"I think they'll look lovely on you," the mind-bitch sneered, rattling the shackles to get under my skin. I held still, though, not giving her the satisfaction - even if more out of fear than bravery.

"Let's put these on you," she said, taking a step closer. That was when the beast in me came out, teeth bared, a growl rolling from deep in my chest. Her reaction caught me off guard, and it sure wasn't just me; everyone in the ruins of Esulmor Edge Inn couldn't help but stare. The great mind mage, Cognizant or whatever she called herself, having everyone here in her grasp, squealed like a little girl and jumped back.

'She's afraid of me!'

Or rather, of the beast. Whatever it did to her the last time she tried to take over my mind had her scared shitless.

'So that's why!' No wonder I hadn’t heard that grating, arrogant voice in my head yet. She didn’t have the guts to try. Honestly, I didn't know whether to bark at her again or to laugh.

"You filthy mutt!" she spat, her voice anything but the usual sneer. "But don't worry. You'll learn. And before long, you'll be begging me to lick my boots! Frederic, your old master, can’t wait to rip you open. And I've got some beasts waiting, ready to breed with you, mutt."

I had to force myself not to shudder at her words, not to show her the weakness she was hunting for. And that pissed her off even more.

"You think I'm lying? Better think twice!" the bitch hissed, throwing a sharp gesture toward the forest across from the crumbling inn. For a beat, everything stilled - just an uneasy silence gnawed at the nerves of those gathered in the clearing by the mossy ruins. But then, my ears twitched at the noise coming from the forest.

"Mossbears are heading our way," the Shadow Thief emerged from the shadows beside Ward, his voice tight with alarm. “Two of ‘em”

"Are you sure they're headed this way? We didn't do anything..."

"Don't twist your little minds," the bitch creaked. "They’re mine."

Right then, two massive creatures lumbered out from the trees - huge, brown-furred bears with moss-covered backs and antlers crowning their heads.

[Mossbear: ₪₪₪ sigils]

[Mossbear: ₪₪₪ sigils]

Three Obscures, both of them. Not that I needed the Lattice to see that these two weren’t as strong as the male I had met in this forest.They were smaller at a glance, though still massive, their backs towered at least half my height above me. What grabbed me, however, much as it had with the bigger male before, was their antlers. Unlike his, the antlers of these two were smaller - and more akin to mine - dark green all over, with rough ridges at the roots on my head, no deep grooves, only a lighter emerald green at the tips.

"Have you lost your mind!" Ward growled, keeping a wary eye on the beasts, even though they just stood there, watching.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I haven’t. You, on the other hand, Bastian, should keep your thoughts closer to yourself," she shot back, grinning in a way that made him hesitate. Just a few words, a hint of threat, and doubt wormed its way in. ‘Did she get in or not?’ No doubt such questions were now on his mind; and not his alone.

"You worry for nothing. I’ve trained with beasts since I was little and have quite a few like those two back home. The little bit of mana I used on them won't alert others, let alone him."

"T-They’re not gonna turn on us, are they, boss?" the young workhand whispered, but not softly enough to escape my ears - or hers.

"For the love of Traiana, shut it, Tate!"

"Oh, but why should he? The young man is asking the right questions - questions I don't need to read your minds to know that all of you are asking." With a wicked grin, she continued, “And yes, they’ll attack if I give the order. Sit!”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Those two massive beasts didn’t even growl. They just dropped onto their hind legs, listening to her like obedient pups - just like the way that shoelace-bitch wanted to train me. ‘Shoelaces!’ Nothing to give more thought to, yet my eyes slid to her shoes. Just like back then, or earlier today in Castiana when Timmy guided me, she wore them tied with mismatched laces.

"Ah, already thinking about licking my shoes. Good, very good," the bitch said, flashing the worst grin I have ever seen. "But there's so much you have to learn first. Like not growling at your master. You, young man, put these on her," she ordered the workhand, handing him the three suppressing shackles and then the fourth. "They wouldn't work otherwise. I can’t afford to let you run away again. Those little brainless pieces of shits - you have no idea what it cost me to find you."

'Hold on! Did she actually make a deal with the Fae to find me? And they told her? Then why the bloody heck send me here in the first place?!’

"Young man?!"

"Uh. Yes, madam," the workhand stammered, but as soon as he took the stuff from her, a hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him. Thank G - well, Traiana; I could finally catch my breath.

"Before that," Harcon spoke, his voice firm. "I'd like to hear about that 'thing' you mentioned."

"What are you doing, Harcon?" Ward growled, his tone warning him to back off. But it was more than that; there was a flicker of fear. "That's not something you should be concerned about."

“Is that so? The way I see it, I have every right to know why I'm putting my neck on the line. And you don't seem to have told us everything."

"I told you what you needed to know," Ward said, adjusting his fedora hat. "Look, if it were my call, I wouldn’t be dealing with you at all. But part of my deal was to make a deal with Arlo, and that's all you have to concern yourself with."

Harcon nodded slowly. “So, what’s stopping me from cutting my own deal?”

"I already made you one, remember? Become a Shadowbreaker, but more than that - no.”

"I didn't mean with you, Ward. I was talking about making a deal with you," Harcon said to the mind-mage bitch. Not really sure where he was going with this, I pulled my wings in tight, breath stuck in my throat.

"Oh, how intriguing. Not many are willing - of their own will. So tell me, what do you have in mind?"

"I'll be blunt. What would it cost me to get my own core?"

My heart went cold. The bastard got tempted like any other mage. Here I was again, all alone. 'Not true!' I had to remind myself of Vara and Elira, still locked in the cage, to keep myself from panicking. Nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that if I wanted to get out of this, my own strength was all I could count on.

"Bastian?" the bitch asked, raising her eyebrows at Ward.

"I'm not stupid. I did NOT tell him."

"Someone else might," she muttered, turning her gaze back to the former Master Guard. "Alright, you have my full attention. Harcon was it, wasn't it? Tell me how you know about her core? And if I don’t like your answer, mind you, I’ll rip it straight from your head. In fact, maybe I should do that straight away."

"You can try," Harcon replied, seemingly unfazed by her threat. They locked eyes for a moment. Whether they were battling it out or not, I had no clue.

"Tsk. Alright, go on."

"I'm a mage, just like Ward."

"And?"

"Unlike him, I grew stronger fighting the beast down in the Labyrinth of Castiana. It's what I do - I look for the core locations in the beasts I face. And I did just that when she tried to get away."

"Oh, she's a pretty slippery mutt, isn’t she?" The bitch said, tapping her lips in mock musing. "But I do wonder, is that really the truth? If so, you'll be able to tell me where she has it, right?"

'Shit! Shit, shit, shit! I never told him that.' It took all my strength not to show my panic, let alone confusion about why I was panicking in the first place. I should have been glad he was about to get found out - right?

"Right in her belly," Harcon responded almost instantly, much to my surprise. 'Did he really have a way of sensing the beasts' cores?' Nah, Elira must have told him on the fly, which meant he was still with us. “A pretty strange spot for a core, I gotta admit, but if it's a requirement, I don't mind."

"That..." the bitch said, her voice low, pausing like she was trying to pry open his thoughts. "...remains to be seen."

"So, it's still in development?"

"Obviously. I have no interest in turning into a mutt just to have a core, but if you're willing... maybe that could be your price to pay. What do you think?"

Harcon’s gaze slid over me, sweeping his gaze from the top of my antlers to my toes. "She doesn’t look half bad. But, I wonder… the fact that I’m not one of the Lost - is that gonna be an issue?"

"What?!" Ward blurted out, obviously hearing about the involvement of Fae for the first time. On the other hand, the mind-bitch didn’t look too pleased that Harcon had let that slip.