I was halfway across the records room, weaving in and out of patches of Hellfire, when I realized something important.

The list I had was circumstantial evidence that Lord Montague had been researching things the shape-changers desired. The paper he’d given to two of them granting them entry into these Archives? A much more solid piece of evidence.

I turned my attention to my mangled arm first. No healing potions, but I needed something done to it. Staunch the bleeding, repair those strips of flesh. I grabbed them, gritting my teeth in pain, as I forced everything back inside my arm. Focusing on biosculpting, the skin joined back together. It was a quick, messy fix and I could feel the still loose, torn up flesh moving inside with every motion, sending stabs of pain up my arm.

It was still better than leaving it hanging out and risking worse. As the flesh joined back together, I could hear the screams and yells from outside. Discharging firearms and smashing wood.

So, I could rush after the two immediately and join that ongoing melee, or try to escape. Although, had they held onto the paper? Had it even survived? One of them had turned into a wolf and the other has been charred. Had they had the paper before changing? Had they passed it to Martel or Arstel before the fighting had broken out?

I couldn’t remember, but I didn’t need to go hunting yet. There was technically a second person in here with me, even if they could only see through my eyes.

“The shape-changers that were here,” I said to the Imp. “Did they drop a paper?”

There was silence for a few moments, then it spoke.

Yes, one of them had a paper it dropped the first time it turned its arm to a weapon.

A paper imp landed on my shoulder, screeching as it clawed at my upper arm.

I bit back a yelp of pain. Those talons were made of paper but cut like metal. I batted it away with a flaming hand, paper bursting alight. My arm bled, lines carved into my skin and bleeding.

Be careful destroying these imposters, The Imp warned me. They may have incorporated the paper into themselves.

Shite. It was probably right. Which did not bode well since most of them had flown out, harrying the pair of changers.

Five still flew around here, chittering. They kept their distance as the burnt remnants of their comrade fell to the ground, paper blackened.

I grabbed a knife and sighed. This would not be pleasant. From the burning, these imps were as weak as paper, but they hit a lot stronger than it. And my arm and leg weren’t in the best of conditions. And any second a changer or guard could burst in here from the melee.

That meant it was best to do this now. I snapped a finger, and new hellfire shot out, covering the outer edges of the room. There was only one exit, and it funneled towards me. Chittering paper imps dove at me, claws and teeth ready.

It didn’t last long. Paper shredded as I sliced, going for bisecting cuts that would damage the paper as little as possible. A claw caught me once, twice, thrice, and I gritted my teeth as blood traveled down to where my hand gripped the blade. I cut the last one across its throat, and as it exploded into papers, I saw a familiar seal on one of the falling papers. I snatched it from the air, and the sound of a rapidly ringing bell filled the air. Time to leave.

***

Comets flew overhead constantly, and I ducked against a bookshelf every time. Not the best means to hide, but the only one I had. I could only hope they were searching for the Changers and wouldn’t pay any attention to a solitary figure.

The ringing alarm continued, never-ending and masking any footsteps around me. I had to believe that they would all be heading to deal with the changers. I might handle some guards, but not non-lethally. The fallout from what I’d done here would be bad enough without adding killing servants of the crown to it.

I hurried down the bookshelves as fast as I could. Everything ached now, impromptu bandages staunching the flow of blood while muscles shrieked and ached. I’d done my best to retrace my steps, but I couldn’t be sure where I was. In my haste, I almost passed by it, but I found the hole and dove inside.

***

When I emerged on the other side, my forearm hurting from hurriedly healed flesh, Elise Montague hurried over and helped pull me out.

“Why are you an Infernal again?” Elise whispered harshly. “And what did you do? They blocked off access to the second layer entirely and have been guarding every conceivable entrance or exit!”

“Your father blocked off your secret entrance and trapped it,” I snapped back. “And that was just the beginning of reality not matching what you told me about that place. You certainly didn’t mention the giant floating sentinel comets.”

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“Never mind,” I muttered. “I have the records of what your father was researching and the paper he gave allowing two shape-changers to come inside here. They are mostly why they sealed off the second layer.”

Elise froze, her expression turned fearful. “You’re sure of that?”

I passed the paper over. “Look it over yourself. You’re probably a better judge of that seal than I am.”

She snatched it from my hands, her eyes hurriedly scanning it before focusing on the seal at the bottom. Her expression fell.

“Father,” she whispered despondently. “What have you done? This is madness. Why would you even risk attaching your name to this?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Definitely a risk, but if they hadn’t come in while I was getting your father’s records, they would have passed unnoticed,” I said. “The only evidence might have been some dead staff members, but they might have left them alive. Or had a plan to frame someone else. Pure-bloods, more Infernals from the quarter, maybe.”

Elise was silent, still staring at the piece of paper in a white-knuckle grip.

“He’s never-” her breath caught, her voice stopping before she started again. “He’s never gone this far. It’s always minor things. Things that aren’t really crimes. This though, this is…”

Her voice faltered again, and she stared at the paper. I kept a respectful distance, staying quiet and not moving.

I knew some of this, how wrong it could feel to stare betrayal from a family member in the face. Mine had just been at a far younger age and had fallen a lot further down. Then again, was it? I’d had my favorite uncle pull me through the streets by my horns before tossing me into exile from the house I’d known all my life. Her father was allying with creatures that days beforehand had almost killed every member of her family.

After enough time had passed that I felt she’d considered the implications enough and the desire to give her time warred with reality, I clopped back over to where she sat.

I cleared my throat. “Not to sound insensitive, but we need to get out of here. Preferably without me getting captured by the guards.”

“Right,” she muttered, shaking her head slightly. “Why are you an Infernal? I thought the Biosculpting would last longer than this?”

“It’s supposed to,” I said. “However, it seems your father knows of your secret entrance. I had to rot my way through a bookshelf, and since I didn’t want the run-off causing any chaos, instead it reversed my disguise.”

And might have done a little more than that, but I would not discuss details like that with a near-stranger.

“They’re going to inspect anyone leaving,” Elise said, eyes narrowing as she thought. “Hiding what you are isn’t something that would be easy. You can’t biosculpt back to your disguise?

I shook my head. “Even if I had the same reference I used when I created it, it would take hours of work to put into place. It took me a whole day to create, and we don’t have that time. How have you kept any curious staff from asking where I am?”

“They haven’t been inside. When you’re the daughter of the man who pays their wages, they respect your wishes a little more. Especially when those wages are so meager to begin with. So they’ve mostly just accepted my word you’re still in here, deep in research.”

That…was not very believable, but starting an argument over that wouldn’t help either of us. What mattered was that it wouldn’t look too strange if Petroula Xides reappeared. The issue was making me look like Petroula again.

“Maybe you could kidnap me?” Elisa said.

“I…what?” Any potential train of thought broken, I looked at the young noblewoman. “Kidnap you?”

“You broke into the archives to abduct me?” The young noblewoman suggested, looking at the door. “Came in, killed Petroula, then break out threatening to kill anyone who got in your way?”

What fresh flavor of insanity was this? “And why would I break into here to abduct you?”

Elise looked up at the ceiling, cheeks coloring slightly before lowering her gaze to mine. “Money. Revenge. Perhaps some motivation romantically inclined?”

I coughed lightly, suddenly aware of how I was suddenly treading on very fragile ice. “Not that I don’t dislike the idea, but this seems a rather sudden and dramatic leap to make.”

“It is,” Elise admitted. “Do you have a better idea?”

Phrasing it like we should go through with it if I didn’t have an immediate answer did not do my brain any favors for this. Why was Elise Montague trying to draw me into what sounded like a long-harbored fantasy?

“I can’t biosculpt myself back into Petroula,” I said. “I can biosculpt myself to appear…well more human, although it will not be a perfect job. The changes will literally be skin-deep. A lot of the more involved alterations would take too long. I think I can do enough of a job to pass casual observation. With the chaos in the other layers, the observation might not stop at casual. We can play it by ear.”

Elise sighed, although whether from dissatisfaction with my plan or that we would not go for the ‘Malvia kidnaps me for romance’ idea, I did not know.

“I suppose that is a better idea,” she admitted.

“It is,” I said, and as the silence after that statement grew, to relieve the tension, I added to that. “A motivation that is ‘romantically inclined’?”

Elise groaned, putting her head in her hands. “I don’t have a lot of funds from the family, but I can promise you a few months if you forget I ever said those words.”

I smiled slightly, sitting down next to the noblewoman. “As someone who, as you said, goes into conniptions over the idea of being kissed, I will not judge you over suffering the same affliction. I am a little curious about what brought it on, though?”

She groaned again, trying to shrink in on herself before finally answering.

“The situation, sneaking around these archives, going on an adventure to uncover some conspiracy, I never imagined I’d be able to take part in something like that,” Elise said, before groaning once more. “Oh Tarver, this will sound so stupid. I read, still read, books like that all the time, and living one out…I lost myself, okay? There’s always some dashing hero or heroine, sometimes even a bandit or criminal, just waiting to bring th-”

Her voice faltered as she trailed off. I smiled slightly.

“I read those books too,” I admitted. “Although I’m more a fan of the romances, but I get the appeal.”

She returned my smile before suddenly stiffening slightly. “Wait, is that the reason you are on pins and needles with everything involving Gregory all the time?”

My smile vanished and suddenly I wish I was the one disappearing. I’d said too much.

“It..I…”

Elise snorted, trying to restrain laughs as a smile appeared on her face. “I’m sorry, you’ve cast my brother as the dashing stranger in a romance novel where you are the protagonist?”

You know, if she kept talking, we wouldn’t need to disguise me. I’d be shrunken to a tiny height out of embarrassment by the end of this.

“It’s superb casting,” she said, lips quirking. “I can see why you did it. Still, it’s a little hard to reconcile that image with my brother. But it makes things fall more into place. You’ve been trying to arrange scenes with him from the moment you two met, haven’t you?”

“I have not!” I insisted, cheeks reddening. “You read far too much into what happened.”

“Sure,” she replied, the smile turning into a smug grin. “I’ve read far too much into you, deliberately getting him into a corner and practically cheering on the idea of him making out with you.”

“Have mercy,” I muttered. “Please, just shoot me.”

She chuckled. “Well, I don’t have a gun, and I’ve never fired one before, so I think that’s a bit out of the question. I tell you what, you don’t tell anyone I suggested you kidnap me and run off into the horizon together, I won’t tell anyone the big bad diabolist is busy trying to get my black sheep of a brother to lock lips with her?”

“Deal,” I said hurriedly, before a thought hit me. “Although, if you could put a good word in, perhaps? To your brother? Without making it clear it was from me?”

“Only if you promise to do the same in the future if the chance ever arises,” Elise replied.

“I don’t think you’ll get much out of that,” I admitted. “Diabolist criminal counteracts any good words I could say to someone about you.”

“Still, it’s a fair trade. But we need to get out first. You said you could disguise yourself?”

“To a degree,” I said. “I can force the horns somewhere else, force the outermost layer of skin to change color. The rest though….a long skirt will have to serve for the legs. We’ll need to bundle up my tail as well. The fangs….I’ll not open my mouth. The scales will hopefully be hidden by layering on the color. Ear….hair. I prefer wearing it back but forward a little should do. For the nails, hands in the pockets. The rest…I’ll think of something. I will need your help with this.”

“I promise not to take advantage,” Elise said, face gone solemn.

That had not been on my mind till now. No matter. I should focus instead on the real issue.

I could make what adjustments I wanted, but there was no conceivable way this would pass muster against an actual inspection. Time to prepare for when the disguise failed.