For the next two days Helena tore into both the library and her own works. She'd moved from researching curses to trying to find any reference to a spell that targeted someone by accident. Unfortunately she was hitting a solid dead end.

There were thousands of tales of magic gone awry. Poorly worded or twisted spells. Spells that had decided to act on the caster's true intentions rather than what the spellcaster wanted. And of course the monkey's paw artifacts that gave you what you wanted in the worst way possible.

None of them really seemed to fit what was happening here. As far as Helena could tell the spell was completely and utterly lost. It was possible that the curse's creator had been incredibly incompetent, but the spell was too persistent for that.

So Helena continued her investigation, scribbling ideas onto paper, and then slowly dismissing them one by one. It was starting to become a research project.

One good thing was Alexis had settled into the routine fairly well. Helena had worried that the woman might grow furious at the wait, or otherwise become a thorn in her side, but the Germanic noble had taken matters in stride. Maybe because Helena was becoming frustrated on her behalf. Or maybe because Helena's ofuda was suppressing the curse. The last two days had been accident free at least.

Right now they were outside the apartment, getting in a bit of sun while the weather was tolerable. Helena was looking through "Worst Failures of the Magical World, Vol. 6" for ideas, while Alexis was playing with Shanon and Moses. Right now the woman was listening to them read through one of the books of fairy tales they'd picked up in the library, helping them through the odd terms. Sighing as she reached another dead end, Helena set down her notes and walked over to where the trio was sitting.

Moses was reading right now as Shanon had finished the last page. "So the princess sent a servant out to grab a bucket of water from a stream at night as fast as possible. The servant complies, not even removing the..." Moses peered at the page. "Guh-ge-ons?"

"Gudgeons," Alexis said. "They're a type of fish that live in muddy streams."

The children nodded happily at the new word. "Gudgeons. When the princess got the bucket she threw it on her sleeping husband. The man leaped from his bed shivering from the cold and said, 'Ah. I have learned to shiver, but I still do not know fear.'"

Alexis smiled and closed the book. "The end." She smiled at the two children. "You read very well. Better than some adults of my realm."

The two twins puffed up with pride. "Momma said that reading is the key to the future," Shanon said. "Said that reading was what helped her get away from a bad place and get to here."

"Your mother sounds very wise," Alexis replied. "Reading separates the journeymen from the masters in many a profession."

"Indeed." Helena interjected softly. "Writing is the second great magic. The one all humans can do."

Shanon smiled, but Moses gave her a funny look. "Still seems weird calling something everyone can learn magic."

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. It is a bit strange. But then, I'm not the witch."

Helena chuckled. "I actually thought it was a foolish saying when I was a child. But as a magician it's true." She smiled. "And think about it. Writing allows you to save your words forever, and for anyone to summon them up." She pointed at the tome in Alexis' hands. "The people who first told those tales have been dead for years, yet you can hear their stories today. That's a feat I would be hard pressed to match."

"Well, I had never thought of it that way. Perhaps it is somewhat magical," Alexis agreed.

Shanon elbowed her brother. "Told ya."

Moses looked like someone had forced him to eat a lemon, but before he could reply Prudence Samuels appeared at the doorway. "Moses! Shanon! You'd best have finished your homework!"

From the way Shanon's face twisted to match her brother's it was obvious neither had. "But Moooom," Shanon said. "We're learning stuff with Helena and Countess Alexis. Can't we do it later?"

"Later you'll be complaining about being sleepy," Prudence replied. "Chores don't wait just because you got something you need to do. And homework is your chore. Next time get it done earlier."

"Awww..." the kids both replied, before turning their pleading eyes to Helena and Alexis. Helena just snorted at the attempt. She wasn't going to stop Prudence's teaching methods. Compared to her own training it was fairly lenient. Seeing once again their favorite witch was abandoning them they turned their full power on Alexis.

Sadly their hopes were dashed there as well. "Run along. And be glad you don't have to keep to a tutor's schedule," Alexis replied. "I'll be sure to play with you tomorrow as well."

"Promise?" Moses asked.

"On my word," Alexis replied.

"Alright," Shanon said. "Well see you tomorrow!" The two ran off with waves, then followed their mother inside leaving Helena and Alexis alone.

Helena offered the other woman a hand up. "Thanks for spending time with them. I'm not wonderful with kids."

"They seem to like you none the less," Alexis replied. She smiled. "Though I was surprised when they said you helped them through Hansel and Gretel. I would think as a witch you'd dislike the story."

"Well there are witches out there who do eat children. At least according to my friends from your realm," Helena replied with a grimace. "In the unlikely event they fall afoul of one they should do their best to push the hag into her own furnace. Serve her right."

Alexis laughed. "I cannot argue." The woman grew more serious. "So, did you find anything from your research today?"

The levity faded from Helena as well. "Nothing solid. I have the start of a theory but nothing I can act upon."

"Oh?" Alexis looked at her. "What theory?"

She looked up at Alexis. "I believe that the spell's goal isn't to make your life miserable by killing everyone around you. It's designed to kill someone in particular. Someone near you."

Alexis looked confused, then her eyes shot open. "My father."

Helena nodded. "Quite probably. Which is why I want to ask you some questions. I need to know more about your father and his enemies." She raised a finger. "And also your court magician and his enemies. While no one is aiming at the serving staff, we magicians tend to get a lot of enemies."

"So, what do you need to know?" Alexis asked. "My family's history is not that short."

Helena motioned towards the streets to the market. "Just their personal history will do. We can get something to eat while you talk."

Alexis stood and they began walking. "Well obviously I know more about my father then Nedvarious, but I can give you some information.

"My father was not born Pfalzgraf." Alexis smiled. "Though he did not gain the title as flamboyantly as some. He was Freiherr of a very small area. Little more than a house honestly. However sickness took my uncle and his children, and he was the closest related to the Pfalzgraf of Strausfen. Thus he was granted rights to the lands."

The woman's smile faded. "Of course Markgraf von Wissgrand thought he should be the rightful inheritor, which meant as soon as my father claimed the county palatine he attacked. My father was forced to sally out with the few allies he had, and a few mercenaries." She grew troubled. "He might have died there, had the Markgraf not made an error. He ran across a traveling wizard and had his troops attempt to kill the man for heresy. That man was Nedvarious and he summoned a dragon to scatter the troops."

"Ha!" Helena smirked. "Perhaps I judged your court wizard too hastily. His name is a joke, but I like his problem solving."

Alexis shook her head. "It saved the county, but it nearly cost him his life. Markgraf von Wissgrand is a friend of the local bishop. They were going to charge Nedvarious with heresy and consorting with demons. My father however claimed that Nedvarious was his court wizard and thus simply acting on behalf of the county." Alexis spread her hands. "Since my father was recognized as ruler by the Kaiser, it was all legal, and the church could not charge anyone."

"I see." Helena thought for a bit. "I'd normally assume they would be behind matters, but if they're that harsh towards mages, then they don't have any local witches."

"They might," Alexis said. "But I cannot see the Markgraf having anything to do with magic. He's very... strict in his faith."

Helena nodded. "That makes it unlikely, but not impossible. It's amazing how quickly people can lose their morals when there's a lot to gain. Still they'd need a very desperate spellcaster to work with them." She looked at Alexis. "So what happened afterwards?"

"Well trouble seems to come in waves, so as soon as my father returned from repelling the Markgraf, he learned Pfalzgraf von Hessel had laid claim to a disputed silver mine in the area." Alexis shook her head. "To be honest, my father might have let it pass, but the foreman of the mine was a loyalist, and had refused to work. Von Hessel had him killed."

Alexis frowned. "My father could not let someone just kill his vassals. So he marched his army down and retook the town and some other lands that were rightfully his. There were a few seasons of war, before a truce was finally signed. We still have border disputes."

"Any recently?" Helena asked.

Alexis shook her head. "No. There was a large battle about five years ago." She bit her lip. "My father was gravely wounded. He nearly died. Von Hessel lost his eldest son. Matters have calmed since."

"I see." Helena considered the matter. "That seems a more likely candidate for a curse. Did you have time to look into them?"

Alexis shook her head. "No. Though I think it unlikely the witch who lives in that county is powerful enough. The count tried sending us bad fortune before and Nedvarious stopped her."

"Does she have a school?" Helena asked. "Or other allies?"

"I don't know. Sorry," Alexis replied. "She lives a good distance beyond the border. I only know a little about our local witch. She seemed annoyed my father brought a court wizard in and thus speaks with him rarely."

"Hrm. I see." Helena pondered for a bit. "And your mother's family? Did they have any enemies?"

Alexis laughed. "Almost certainly. But my mother was fifth of seven children. And she was betrothed only to my father. They married fairly young in fact. She was seventeen. Anyone who hates my mother's family has far more interesting people to curse."

"Well if there are no jilted or self-proclaimed lovers I think we can take that possibility off the list." Helena said. "And it sounds like anyone who was that obsessive lived near your family anyway."

Alexis scowled at Helena. "My mother would never break her vows and take up with some lover. I know you must consider every option, but I suggest you drop all aspersions on her character."

Helena raised her hands in surrender. "My apologies. But just because a woman would never take a lover does not mean that a man isn't delusional enough to claim her anyway. There's always someone who thinks they are the gods' gift to women, or worse that women are the gods' gift to them." Her mood soured. "One of the reasons I'm here."

"Ah." Alexis' expression calmed. "I fear that is true yes. My father warned me about such problematic suitors." The noblewoman looked at her quizzically. "Though it sounds like you have run into this problem personally."

Helena grimaced, the memories roiling around inside her like a bitter drink. "In this particular case, I actually was a god's gift to that asshole. I decided to turn him into a slug instead." Helena shook her head. "Which is why I live in the one place where gods can be tried for murder."

"I see." Alexis bowed her head. "I'm sorry to bring up such troubling matters."

"It's alright." Helena turned her attention back to their path. "In any case we can probably discount anyone outside of your home realm and your neighbors. And they're most likely either targeting your court wizard, or your father."

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"How can you be so sure?" Alexis asked.

Helena raised a finger. "Death curses require something more than just magic. They require hate." She shrugged. "Now hate is fairly easy to come by. But hatred enough to kill random people in order to get a lucky shot? That requires a lot of hate or a disdain for life." She looked back to Alexis. "Which means someone, fairly or unfairly, hates your father or court mage a great deal. Either the caster, or the person who hired the caster. And that requires a certain level of contact."

"That makes a great deal of sense." Alexis nodded in understanding. "However it also leaves us with a lot of possible villains. What can we do with this knowledge?"

Helena considered matters. "If we were closer to the people in question I could probably find out who cast the curse based on the feel of their magic. But that's not an option right now, so we'll have to work off of what little we know. For now I'll assume they were trying to kill your father." She opened up a book and made a quick note. "Then I'll see about finding a way to remove such a twisted curse."

"Do you think it will be completed tonight?" Alexis asked hopefully.

"No. It'll take at least a day to design the spell," Helena said. "I'm not even sure where to start honestly. But knowing what you need to do is an important step in magic."

Alexis sighed but nodded. "I imagine it's far more effective than trying things without knowing what you need to do." She looked over at Helena. "I wish this was not so complex. Though I will say your more... mundane method of explaining magic has been of great help."

Helena was about to reply when Alexis froze. She was trying to recall her few healing spells, when she saw the reason for the woman's fear and relaxed. A devil in a crimson suit with black leathery wings was walking the opposite way across the street. Helena gave the man a shrug and tried to indicate with her eyes that the purple clad countess was new to the city. Fortunately the devil seemed to pay neither of them any mind, simply returning a nod. "It's impolite to stare," she said to Alexis as the woman started to turn to keep the devil in sight.

Alexis started then turned her wide eyed gaze to Helena. "But that was a demon. A servant of Satan! An enemy of all that is Holy!"

"And he has to follow the rules just the same as everyone else here," Helena said calmly. "Just don't sign any contracts with them and everything should be fine."

"But..." Alexis looked confused. Helena waited for the woman to consider things a little. She'd learned in the past trying to shift someone's view of the world too quickly was disastrous.

After Alexis relaxed a little Helena continued her explanation. "I'll add that there are a lot of hells. Devils last longer than the heresies that spawn them. And tend to be more flexible than their angelic counterparts." She held up a hand to stop Alexis' rebuttal. "Let me explain. Every time a Christian sect forms a new hell is created. People are very good at believing in hell. But then when that sect goes away, what then? There's a hell, but the god they were created to oppose doesn't exist, and according to the majority of people never did. What then?"

Alexis considered the matter for a while. "They go to oppose the true God?"

"I'll ignore the "true" god bit for now," Helena replied. "But yes. A good number of devils do. Other devils decide they're done being petty forces of evil and set up their own civilizations. Or run off to integrate into the spiritual world. Which isn't to say they're universally trustworthy. They just aren't quite as dangerous as you might think."

They walked on for a while, Alexis pondering matters. "I think I understand. If they were created as a heresy of a heresy what would that make them? Still, I think I'll remain suspicious in my dealings with them."

"Always a good idea," Helena agreed.

A few more blocks, and a good deal more double takes as Alexis saw different magical creatures walking openly through the streets, the noblewoman said, "It seems the market is a lot different from the rest of the city."

"Yes." Helena shrugged. "There's actually an entire realm of the more monstrous spiritual creatures that live right below the immigrant realm. Most just stick to the marketplace though. Meeting peacefully with humans isn't that hard, but living amongst them is far more difficult. It's much easier for those of us with humanoid forms."

Alexis turned to Helena at that. "Most of us?" It seemed the woman was still paying attention to the details. Helena was mildly impressed. "Why us?"

"Magicians are not human," Helena said simply. "At least not magicians like me."

She continued as Alexis stared at her. "Of course, by that I mean those who have dedicated their life to magic. Not the dabblers like your local witch likely is. But the masters, those of us who are true magicians, we can no longer call ourselves human. Because we do not age and die."

"That seems hardly a reason to consider yourself not human," Alexis said. "Elijah lived many years, and there are many men cursed or blessed to live beyond their normal lifespan."

"But in those cases it's unexpected," Helena replied. "In my case I was born knowing I would live until something killed me." She shrugged. "But even beyond that, we are innately creatures of magic. If I went to the outside would I would sicken and die. It might take ten weeks or so but the lack of magic would kill me. And I would die faster if I used any spells." She looked at Alexis. "We magicians are unfit to live in the real world. That is why we are considered monsters."

They walked in silence for a while, the market bustling around them. Finally Alexis said, "If being incompatible with the outside world is all it takes to become a monster, the term has no meaning. Anything that condemns both angels and devils, both mystics and brutes all alike, is hardly a term worth mentioning."

Helena smiled. She honestly had no issue with being called a monster, but she appreciated Alexis' defense of her character. Or at least the character of mages in general. "Some terms can be overly broad." She began walking towards the familiar camel of Inhapi's stall. "Anyway that's enough philosophizing for now. Those discussions are meant to be done with wine anyway."

Alexis returned the smile. "Fair enough." The noblewoman's smile twisted slightly. "Though if we're going to continue the discussion later I believe it would be best to buy a better wine."

"If you want better then what I have you'll have to buy it yourself," Helena muttered as she stalked ahead, Alexis giggling behind.

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

Helena woke up knowing something was wrong.

The crickets were chirping, Alexis seemed to be sleeping in the main room, and her hearth fire was burning quietly and cleanly. Nothing seemed off, but she still had a quiet feeling of unease.

She stood and dipped her fingers into the belladonna extract she kept near her nightstand before tapping her eyelids a whispering a quick spell. The darkness sharpened and broke into proper shapes while color faded, giving her a black and white view of the room. Helena peered around carefully, but there still didn't seem to be anything amiss.

Helena considered matters, then grabbed her belt and tied it around her nightgown before slowly slipping towards the door. As she slipped the bolt back Alexis shifted then started upright. "Ah! Hel-"

Helena held a finger over her mouth, silencing the other woman. She peered out the peephole, then slowly pushed the door open and looked outside. There was nothing.

There was a slow padding behind her. Alexis had apparently roused herself anyway and moved up next to her. "What is it?" the woman asked sotto voce.

"I had a bad feeling," Helena replied quietly. Normally blundering into the dark because of a bad feeling was a sign of foolishness. But a witch had to trust their feelings. Especially ones as strong as this.

Alexis hesitated a moment as Helena stepped quietly into the corridor, then the woman pulled a cape from the coat rest. Helena paused a moment then simply said, "Move quietly." She didn't want to have the noblewoman following her, but it was safer than leaving Alexis behind. At least if Helena was around she could attempt to block any ill fortune.

Helena let her instincts lead her, slowly heading down to the second floor. A quick look down the hallway showed nothing amiss. Alexis peered over her shoulder, but the woman probably couldn't see anything in the dark. She continued down to the first floor, lightly stepping on the stairs to avoid any creaking. It was pointless, since Alexis' heavy step was hardly stealthy, but Helena did it anyway.

Reaching the bottom she looked around again and saw nothing. It seemed completely normal. The crickets were still chirping, the moon seemed unchanged. Even the front door looked untouched.

She frowned and began considering what to do, when the faint scent of smoke and rotting meat hit her nose.

Helena rushed down the corridor to Samuels' door. She pounded on the door, then tried the handle cursing as the door remained locked. As she reached into her bag to grab her lock picks, she heard a scream from within, and then the sound of crashing furniture.

As she fumbled around in her pouch Alexis blew past her. A solid kick from the tall woman slammed into the door, splintering the frame and blowing the door open. A sudden flare of light blinded her, but Alexis pressed on into the room. Helena mentally made a note to invest in a door chain as she dispelled her vision enhancement.

The living room was ablaze. Black smoke flowed out of the furnace, as flames covered the table, chairs and window draperies. Mr Samuels was staggering towards the fire with a bucket filled with sand, while Alexis ripped off the drapes and began trying to smother the flames.

Helena considered the blaze for a moment trying to think of a spell that could work, when a cry from the back room cut through her mind. She ran past the two fighting the fire to the bedrooms.

She froze after rounding the corner. Prudence was shaking the two children and calling out to them, but they wouldn't wake up.

Helena's breath seemed to stop, her chest locking up. Her body was frozen. Fear, helplessness, rage, and despair warred within her. She had gotten careless and now someone else was paying the price.

Reality snapped back around her, and there was only desperation now. She ran forward and scooped up Shanon. The young girl struggled weakly, but Helena managed to get the child onto her shoulders. "We need to get them outside," she yelled. Prudence picked up Moses and the two scrambled out into the street, the cool night air washing over them.

Helena carefully put Shanon down on the street. Then she looked over the two kids. They were still unresponsive, and Helena cursed her poor understanding of medicine. "Antitoxin spell won't work. They need pure air to balance their humors." She looked at Prudence. "Keep their airways open. I'll get them help fast."

"Where? There ain't any doctors near here," Prudence near wailed. The woman checked to make sure the kids were breathing all the same. Helena had always admired the Samuels refusal to give in. Now she had to make sure their faith in her wasn't misplaced.

"I'm going to summon one," Helena said, then closed her eyes.

What she was about to do was risky. Some witches swore off this type of spellcasting entirely. But she wasn't going to lose those two kids to some damned second rate curse! She took a deep breath of air then stepped into her own mind.

It was dark in here, and her senses were dulled. She could no longer make out the questions that Prudence was asking, or even the expression on the woman's face. She only knew those things existed somewhere outside her.

Helena could focus on those senses, make them real again, but instead she took another breath. Then exhaled and took another. Savoring the clean crispness of the air. Taking that and molding it into the memories of the clean air of the forest lakes in the spring. Then she moved beyond that, into the realm of pure concepts. Finding the true name of clean air, the air people needed to live. A word formed in her mind and she grabbed hold of it, bending it into something her mind could comprehend.

She had the bait. Now she needed the line.

Opening her eyes she pulled a honeysuckle flower and a sprig of mint from her pouch. She couldn't use blood for this summoning so she grabbed a small wand as well. She crushed the plants to release their essence then smeared it on the wand before flooding it with power.

The wand glowed a bright red as she tapped it on the air, mentally picturing the circle she'd burned into her mind through hours of study and self-hypnosis. Lines of power flowed from the wand constructing the circle before her, shimmering in the dim streets. She took a moment to make sure the circle was closed, before whispering the name she had found.

The circle flashed from red to green, and a rush of the sweetest air Helena had ever breathed in blew over her. It banished the smog and stench of the city leaving only the chill of the night behind. Moses and Shanon both opened their eyes and relaxed as the winds passed over them and Helena felt her own breathing ease.

As the light subsided a three foot tall child dressed in a flowing blue dress with gossamer butterfly wings and light green hair floated above the circle. "A summons from one of the geased children? Did you summon me to play?" The fairy looked around and adjusted her glasses. "Huh, this city's kinda gross. You don't want me to stay here too long right?"

Helena spent a moment to gather her thoughts. "I asked you here to play with some friends of mine. But they swallowed a little too much smoke. So you might have to wait." She gestured to where the two children lay next to their mother, the three of them all staring at the fairy that had appeared.

"Huh?!?" The fairy spun around a few times in the air before stopping to face the children. After she regained her balance the fairy frowned. "Wow! You did swallow some smoke. Why'd you do that? You'll be sick all week if you don't breathe in more oxygen. Here let me fix it. I'll just put you to sleep and put more oxygen in your lungs while getting rid of all that icky stuff. That'll fix everything!"

"Wait-" Helena started but she was too late. The fairy waved her hands at the two children showering them with glowing yellow dust. As soon as the magic hit the kids they fell back asleep instantly, Prudence rushing to keep their heads from hitting the ground.

The fairy smiled proudly. "There! Now we can play in the morning!"

Prudence turned her frown on the fairy. "Warn people before you just send them off to sleep. They could hurt themselves when they fall!"

Surprisingly the fairy flinched away from the rebuke. "Uh, Whoops! Sorry! But it all worked out right?"

Helena stood. "For now. Prudence I'm going to help with the fire. Shanon and Moses should be fine as long as..." She looked at the fairy. "Um, as long as you're nearby. What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Starry Breeze! The smartest fairy in all Wessex!" the girl proudly boasted.

Helena nodded. "Well then, thank you Starry. I'll be back in a flash."

"Mind yourself, Helena," Prudence said. "And bring something for the children when you finish that fire! Don't want them getting a cold on top of all this."

"Right," Helena said as she ran back in.

A crowd had gathered on the stairway as other residents looked down. Helena saw a few buckets being passed along as well. She hurried past them into the room. She didn't need water or sand to extinguish a fire.

When she got in however she saw her aid wasn't needed. A number of neighbors had roused at the noise and helped Mr Samuels and Alexis smother the flames. The group was now standing around stamping out hot spots and assessing the damage. It looked like the blaze had only affected furniture and the paint. A perfect blaze for quietly suffocating a family in their sleep.

Alexis was standing next to Mr Samuels, tears running down her sooty cheeks. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. Because I was here-"

"It ain't your fault, miss," Mr Samuels said dully, but it was obvious the man was barely listening. When he saw Helena he rushed towards her. "Helena. The kids-?"

"Are fine," Helena said. "They'll need to rest, but they should be okay in the morning. Prudence told me to get their bedding, since they'll need to sleep somewhere free of smoke."

Helena's heart twisted as the man nearly broke down. "Thank God. I was so afraid..." He wiped his eyes. "And thank you Helena. If you hadn't noticed something was wrong we might all have passed on. Heck, the whole building owes you. Who knows what would have happened if that fire had continued." Helena felt mildly ill at the rush of praise.

"I didn't do much," Helena said. "The big hero was the fairy I summoned, Starry Breeze. You'll want to thank her."

"I'll do just that then," Mr Samuels grabbed some untouched pillows from the chairs near the kitchens before turning to the residents who'd come to help. "I'm gonna run out and see to my kids. You all check to make sure none of the other houses got their chimneys blocked. If there's something wrong, just give a holler." The four men who were looking over the damage nodded.

Helena nodded as well, then took Alexis' hand and led them to the back room. "We'll be out soon with some bedding. Probably take a couple of trips."

As they moved out of the living room Alexis leaned down and whispered to her, "I thought the charm was supposed to protect others. This is all my fault. They were hurt because of me."

Helena whirled the woman to face her and stared her right in the eyes. "It's not your fault. Yes the curse did do this. But that's not your fault. That's the person who created the curse's fault." Helena's eyes narrowed. "And they're going to pay for it."

Alexis stared at her. "But how? We don't even know who created this curse. In fact we are only guessing about the target of the curse."

"Simple," Helena said as she grabbed some sheets. "We're going to go to your city. We're going to track down their magic." Her eyes narrowed. "And then I'm going to kill them quickly and painfully."