. We’ll be lucky to get a litter out of her.”

“It will all work out,” Lot said. “Trust me.”

I didn’t.

Fuck. Think, Miles. You’ve teamed up with another fucking worthless partner. Think. There’s gotta be a way out of this.

I thought there might just be a way, but my time was cut short. For the second time that day my jaw was clasped by a cold, boney hand.

“Just keep still, alright?” The Kalamuzi said, staring at me with two black voids. “Don’t move and we won’t have to make this difficult.”

The vial was between my lips in an instant, and before I could react, the liquid was running down my throat. I nearly choked, but the ratman held me still and kept pouring. The liquid seared and stung, the taste and feeling a horrible combination of alcohol, mint, and ice.

“There,” the guard said, releasing me. My eyes were watering. “Now we can take her in. You get first go at her, of course, so just come back when it’s time, yeah?”

I was coughing for real now, cold burns irritating my throat. But I still heard what the guard had said.

Lot spoke up. “I’d like to take her in, myself, thank you.”

“What the hell for?” the guard said. “You aren’t breeding her right now, are you?”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Lot snorted. “Perhaps I am. A gentleman doesn’t tell, does he?”

The guard laughed. “Don’t give me that. If you were ready to go, you’d have had her already. You just want to see the other girls, is that it?”

“No, I just-“

“Yeah yeah, save it. I’m a Talker too, alright. I get it. But rules are rules.” He lowered his voice. “Tell you what. Come back when it’s time, and I’ll let you get a go at one of the others, too. A favor, yeah?”

I was near panicked by this point. The plan was falling apart. I could still salvage it, but not if Lot abandoned me with the guards, still tied up. They find the weapons on me, find out that I was a man. I had terrible visions of what would happen to me then. Death, surely. Right on the doorstep of success.

I prepared myself to charge. I’d have to be quick. Look up, pick a target, and run. I’d only have a second. If I headbutted one of the guards, Lot would have no choice but to fight with me. I hoped.

Lot sighed. “You really can’t let me in?”

“No.”

“There’s no way I could convince you?”

“Come off it, Lotsqueekinerik. I’m not bending the rules for you just because you’re back.”

“Then I’m sorry it came to this.” Lot said. “For the record, I did everything I could to avoid it. Vengeance is one thing, but I’m not an animal.”

I couldn’t see what was happening since my eyes were still cast down on the floor, but it was only a moment before that changed. A knife came into my vision - a sharp, curved knife - and then the rope binding my hands was cut, and I was free.

“What the hell are you doing!” one of the ratmen shouted, and the other screeched something in Kalamuzi.

I turned my head up, and I’m certain I was smiling. I threw back my hood.

We were in a small room, a guard station, clearly. The walls were made of solid gore, and behind the two Kalamuzi guards - clad in scraps of armor and with a sword each - was a door that seemed to be made of bone. The bones were like bars, such that I could see through the gaps into the darkness beyond - but besides darkness, I couldn’t make out anything. Lot had said he remembered a long hallway after the guard station, but beyond that, the girls. They had to be in there. I was so very close.

The room we were in was mostly empty, lit by sawed-off segments of that reddish root I’d seen elsewhere in the dungeon. It seemed to emanate light even when it was dead. There were a couple of bedrolls, a table, and a couple of chairs. There was some shelving with strange vials of various liquids, and some disturbing food on the table I didn’t want to look at. That was about it.

I tried to feel those invisible strings connecting my mana pool to my nails - still in my pockets, of course, beneath the dress. I could feel them still, thankfully, but they felt ragged, like strings getting ready to fray or split. I didn’t have much time.

“Cover me!” I yelled at Lot, and he looked at me with a confused look on his face. The guards were scrambling to get their weapons out. “Just do it, fucking idiot,” I said.

I muttered under my breath, “I wouldn’t have to do this if it wasn’t for you.”

I hurried to a corner of the room - vaguely behind where Lot stood, Naomi’s staff in one hand, knife in the other - and put my back against it. Then I stuck my finger down my throat.

It was far from the first time I made myself vomit - after all, keeping myself at exactly Tom’s weight wasn’t something that happened on its own. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I could have laughed at how I probably looked just then - a bulimic woman with a man’s face, purging her lunch and trying not to get it on her already-filthy dress.

Instead, I could only look in horror at the strange metallic liquid that flowed back out of me. It was like chrome, or…

“Did you fuckers make me drink mercury?” I yelled. “Fuck. Seriously? No wonder your slaves all die, you idiots.”

The guards ignored what I was saying, slowly spreading out so that they could attack Lot from either side. “They always said you were a traitor,” one of them said. “Guess they were right.”

“A traitor to what?” Lot said, teeth barred. He gestured to the surroundings. “To this? Both of you, you’re half human, yes? Who are you betraying, then? If I betray the Omphalos, don’t you betray the surface?”

“We are Kalamuzi!” one of them said. “And so are you, traitor.”

“Perhaps.”

I charged. My drows was in one hand, and I yelled wordlessly. With a thought, the weapon ignited into flame - I’d prepared that before we left, of course.

The Kalamuzi recoiled at the sight, but the one I approached still managed to hold its sword above its head before I crushed it. The drows clanged against the dull steel.

Lot took his opportunity. He leapt on the other Kalamuzi, knife slicing through the air almost faster than I could track it. For someone who didn’t like to fight, he was skilled.

The Kalamuzi tried to block, but it was no use. Within moments, the skin of Lot’s opponent was criss-crossed with shallow wounds. The ratman was forced further and further back, until finally it found itself with its back against the wall.

I swung wildly at my own opponent, vaguely aware that my movements were less graceful than my partner’s. But I made up for grace with fervor. My strikes were relentless, each one threatening to tear the sword loose from my opponent’s grasp. The flames had already burnt out - it was little more than a distraction - but I had no shortage of nails. I took a handful out of my pocket and tossed them into the ratman’s face. When they ignited, the Kalamuzi screamed in equal parts pain and terror, but the sound was cut short as my drows split its skull wide open. That never got old.

I turned to my partner. Lot stood over a bloody corpse, his weapons discarded on the ground beside him. He was staring at his own hands like he didn’t recognize them.

“You okay?” I asked.

“No.”

“Fuck,” I said. “You injured?”

He shook his head. “It isn’t that.”

“Then what? They didn’t coat their blades in poison or something, did they?”

“I-“ he stammered. “Never mind. I’m fine.”

I scoffed. “You sure?” I walked over to his side, picked up Naomi’s staff from where it lay on the ground.

“Yes,” he said. “I am unharmed.”

“Good,” I said, and I whacked him over the head with the staff.

“Hey!” he yelled, recoiling.

“What was the plan, huh?” I said. “Just hope we could do this without magic?”

“No need to resort to violence,” he said, rubbing his head. “I was just trying to avoid a fight.”

“Well cut it out,” I said. “Getting into fights is what we’re doing, alright? There’s going to be a lot more fights on the way out.”

“Why?” Lot said. “If the plan works-“

“The plan won’t work,” I said. “It hasn’t worked so far, has it? No plan ever works. Not for me. Get used to it.” I shook my head. “But I made it work.”

“I don’t understand you, Miles.”

“Sure you do,” I said. “I’m a very simple person. Come on. Let’s get the girls and get out of here.”

While Lot collected himself, I tried the door. It was locked, naturally, but it was easy enough to find a key on one of the fallen guards. While I was at this, I tossed Lot a couple of those potions, as well. He had my backpack, and I figured the potions might come in handy in the future. You never know.

Lot was ready by the time I was entering the darkened hall. I grabbed a root from the guard room and took it with me. The light was faint, but I could just make out the way down a long, featureless corridor.

“Amaia!” I yelled. “Naomi! It’s me!”

There was no answer. I rushed forward into the darkness.