“What exactly do you mean by complete loyalty?” Asked Shale. “I’ve never had any formal magic classes, you know. Lightening, balls of fire, magic force-fields, they’re all new, and terrifying! Frankly, I can’t say I like the idea of a life-blood contract. It sounds.. Sinister.”

Valerie looked up toward the dusty ceiling. She watched the shadows dance across the stones for a few moments, and then looked back down toward Shale with a sigh.

“A life-blood contract is no magic trick, it is pure magery. The life-blood contract is an honourable tradition, usually reserved for negotiations between noble houses, royal treatises and ceremonies of joining. Participants honour the terms of the contract to the best of their abilities, or they break their word, and die, myself included. It is not sinister, it is sacred.”

Shale scrunched up his nose, squinted and said, “Ceremonies of joining?”

Valerie rolled her eyes. He appeared to have a knack for digging into the frivolous.

“Yes, the joining of two individuals and their families. When the two become the one.”

He raised his eyebrows. “And you wish for me to enter this contract with you Despite its eminence? Despite the danger to yourself?”

“Yes. But do not mistake my intentions, the terms of this contract will not favour you. I will have control of your destiny. Your life will be mine to command, however brief it may be. But in return, you will have my complete faith, and I will be bound to do you justice.”

Shale twitched, and Valerie observed his right hand grip the stone floor behind him. The cracked, stone floor.

“That’s hardly fair Lieutenant General Valerie.” He swallowed, took a few stuttered breaths and whispered hoarsely, “Why should I be chained to this place, alongside you, to die?”

Valerie blinked in surprise, and reappraised the young man. That was not the voice of an imposter. He spoke as a lost man, a man who did not understand the place he was in, or the threat that he posed.

She softened her gaze, and told him, to the best of her ability, the truth. “As it stands, Shale Kadran, nobody trusts you. In our eyes, you are either an Arch Revenant, a demon who would squish the lot of us like bugs if you escaped from this cage. Or, you are the doomed descendant of reprehensible criminals, traitors of Palir, fated to a life of indentured servitude. It matters not that you sit before me now, as naive and inexperienced as a child. Your history, true or false, has already condemned you to an existence here. But, I wish to give you a chance.”

Valerie grabbed her lamp and pushed off the cold, stone floor. “Either you rise to the occasion, and come with me willingly, and I will do my best, to make the most of your talents. And maybe, one day, we shall all leave this place, as celebrated heroes. Or, you may remain here, and you shall never have my faith, or my respect.”

Valerie lowered her voice and gazed directly into Shale’s blazing eyes. “Then, months later, once you’ve either succumbed or endured your imprisonment, you will return to the Blight-Burners. There, you will spend your time with the rest of the marked men, combing through the Wastelands for fertile land, until you drop dead of exhaustion, or perhaps a Sunken might cleave through your atrophied metal skin and pull you beneath the earth to suffocate and die.”

She nodded to the prisoner, turned and left.

“I will leave you now to think through your decision.” She called out to him. “I will return tomorrow to hear your answer.”

Shale remained still, looking down into his lap in deep thought as Valerie’s soft purple lamplight drifted into the distance to be swallowed by the pitch dark.

Valerie shivered as she shuffled back toward her room. As she flexed her hands and eased the blood back into her fingers a slight breeze brushed against her left shoulder.

Valerie lurched to the right in surprise. Her hand was already wrapped around her dagger by the time she spotted the veiled head of Sular materialise from the shadows. The strange woman placed her hand firmly on Valerie’s shoulder until Valerie released her hand from her dagger.

“Dammit Sular,” Hissed Valerie, “don’t approach me like that!”

Sular nodded her head, and reached out to turn the dial on Valerie’s lamp. Valerie flinched as the stark violet light scattered throughout the corridor.

“Apologies my Lady,” said Sular. Her voice carried clearly, but it was quieter than a whisper.

Valerie grumbled, “I told you not to call me that Sular.”

“I regret that it is against your wishes my Lady, but you must know as a Servant of Nyhil, I hold the utmost respect and esteem for the Thornblood family. I could not simply ignore your status in favour of some petty, military station.” Her tone was neutral, but a certain level of contempt carried through the lingering silence following her words.

“Of course, I should have known.”

Valerie turned to face the Sular and was met with her usual thick veil and plain grey robe. Only the shade of grey she wore was different at this time of night. It was almost indistinguishable from the inky blackness of the void around them.

“Very well, what do you have to report? What of our young student visitors?”

“It was just as you anticipated, with little deviation. The brash pair, Erik Willowcrest and Seraphina Thindred appeared to visit the prisoner first. They did not hold you in very high regard my Lady. Nor did they favour the Bastion’s long term prospects.”

Valerie snorted. “Well, I’ll be sure to keep their feedback in mind.”

Sular’s shrouded head fixed on Valerie for a few moments before she nodded and said, “Of course, my Lady.”

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Valerie frowned and Sular continued. “They were quick to present the prisoner with an offer. His freedom, two nights from now, in return for goodwill, favour, and most likely acceptance into one of their respective houses. They appeared to rate his talents very highly. Though I must confess, I cannot see why.”

Valerie blinked, “You cannot? How so?”

Sular shrugged and answered, “He is unpredictable.”

Valerie waited for anything more, but Sular remained silent. Valerie coughed, and then asked, “How did Shale respond?”

“The prisoner was intrigued by the student’s offer, but demonstrated some hesitancy. At several instances, he was noticeably discouraged by the couple’s haphazard attacks on your character.”

“That sounds good,” brightened Valerie.

“After your discussion with the man however, I would not rely on that goodwill to persist. I emphasise, he kept his options open with the agitators, I would estimate the chances of him attempting to escape, if given the chance, at 80% likely.”

Valerie shrank. “That high?”

“Unless your words were considerably more persuasive than I credited you for, I would say so. But of course, I am simply a Servant of Nyhil, I cannot speak for the minds of renegade prisoners.”

“Naturally.” Valerie said dryly.

“The pair’s offer was cut short however, when Lyra Frost discovered them and shepherded them back toward their rooms. She played no part in their scheme, but provided she does not step forward tomorrow and confess, she appears to be complicit in their subterfuge.”

“Interesting,” Valerie whispered to herself. “I should have known Lyra would try to keep them out of trouble.” She faced Sular’s blank head and tried to peer through the dark veil as she asked, “Do you predict they will commit to the plan, despite Lyra’s intrusion?”

“Almost certainly,” She answered. “They possess very little respect for their classmate. In fact, I suspect that young Lyra’s opposition may encourage and embolden them.”

“I’m afraid you’re right, they are persistently stubborn.” Valerie sighed and gave a wan smile. “I suppose we’ll have to leave them to it then.”

“What?” Sular blurted out, with uncharacteristic abandon.

“I said, we will have to leave the students alone, Sular.”

Sular’s hands trembled slightly by her sides, but her voice came out calm and even tempered once again, “Given what we know of their intentions, it is imperative they be detained and separated from the prisoner, Kadran, as soon as possible. They must return home without inciting dissent.”

Valerie grinned. “I’m afraid I have other ideas for our young troublemakers, Sular. There are far better uses for their crafty, traitorous minds than simply tossing them away. But let us not worry about that for now, I have other matters to attend to.”

Valerie turned to walk away, but as she took her first step, Sular reached forward and snatched Valerie’s left hand. The force of her lunge rooted Valerie to the spot. Eyes wide and teeth flashing, Valerie snapped back toward the Servant of Nyhil with a snarl. Her bioluminescent lamp came with her, swinging toward Sular’s head in a blur of instinctive fury.

“What do-” She roared, but Sular intervened and batted the lamp away with a carefree swipe of her palm.

Valerie lost her grip on the lamp and it smashed into the adjacent wall.

Luminous violet fluid exploded out from the stones with a sharp crunch followed by a dozen wet thuds as the innards rained across the ground.

Sular didn’t flinch. “I have more to report, my Lady. Regarding your recent proposition to the prisoner.” She spoke impassionately, her blank face fixed on Valerie’s.

Valerie snatched her hand back from the grey lady. “My ‘proposition’, is not your concern Sular,” she growled through grit teeth.

“You are incorrect.” Sular calmly informed Valerie. “Your wellbeing and the security of the Bastion are my concern.”

The soft scattered light streaming up from the ground illuminated Valerie’s scowling face. Her temple bulged noticeably and her knuckles flashed white, but Sular paid it no mind.

She continued, “It is my duty to inform you that the Shale Kadran is untrustworthy, dangerous, unstable and almost certainly a revenant. I strongly suggest you do not sign a lifeblood contract with them.”

“Do you have evidence to support your assertion?” Rasped Valerie, her body still poised to leap at Sular.

“That is correct.”

Valerie threw Sular a vicious stare, but the effect was far from cathartic. Nothing passed through Sular’s veil. Not eyes nor words.

With great conscious effort, Valerie unclenched her jaw and slowly spoke, “If there is something important you have observed, inform me. But you do not- you will not place your hands on me again! Or I will bring a permanent stop to it. Do you understand me, Servant of Nyhil?”

Sular’s shoulders sank a little. “Perfectly,” she said. “It will not happen again.”

Valerie released a huge breath of air, strode over to the bare, unmarked wall and leant against it. She maintained her gaze on the grey lady and prompted her to talk with a wave of the hand.

“Do you wish for me to continue my report?” Asked Sular.

“Yes!” Snapped Valerie.

“Thank you. My Lady.” Said Sular. “Three hours ago, I witnessed the prisoner, Shale Kadran, speaking to that which is no longer here. A shroud of mist had engulfed the room and he appeared to perceive spirits occupying the room.”

“Spirits?”

“It is my belief that he was attempting to deceive them. From what I was able to infer from his brief, one-sided comments, the dead were jealous of his achievement - of his reanimation. The prisoner was dismissive, and proclaimed innocence to the empty air. The shroud quickly lifted following his supposed ignorance.”

“What do you base his deception on? How did he attempt to fool these apparitions Sular? Did he claim to have lost his memories?” Enquired Valerie, her last question came out as a gasp.

“He did not feign amnesia as he did with us. For his spectres, he made vague allusions regarding a distant origin of his. Somewhere, not of this place.” Answered Sular pointedly.

Valerie shut her eyes and crossed her arms. Silently she evaluated the credibility of Sular’s claim. Once more, greater doubt was cast on Shale’s forgetful story. Once more, it appeared he possessed abilities and power far greater than he had ever let on. Once more, it appeared increasingly unlikely that the young man - the boy she first years ago, had truly survived. The circumstantial evidence was damning. But her own read of the man, had told a completely different story.

Valerie absentmindedly flexed her fingers in a rhythmic wave as she thought, a phantom Thornblood crest toppled neatly across her hand in her mind. She could feel the cold metal dancing on her skin, despite the real emblem sitting alone on her desk halfway across the stronghold. A rippling calm washed over Valerie’s mind, pushing aside the doubts, unearthing the bedrock at the bottom of the shore - her instinct.

Valerie looked up to Sular, who was still standing still in the exact place she’d first appeared.

“Sular, clean up this mess right away, and then return to your post.” She commanded. “I will inform you of any changes should the need arise. Volatile Matter collection will remain on hold tomorrow.”

Sular lingered, her vague, undefined head fixed on Valerie.

“That will be all Sular.”

“Understood, my Lady.” Her head froze for a few moments but soon turned to face the mess beside her. “I shall begin as soon as you vacate the area. Please, take my personal more-lamp,” Sular retrieved a miniature bioluminescent lamp from nowhere, returned to face Valerie and presented it to her with a gloved hand.

Valerie stared incredulously at the woman, and begrudgingly accepted the offering.

“Goodnight Sular.” She mumbled and walked away.

It took every effort of hers not to glance back at the Servant of Nyhil behind her. Her neck burned as her feet slapped the stones in the dark.