“How many shops are you going to drag me into?” Alistair asked with a beleaguered sigh, as Liliana practically skipped next to him.
“We have to get the kids’ gifts, Alistair. So we’ll go to as many shops as is necessary to get the perfect ones,” Liliana informed her brother, perking up when she spotted a jewelry store. “Clover would love something pretty to wear,” she stated, grabbing his arm to pull him into the store.
“Can’t you just get them toys or something?” Alistair groaned, but he let her drag him into that store, and the one after it, and the one after that.
For a shopping trip, Liliana bought little. She spent more time enthusing over the different things she saw, or picking apart the flaws in the items until the employees in the stores gave them dark looks that told Alistair it was time to drag his sister away before they got thrown out. Liliana wouldn’t admit she was slightly obsessed with getting the ideal gifts for the children who had crawled into her heart and made themselves at home. It was the first birthday they’d ever been able to celebrate. The gifts had to be perfect.
“We should stop by a weapon store next. I want to get the kids some weapons for leveling.” Liliana told her brother after they’d left a spice store where Alistair had ended up having a sneezing fit after Liliana shoved a bottle of spices under his nose to smell.
“I’d be happy if you just bought something,” Alistair groaned, rubbing at his puffy nose and shooting his sister half hearted glares.
“It’s got to be-“ Liliana started.
“Perfect. Yes, you’ve said that about ten times now, Lili. I think the kids will be happy with anything you buy them. They idolize you.” Alistair said, ruffling her hair despite her attempts to dodge the gesture.
“Jerk,” Liliana stuck her tongue out at her brother as she smoothed her ruffled hair. Her gaze wandered the shopping district in the capital, far more sprawling than Ravencross and many times more crowded. Her eyes caught on a familiar figure, and her face broke into a wide grin.
“Is that Diana?” she asked her brother.
“Looks like it is.” Alistair agreed once he noticed their classmate sitting at a cafe. Liliana looked at her brother, who seemed rather exhausted from the shopping trip.
“Why don’t you go eat with her? I’ll stop by the weapon shop and catch up with you,” Liliana offered. Alistair looked at her, eyebrows raised, and she smiled at him, pushing him in the direction of the other girl.
“Go on, I’ll be fine.” Liliana urged him and Alistair finally relented, walking off to greet their friend, while Liliana waved at the two before rejoining the flow of people making their way through the district.
It was the first time she’d been shopping, in any life, on her own. In her past life before the hospital, she’d always gone with her parents, for she’d been too young to go alone. In this life, she’d always had guards following her around, being sure she didn’t get kidnapped. But Silvergate was the capital, and far safer than Ravencross. There were city guard patrols walking the streets constantly, with additional guards posted at regular intervals. It was midday. The biggest danger to Liliana was pickpockets. She had Polaris with her in his soul stone. She was as safe as she could be.
Still, Liliana rubbed her arms, unused to being out in the open alone anywhere that wasn’t the Academy. Her steps picked up and she let out a small breath of relief when she got to the weapons store she’d seen and marked as a place to look at since they’d started this adventure. The Iron Sword declared the name of the shop from a sign hanging over the door. Slipping in to the sound of cheery bells, Liliana took a moment to take a breath of the familiar scent of metal, leather and oil.
Weapons filled every corner of the store. Swords in racks, bows of every kind on the walls, staffs, spears, halberds, daggers, they all covered the walls and shelves in the store. Liliana felt a draconian greed fill her as she drifted to the display of daggers. She picked up one with a serrated blade and held it in her hand, testing the weight. She set it down to try out another.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” a voice called out, and Liliana turned to see a thin whip of a man standing behind her. A quick [Identify] told her his name was Harold Forger.
“Ah, yes.” Liliana said, flushing slightly as she set down the bone dagger she’d picked up carefully. “I’m looking for a sword for a newly Awakened boy. He’s 10, about this tall,” Liliana motioned to her midriff, “and a bow for a girl about the same height, also newly Awakened, same age.” Liliana explained.
“Beastmen?” Harold asked, moving towards the sword display.
“Yea, how did you know?” Liliana asked as the man as she followed him.
“They’re the only race that Awakens at ten. We get a fairly diverse range of customers in Silvergate, more so than other territories.” Harold explained as he started to pull out weapons. “What are their lineages, do you know?” he asked.
“Ah, the boy, his lineage is Silver Tipped Ghost Cat. The girl, hers is Raindeer.” Liliana answered easily, information she’d gotten the day before when the children had happily informed her of it after getting access to their Systems.
“He’ll stay pretty slight then, so something light for him. The girl will probably end up taller than him. Raindeer are fairly robust creatures.” Harold said as he picked out a slim sword and moved to the bows, picking out a simple but elegant recurve made of a light wood.
“This has a forty-pound draw weight. It might be a bit much for her at first, but she should grow into it quickly.” Harold explained, and he picked out another recurve, this one dark wood, “this has a twenty-five-pound draw weight. She should start with this and move on once the draw gets easy for her. She’ll likely need a stronger draw before too long, so be sure to visit us again once she outgrows these two.” He elaborated as he moved on, picking out a quiver and grabbing a few bundles of arrows. He grabbed several bowstrings, a sheath for the sword, a case for the bow, cleaning and care kits for the weapons before he set the growing haul on the counter for her.
“Is there anything you want for yourself?” Harold asked her, looking pointedly at the daggers.
“No, I’m in the Academy. Can’t use weapons I buy outside of it.” Liliana said with a wistful sigh. She would’ve loved a chance to get some more weapons for herself. No matter how many she already had, there was no such thing as having too many.
“Shame that, maybe you could get a dagger for the two kids, though? It’s always good to have a second weapon.” Harold tried and Liliana smiled.
She knew he was trying to get a good sale out of her, but she didn’t mind. It wasn’t like she was burning through her own money, and she’d have to buy out every store in the shopping district before she even put a noticeable dent in the Rosengarde treasury.
“That’s not a bad idea,” she said and Harold smiled genially at her and lead her through, picking out two daggers for the children.
Liliana did go for something a bit more ornate, but still usable, for Clover and something utilitarian for Flint. The counter was covered in weapons and supplies by the time they were done. Liliana didn’t bother wondering how Harold knew she could afford it. Even in the capital, the name Rosengarde was well known. She handed over a check for the cost and stored the children’s gifts in her storage.
Liliana waved to Harold as she left, checking the time and blanching when she realized she’d spent over an hour in the weapons store. Alistair was likely to organize a search party for her if she didn’t find him quickly. Liliana hurried through the throngs of people, not paying much attention to anyone as she moved.
Perhaps her lack of attention was why she didn't notice the shadow following her. Perhaps it was because she was excited at finally finding gifts for the children. Or maybe she’d grown lazy, being in the Academy for months, where it was safe.
Whatever the reason Liliana didn’t notice she was being followed, suspected nothing was wrong until a hand grabbed her and threw her into an alleyway in a move so smooth and swift she barely had time to realize she’d been grabbed before a knife was pressed to her throat.
“What-“ Liliana started, fear and adrenaline pumping through her once she realized what had happened.
Someone was standing in front of her, a male by his figure, but his face was obscured by a deep hood filled with shadows that could only be magical in nature. [Identify] told her nothing. She hardly expected it to. Someone going through so much effort to hide his face wouldn’t make such a rudimentary mistake as letting himself be identified. Liliana’s mind worked overtime to catalogue what she could of the man with her easiest manner of gathering information barred from her.
Broad shoulders, taller than her, perhaps an inch shorter than Alistair. His musculature was hidden by his clothes, baggy enough to disguise much of his body. Strong enough that Liliana knew she wasn’t going to break free of his grasp, and fast enough to snatch her off a crowded street without anyone presumably noticing, judging by the lack of shouting guards storming the alley.
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“Scream and I’ll slit your throat before anyone gets to you.” A voice rasped out at her.
Liliana froze, her mouth half opened, prepared to do just that when the knife bit down, hard enough that she felt a sharp surge of pain and then the wet heat of blood trickling over her skin. Liliana’s eyes flitted between the man before her and the alleyway entrance, half obscured by boxes. No one could see her, no one would come unless she screamed. But her Health regen and [Regeneration] wouldn’t save her from a slit throat.
Should’ve put more points in Vitality, shit. Liliana thought as she felt her heartbeat speed up, thundering against her ribcage, begging her to run or fight, to do anything but stay against this rough brick wall with a knife pressed to her throat.
“You’re going to regret this.” Liliana got out, swallowing harshly against the feeling of a knife at her throat.
Her hands twitched around empty air, grasping for a weapon she didn’t have, and she barely held back a whimper as the knife dug deeper. She could feel blood staining her top now, the bleeding icon flashing in her peripherals as if it was mocking her.
“Ah ah ah, don’t try to grab anything, you’re not faster than me.” The man told her, and though she couldn’t see it, she could hear the satisfied smirk in his voice. Liliana forced her body to freeze. She couldn’t reach her summoning stone like this, couldn’t summon a weapon before she’d be dead.
If he wanted me dead, he’d have done it. He wants something. Liliana thought, mind moving at a breakneck pace trying to find a way out of this.
“What do you want? Money? You have to be desperate to grab me in broad daylight. My brother is going to be looking for me. He’ll call the guards if he doesn’t see me soon, then you’ll have half the guards in the city after you.” Liliana was rambling. She knew that. But she needed time, time to think of a way out of this that didn’t end with her bleeding out in an alleyway.
“I have enough time for what I need to do.” The man told her, leaning close enough she could smell his breath, rancid, rotten, foul enough to make her gag, the knife digging in as she tried to resist throwing up and slicing her own neck open on his knife.
“Well, don’t hold me in suspense. And please, don’t breathe on me. Soap exists, you know.” Liliana choked out, trying to not cough on the man’s stench. It wasn’t just his breath that stunk, it was the man himself. Had he been rolling around in a pile of decomposing corpses and taking baths in the sewers?
“Sassy. You should learn some manners before someone guts you for that mouth,” the man taunted, and Liliana blinked watering eyes.
“I’ll take it under advisement.” Liliana spat out. She wasn’t about to take decorum advice from a man who smelled like a dumpster and apparently liked grabbing young women and holding them at knifepoint in alleyways.
“I’m here as a messenger. You wronged someone you could never stand against.” The man whispered into her ear and Liliana fought hard against the instinctual response to get away from this man and his nauseating scent.
“Did Zir’elon send you?” Liliana gagged out. She’d skin the prince if he did this, Academy rules and Cista laws be damned. This was too far.
“Make a lot of enemies, do you?” The man taunted, and Liliana barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Were kidnappers normally this chatty? Better than him slitting her throat, but with how his stench was making her stomach roil, she was contemplating if that wasn’t the better choice at this point.
“It’s my favorite hobby.” Liliana hissed at the man with a glare.
“Hah, no. Someone far more powerful, far older. He doesn’t like it when his tools get minds of their own.” The man spat at her, his earlier teasing tone replaced with a cold, deadly timbre that sent shivers racing down Liliana’s spine. That was the voice of a killer.
“Once you’re his, you don’t get free. You made a pact and broke it, and he wants his due.” The man continued, his voice taking on a deeper tone, sounding almost like two voices layered on top of each other. Liliana felt as if she’d been dropped into an icy lake, a frigid chill filling her veins as her heart paused in her chest before redoubling its efforts to escape.
“You’re his. Always were. Always will be and he’ll be coming back to find his wayward pet soon enough,” the man’s inhuman voice crooned and Liliana pressed herself further into the wall, to get away from the man, his voice, his smell, everything about him.
It wasn’t possible. She had gotten away. She had buried that pendant somewhere even she could never find. There was no way this man was implying what he was, but… the voice. The words. Liliana knew, with a certainty that stole her breath and made her knees almost buckle under her, that it was real. She had never truly escaped.
“Lili?” a voice called out.
Hope bloomed in her chest before fear overtook it. She didn’t want this man, this thing, anywhere near her brother. She’d been praying to be found seconds before. Now she was hoping with everything fiber of her being that her brother wouldn’t find her.
“Maybe we’ll need to remove your pesky ties to remind you who you should owe your loyalty to.” The man was grinning. She could feel it. Fear and anger twisted together in her chest until the feeling overwhelmed her.
“Leave him alone.” Liliana spat out, hands flexing with the urge for a weapon to sink into this man.
“You lost the privilege to request things when you refused the offer given to you, Liliana Rosengarde. The time for niceties is over. You obviously need a far more permanent reminder of who you belong to.” The voice chuckled in her ear, the knife biting deeper, blood pouring down her neck, soaking her shirt. She felt her vision get dark around the edges as her Health trickled lower with each drop of blood she lost in this dingy alleyway.
“Remember what it’s like to be weak, because that’s all you’ll ever be without my help, little Liliana. I’ll take everything you love from you until you have nothing left but me.” The voice, that cursed voice that haunted many of her nightmares still, flooded her ears and drained the fight from her as surely as that knife was draining the blood from her body.
With one last bite of the knife, the man stepped back, fading into the shadows before she could summon a weapon or take in another breath, leaving her alone in the alleyway, hands grasping at her neck that was still pouring blood. Liliana sank to her knees, her legs giving out as fear slammed into her in a relentless and drowning tide. She activated [Regeneration], taking in short, panicked breaths as one hand scrambled for her summoning stone.
“Blood!” Polaris’ voice cried out as soon as he appeared.
“Who did this? Lili?” he demanded, hackles raised and fangs bared as he searched for a threat that was gone, or supposedly gone. Polaris crowded her, wings extended as he pressed into her, offering comfort while his eyes scanned the alleyway.
“Him.” Liliana shoved the memories at Polaris, and she felt the fear shake through her Bond.
Polaris and Lelantos knew best perhaps what she’d just faced. What wanted her back. What she’d tried so hard to run away from, what she’d thought was dealt with and over, foolish a thought it had been. Fate wasn’t done trying to right itself yet, it seemed.
“Lili?” her brother’s voice called out, louder now, but Liliana couldn’t get herself to talk.
Her mouth was frozen shut from the fear that was making her vision swim. Or was that the blood loss? Polaris called out to Alistair for her, summoning her brother, who entered the alleyway, face going from confused to concerned as soon as he spotted her, curled up on the dirty ground, covered in blood that her throat was still steadily leaking.
“Lili! What happened? Who did this to you?” Alistair demanded, as he fell to his knees before her and gathered her shaking body into his arms.
“Liliana?” a voice called out seconds before Diana walked into the alleyway, following Alistair. A scream ripped from the girl when she took in the disturbing sight: Liliana soaked in blood, wrapped in Alistair’s arms, her brother streaked with her blood from where he’d grabbed onto her. Liliana knew it looked like a murder scene and she didn’t blame the girl for her scream.
“Get the guards!” Alistair barked out to Diana, who looked seconds from fainting.
Diana bolted out of the alleyway, screaming for help as Alistair pulled her closer to him. His hands filled with potions that he pressed into her hands, forcing her to drink them when her hands wouldn’t grip them, filling her up on potions until the bleeding stopped, even if the trembling didn’t. She hadn’t realized she was shaking until her brother grabbed her wildly quaking hands in his own, nor did she realize how cold she was until the heat of his skin scalded her frozen hands. As if her fear had truly filled her with ice.
“Lili? What happened?” Alistair asked. Liliana could only shake her head, words still refusing to leave her lips, her mind a whirlwind of turmoil.
How could this happen? Polaris had hidden the necklace. There was no way someone could get to it, even if they found where he’d hidden it. It was locked, soulbound. Only she could open it. So how had that thing found her? It couldn’t be the entitiy’s true body, it had to be someone else it was controlling. But how?
Were there more pendants? More cursed items in the world, just waiting for someone to stumble upon them, to get trapped in its thrall? If there were, how many were there? And why wouldn’t that thing leave her alone?
Liliana was shaking. No matter how tightly her brother held her, no matter how many blankets the guards piled on her when they found her and escorted her to their offices to get her statement, a bone-deep chill had invaded her body. Because if that thing still wanted her, was still looking for her, she couldn’t imagine anything that could stand up against it.
She remembered the taste of power it had given her, how she could’ve leveled an entire manor with the bit of power it had given her. Who could stand against that, if it had more people under its thrall, with access to that power?
Lilian gave the guards what information she had on the man. Which wasn’t much, she couldn’t [Identify] him, couldn’t see his face. But she gave what little she had gleaned of his figure, noting how awfully he smelt, as that had stuck out to her the most, even in her panicked state of mind.
She couldn’t tell them about the entity. How would she even explain that? She’d never seen anything in the books she’d read in this world about possession, or entities that possessed through artifacts. She’d researched, looked everywhere she could for information on what had happened to her, and come up with nothing. Even in a world of magic and myth, there were some things that were still too strange, too impossible for most to believe.
If she told them of the entity, they’d think she’d gone mad. So Liliana told them what she could, and she accepted their assurances that the guards would find the culprit, knowing it was false promises. Hoping the guards didn’t find him, knowing none of them would be able to stand against him.
Liliana let her brother and Silas, who Alistair had sent a messenger to as soon as the guards came, guide her back to the house they were staying in. Let them fill her with hot soups and cover her in more blankets, let them fuss with her. But it was all useless, because a chill of fear had taken root, winding its thorny tendrils through her body.
And for the first time since she’d come to this world, Liliana had no idea what to do to fight an enemy. Had no plans, nothing but an icy dread resting in her chest.