Rin held her breath and waited for the soldiers to pass. Only once the sight of their muskets and the clanging sound of their armor truly disappeared did she dare dart out across the streets and into the back alley. As soon as the cellar access was unlocked, she lifted the door just enough to squeeze in, wincing at the noise it made. With the pale dim illumination of the thresh-light she found her way to the circle embedded in the floor. The stone was hard and gritty beneath her knees, but cool and welcoming to her fingertips as she placed her hands into the grooves and forced all her energy into the spell formation.
The floor glowed with an ever shifting pattern of translucent colors, turning the stone walls of the small cellar into a hypnotic mosaic of moving blocks. The specks of dust hanging in the air lit up as if hit by rays of sunlight through an open window. It gave Rin a feeling of eerie peace as for just the briefest of moments, sound ceased to exist.
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A thick and hazy red mist emanated from the runes in the floor, creeping in twisting patterns toward the center of the circle. The dust particles started glowing white hot and joined the miasma of the roiling energy, a maelstrom of shifting colors, from red to scarlet to black. Then to something else entirely. The scent of rotten eggs filled the room, then it was over. Sound returned to normal. The runes on the floor died down to a gentle glowing green for a few moments before winking out completely. Rin stared at the beautiful demon in the pale light. Illiesku grinned.
“Rise Rin. And do tell me what the situation is like.”
Rin pushed her tired body up off her knees and met the demoness’ gaze. “Lianzhen is on lockdown. The lord ordered the garrison to patrol the streets.”
Illiesku nodded. “Hmm, that was a possibility. And the hunter?”
“Uh, dead. I think.”
“Excellent.” The demoness wrapped Rin in her warm naked embrace. “We will need to wait a short while, but I believe we can start on phase two.”