«Shit! She woke up!» Anker exclaimed, already imagining the metamorphosis of the fearsome bird unfolding before his eyes.

«Actually, I woke up a while ago,» Coronice replied, yawning. Her mellifluous feminine voice further rattled Anker’s nerves. Then she added,«“Couldn’t you at least get a sheet to cover me?»

Viryl helped her sit up and stated, «We were pretty short on time to think about how to cover you, boy.»

Coronice fixed her indigo eyes on Viryl’s and protested firmly, «I would appreciate it if you did not use male terms with me, Viryl from Zelfiria.»

«I use what the fucking ever I want, young man. You are in no position to make demands!» Viryl retorted harshly.

«Oh, she is in the position of decapitating us with her God damned beak anytime!» Anker said nervously.

«You’re absolutely right, Anker of the Black Moon. Boo!» Coronice replied with a funny face. Then she burst into a loud laugh.

«What are you laughing at, monster?» Anker asked, furious.

«Nothing, it’s just that I can’t transform. So for now you have nothing to fear, Anker. If I’m not seriously injured, I recharge my arcane power by dreaming. But Dioryl has come up with a method to keep me at bay when I’m a bad girl. He uses a powerful hypnotic and muscle-relaxing drug developed by the Doctor Maximus of the Axazeloth sect that prevents me from dreaming.»

«Slow down, slow down, slow down, girl. Dioryl? That Dioryl?» Viryl interrupted her, astonished.

Coronice laughed loudly once more. Then she confirmed, «That Dioryl. The Grand Master of the Dragon Lodge. And you can call me by my name. I am Coronice.»

Anker was even more taken aback than Viryl. Confused, he muttered, «Dioryl? Dioryl of Torre Mordelle in Leapolis? He is… a professor of contemporary literature. A mere academic. He can’t be the man we’re looking for.»

Coronice mimicked a broken expression and taunted Anker, «Oh yes, a humble professor. A man with a big heart, always ready to lend a helping hand to his compatriots in foreign lands. How fortunate to meet him when you arrived in Meridania, ready to immediately put you on the right path in your research!»

«We were basically screwed from the start, manipulated like puppets. A screw-up of epic proportions,» Viryl observed colorfully.

«No, you did well enough. He tried to kill you twice and you’re not dead. Not yet, at least.»

«Yeah, and one of those times was by your hand, fiend!» Anker railed, putting a hand on the hilt of his saber.

Viryl waved him off, urging him to compose himself. Then he spoke up: «Let’s take one issue at a time, girl. I’d appreciate a little more clarification from you. Dioryl knows too much, even for the leader of an esoteric sect. How can he know my past and our steps so well? There are things, like my affair with Darlah, or the time we arrived in Meridania, that very few people know about.»

«I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a precise answer on that. I only know that he has very powerful connections in the Kingdom of Ferlonia, from which he receives funds, information and influence. But also orders. He didn’t want the stone tablet I stole from you for himself. In order for him not to lose the support of his financier, he must constantly demonstrate his usefulness.» Coronice explained.

Viryl stroked his beard, bowed his chest, and gazed down at the fetid, foaming eddies forming in the canal beneath him. A powerful Ferlonian. Perhaps a dignitary, or perhaps a high-ranking knight. Did he know him personally? He had ignored the politics of the Kingdom of Ferlonia for years.

«Now that I have assuaged your curiosity, my brave saviors, I say we should be off,» Coronice trilled.

«Oh, not so fast. I have a score to settle with you,» Anker retorted resolutely.

«You are a real pain in the ass, Anker of the Black Moon! I tell you again, I was awake, I heard your bickering. I know there is someone waiting for us outside the sewers. If I know Dioryl at all, he will have hired someone strong. Perhaps knights of the Order of Libertas. If you want to escape, you need me. We must join forces,» Coronice said calmly, trying to convince him with facts and logic.

«You killed Madja!» Anker shouted.

«Nothing personal, pretty face,» Coronice justified herself, her eyes narrowed to a slit.

«For me it is!» Anker insisted.

Coronice sighed. Then, with a sharp and venomous tongue, she said, «I was following my orders, you were following yours. And, as you will remember, that time I did not intend to kill you. It was not my fault if the girl was lying unconscious in the farmhouse where the trinket I was supposed to retrieve was located. If a certain arrogant little prick hadn’t insisted on wandering into the hunting grounds of a family of Vespertine Bears, well, maybe things would have turned out differently.»

Anker fell silent, hit and sunk. Coronice’s psychological jab had been precise and devastating. A summary execution would work? Would that really help him clear his conscience? A miserable act, to give peace to a miserable soul tormented by his own failures.

Viryl butted in, asking, «Do you have a plan?»

«Not really, but someone might have one for us. The Meridania sewer system is home to the Rat King. In truth, I think the Rats have been watching us for a while now. He’s an ally of Dioryl, but not by choice. You don’t know it, but you’ve already helped him tremendously. But he is also an extremely cautious and calculating man. If we can put it right, he might return the favor by allowing us to escape,» Coronice explained.

«The leader of another sect?» Viryl asked again, doubtful.

«Oh, his is not really a sect. In fact, it doesn't even have a name. He is simply the King of the Rats. The most eminent among them. The closest to the unnamed god he worships, for whom he had to give up everything. What matters is that their creed requires them to help the last, those in difficulty, hunted and without possessions. To sum up, they are thieves, but not bad people.» Coronice continued.

Stolen novel; please report.

«Viryl, I don't trust her. She said herself that this Rat King is an ally of Dioryl,» Anker argued.

«Our pursuers let us go too easily. The only explanation is that they are sure they will be able to catch us as soon as we emerge from the sewers, because the exits are limited and well guarded. We need this Rat King. If they are thieves, they will surely know some secret passage that we could never find on our own.» Viryl countered.

«Maybe they’re so sure they’ll catch us because they know Dioryl has allies down here, too!»

«But maybe they don’t know that this ally is willing to betray Dioryl!»

Coronice pouted, rested a soft cheek on the knuckles of her right hand, and stared into the darkness of the sewers. The quarrel of those stupid humans was starting to bore her.

After a short pause for thought, Viryl lowered himself from the pedestal and continued: «Look, rationally I understand that it’s risky. But I have a good feeling about this. So I’m going.»

Anker gave in. Viryl’s good feeling again. No amount of sensible, prudent reasoning could stand up to him when he had a good feeling.

«Finally! I take it you’ve made up your mind! Come on, I’ll lead the way!» Coronice hummed cheerfully, and leapt from the low wall where Viryl had set her down into the stream of feces.

Seeing her walk so serenely with her bare, wounded feet in the germ-filled stream, Anker couldn’t help but ask, «Hey! How can you walk without boots in that mess? Aren’t you afraid of getting an infection?»

Coronice spun around, walked back toward Anker, and leaned forward, looking him straight in the eye. Her flaccid penis hung softly. She asked, «Oh, honey! Are you offering to carry me?»

Anker blushed and felt his ears on fire, cursing himself for talking to her. He croaked, «That’s not why I asked, you fool! I was just asking how you can’t be disgusted!»

Disappointed, Coronice retraced her steps. «I’m pretty resistant to infections. Of course it disgusts me, but how do we get out of here without walking? By flying?» the girl replied. Then, reaching a bend in the duct, she turned back to Anker and added mischievously in a cold voice: «Oh, how much fun it would be if I could.»

Those last words sent a shiver down Anker’s spine. Coronice was already disappearing around the corner, and the knight ran after her so as not to lose sight of her.

Viryl sighed, and felt a slight nostalgia for his past youth. Those two were a really funny pair. He crossed his arms and slowly walked, and began to follow Coronice towards the Rat King’s den.

*****

Given the impressive number of wharf rats they encountered along the way, Viryl and Anker realized there must be something literal about the title “Rat King.” The critters had been intimidated at first by the presence of the visitors, but then they had slowly fallen in line, following at a distance. Their ranks had grown larger and larger, soon becoming a lively scurry hidden in the veil of shadow behind the sphere of light of the incandescent globes.

The presence of the little animals had finally become oppressive, and Anker could no longer help but look behind him paranoidly. A strange itch had begun to torment him. Coronice and Viryl did not seem to feel the same uneasiness about the small rodents.

Just after Anker had turned for the umpteenth time, a guttural voice emerged from the unfathomable darkness behind him. Yet a moment before he had not noticed any presence. Even Viryl seemed to be taken by surprise, although Anker believed that his senses were much more acute than his own.

«You have great impudence, daughter of Velthan, to show up again in our sanctuary after your fall from grace,» these were the threatening words that made the knight and the fallen startle.

Coronice, not at all worried, turned soothingly to the mysterious interlocutor, «Come on, magnanimous sovereign. Is there no pity in your heart for these three miserable fugitives?»

A figure completely gray, even in the clouded pupils, covered in rags, escorted by the furry little creatures, emerged silently from the darkness behind the group and passed them, studying each individual member. The old man must have been completely blind, but Anker had the impression that behind his cloudy cataracts he could see very well.

«Miserable fugitives indeed. There is no doubt that you are. But you are not only that, simple strays like those we so often welcome. You are poisoned bait.» the gray Rat King declared.

«Do not make it difficult, sovereign. You know very well that the Grand Master has exhausted the poison you speak of. For I am that poison. Do you think that in my condition I could harm your brothers?» Coronice replied.

«Oh, I know well, you are harmless for now. But why should I have pity on you?» asked the Rat King cynically.

«If not for me, then for my companions. You will have heard of them. If the poison you speak of has been exhausted, it is thanks to them. You could show them a little gratitude.» insisted Coronice.

The Rat King laughed, and then said: «You should find better arguments, my dear. The Grand Master will not stop his ambitions because the two pawns he used to keep us in check have fallen. He will find new servants, and he will return to punish us for harboring the prey he so desperately sought.»

Viryl stepped forward, interjecting the discussion: «If the Grand Master is the problem, fear not. Help us escape from our pursuers, and we will solve the problem at its root.»

Coronice was annoyed by that proposal, and wanted to take control of the situation to reiterate that enough had already been done on their part. However, the ragged sovereign was thrilled to hear those words and reacted first. «Such resolve!» he exclaimed, «You... let me look at you better.»

The Rat King approached Viryl, and sniffed him. The fallen remained impassive as the gray individual walked around him, sniffing his sweat-soaked leather armor. When he had finished, he concluded: «Your scent does not lie. You are our brother in misfortune. You had the potential to become a great hero, you could have been revered by your peers. And instead you consciously chose to give up everything, to be despised. What an admirable choice! Usually those who come here do not do so of their own volition.»

After his praise of Viryl, the Rat King turned to Anker, for whom he did not find the same words of appreciation: «As for the boy who accompanies you, however… what a sad soul. I cannot speak for him, it is beyond my faculties. Yet of one thing I am sure: this sacrificial lamb has no place in our house. He will have to leave as soon as possible and find his own way.»

Anker did not know how to interpret that cryptic assessment, but the prophecies about him were starting to be annoying. First Tolomer, now that weirdo. There was a creeping feeling inside him that something big and undefined had chosen him as a target, and the latest experiences had taught him that these were not matters to be taken lightly.

Coronice did not like the way things were going. She took the floor again to express her dissent: «You cannot seriously believe that challenging Dioryl is within your possibilities. Solve the problem at the root? Do you really care so little about your life?»

The Rat King and Viryl stared at her silently. The two had understood each other perfectly. Their reasons were different, but their goal was the same and their determination was equally unshakable. Coronice understood that trying to convince them would be useless, so she capitulated: «Do as you please, but I will not join you. Give me a bed to rest in and then I will go on my way.»

«And you think I will let you recover your powers in our house if you do not intend to help us? Our charitable intent ran out a long time ago, when you betrayed the values we tried to instill in you to chase the promises and temptations of that unscrupulous man. If you intend to go on your way, you shall do it now.» the Rat King retorted inflexibly.

Coronice placed her hands on her hips, bowed her head a little and asked: «And so you want to abandon me?»

«Abandon you? Don't be ridiculous. You know this labyrinth almost as well as I do. Get out of here, find yourself a safe bed, and tomorrow morning fly where the wind takes you. But don’t think you can count on our shelter anymore.» the ragged old man repeated again.

Coronice clicked her tongue, annoyed. She turned and walked past the group, sinking into the darkness of the sewer. Her last words came from afar: «So be it, old slob. This is farewell.»