Ann Arbor, Michigan

1 and a half years ago

Jade crashed to the padded mat with a heavy 'thud', landing hard on her side with a grunt of pain. She slapped the floor in frustration, and then pulled herself back to her feet.

Need a more powerful start. she thought, replaying the missed vault in her head. For what felt like the thousandth time she cursed her greater than average height, and the physics that made that work against her.

"Let's call it a day, Jade."

Christina called from the corner of the gym. She had just stepped out of the locker room and emerged wearing her street clothes. The rest of the team had already left, leaving the large space oddly quiet and empty.

"You go on ahead." she said distractedly. "I'm gonna give it another few tries."

"Jade…"

Christina's tone caught her attention, and Jade resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What had she done this time?

"What?" she asked, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice.

"You're running yourself ragged. If you keep pushing yourself like this, you're going to get hurt."

"I'll be fine."

"No, you won't." She snapped, startling Jade. She finally turned to look at her friend, who had crossed her arms and was giving her a reproachful look. "That fall looked rough, you can't tell me that didn't hurt. Do you want a repeat of last month?"

"That was a fluke, it won't happen again." Jade shrugged.

"You were out for two weeks!" Christina bit back whatever she was about to say next. After a short pause she continued in a quieter, soothing voice. "Look, Jade. I'm just saying this because I care about you. The team cares about you. Trust your team. If you keep pushing yourself too hard-"

"I can't stop." Jade cut her off. Her hands clenched into fists. "The trials are coming up soon. I have to be perfect."

"You won't even get to compete if you injure yourself again before they start. And I still think the Amanar is too dangerous for you. It's a bad match for your height."

"I did it at the finals last year, I can handle it." Jade snapped. The fact that something she couldn't control mattered so much pissed her off. That her friends kept bringing it up didn't help, nor did the fact that they were right.

Christina sighed.

"Just be careful. Please?" Her friend and longtime team leader implored. "I'm worried about you."

"Just a few more months." Jade said. She knew she was being harsh on her friend, but she was so close. "I'll slow down after the trials."

"Okay…" Christina didn't look entirely satisfied, but she seemed to accept that was the best she was going to get. "But at least call it a day, yeah?"

Jade glanced at the clock. It was starting to get late. If she wanted to get her coursework done before midnight, she'd need to get started soon.

"Alright." She relented, turning towards the locker room.

I'll get it right tomorrow.

A twinge of pain prickled through her left ankle as she went to get changed. It wasn't anything bad, but it was annoying. Jade resolved to do some extra stretches during the week to help loosen it up and pushed it out of her mind. She checked her phone on her way out of the gym and saw that she had a missed call from her mother, and two messages from Alan. She swiped them away, pulling up some music and putting in a pair of headphones. The walk home was a little more than twenty minutes, plenty of time to reflect on her routine.

Maybe I can squeeze an extra session in this weekend. she thought, exiting onto the street.

The big day was coming up, and she wouldn't accept anything short of perfection.

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Present Day

Jade returned to the central chamber of the pyramid to find that the battle had ended, at least for the moment. She had successfully run down and dispatched the escaping cultist leader, partially because of a debilitating wound Luis had landed on him prior to his flight and partly because of her own absurd speed. Jade wasn't sure if it was because she knew the creature was actually a manifestation of a Labyrinth spirit or because she was getting more accustomed to violence, but 'killing' him hadn't affected her as much as similar fights had in the past. Those thoughts faded away as, to her great relief, she saw Naomi safely emerge from the pit that had swallowed her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, examining her friend. "You're hurt."

"You're one to talk." Naomi replied with a concerned look at Jade's side. "That's a lot of blood."

"I've had worse."

"…Does that make it better?"

Jade didn't have a response to that. Naomi gave her a wry smile and chanted her healing song, and Jade felt some strength return to her. She had somewhat of a haunted look in her eyes, and Jade glanced at the still-open mouth of the trap. Hadn't one of the cultists fallen in with her? From the look of things, only Naomi had come back. Before she could think of something comforting to say, Aylin approached them.

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"Did you get him?"

"I- Yes. I did." Jade nodded. "I think he was running for help."

"Then we should move quickly."

"You do remember what I said about getting into trouble, right?" Naomi asked as they all regrouped.

"Sorry…" Jade felt embarassed, but she stood her ground. "They were in trouble. There wasn't time to get you."

They all looked over at the group of three freed prisoners. Jade was relieved to see that, other than some superficial injuries, they appeared to be in good shape.

"Just… try and give us a warning next time."

"We probably need to get through there." Aylin continued, turning her attention to the large, sealed stone door that the female cultist had escaped through.

And the woman she took. Jade remembered bitterly. She had chosen to help the boy. Did that mean that, if anything happened to her, it was her fault?

No. Thinking like that doesn't help.

That was easy to say to herself, but less so to feel.

"The elves say that the rest of them were taken in there." Luis said, jogging over to join them. He stepped around one of the robed men that Aylin had taken alive. At least, Jade assumed it was her doing as the man was restrained by glowing bands of shimmering, blue magic.

"Yeah, one of them closed the door on me before I could stop her. She took one of them with her." Jade grimaced, nodding in the direction of the freed prisoners. The boy was holding tightly to the man, who was watching them with a mixture of hope and wariness. "They said something about a ritual."

"I captured one of them." Aylin pointed to the restrained man. "There's a lot of potent necromantic energy coming from behind that door, and I want to know what it is. Can get answers from him?"

The magical circuitry of Jade's 'Allure' spell was still raw from recent use, but she could feel that it was almost ready. A quick check of her interface gave her the exact timing. About two minutes to go.

"I can soon."

They kept a wary eye out for any new threats, but if there were other people or monsters in the stronghold, they didn't come to investigate the battle. Once her spell's cooldown had elapsed, Jade cast 'Allure' on the captured cultist.

"Soo…" Jade knelt in front of the bound man, doing her best to smile sweetly. "I'm in a little trouble here. Do you think you can help?" She spoke in her best approximation of a sultry voice, something she had little practice with. But experience had taught her the importance of the act, so she followed through. "I can make it up to you…" She finished, touching his shoulder.

The spell took hold easily, her magic slipping into his mind with a subtlety she'd lacked in the past. Jade questioned him under Aylin's direction, and the man was more than happy to provide answers. It turned out that the freed prisoners were right, the other six elves were being held captive in what was called the 'ritual chamber'. After a few more questions, Jade managed to help Aylin unravel exactly what it was the cultists were doing.

"This is worse than I thought." Aylin's grimace wouldn't have been out of place on a gargoyle. "They're trying to raise a bone titan."

"What's a bone titan?" Fenrin asked.

"A giant of an undead, created by fusing the remains of dozens, or even hundreds of bodies. They're infamous for their ability to assimilate slain foes into their form, which makes them larger and more powerful. I've heard of wayfarers encountering them on the eighth floor."

"Eighth?!" Naomi exclaimed. "I can't help but notice we're on the second."

"That's why we need to stop this now. Before they complete their summoning." Aylin said grimly. The mage clenched her fists and shook her head. "The Labyrinth shouldn't be doing this. Something is very wrong."

Jade was getting tired of hearing that; it wasn't especially helpful. They had to deal with what was happening, not what should be.

"How do we get through this door?" Jade asked the charmed cultist. Aylin had dismissed the binding spell once Jade's enchantment took hold, and the gaunt man was now sitting on the floor beside her, tending to a wound on his arm. He looked up at her with glazed eyes.

"The bishop has a key." He said. The man had a surprisingly pleasant voice, considering his appearance.

"Where is the bishop?"

"In his quarters at the top of the pyramid. Do you want me to go get him?"

"No! No, that's okay." Jade said quickly, as the man got to his feet.

"We don't have time to go wandering through the rest of this dungeon." Aylin murmured to her.

"Is there another way in?" Jade asked, as sweetly as she could manage. Putting on a seductive act was hard enough for her by itself. Trying to do so in a blood-stained room littered with corpses made achieving the right mindset even more challenging.

"Well…" The man hesitated.

Jade gave a massive, internal sigh, and ratchetted up the charm even further.

"You can tell me anything, you know that, right?" She whispered, leaning close. "Come on, just between you and me? Please?" She gave him a playful wink. Judging by Naomi's facepalm, it might not have been as cute as she'd intended.

"You try it then." she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" The man asked, confused.

"Nothing!" she said, clasping her hands behind her back and smiling brightly at him. "Soooo… Can you help us?"

Jade didn't know why she associated 'sultry and charming' with 'ditzy sorority girl', but that's what she was channeling. For some reason, it seemed to work.

"Well… I suppose…" The cultist said slowly. "Okay, but don't tell anyone I told you."

"Your secret is safe with me." Jade lied with a smile.

"If you tap those three stones over there, top to bottom…" The man whispered, indicating some tiles near the door. "It'll unlock the seal on the door without the key. The bishop thinks we don't know, but we do."

"Thanks! Now… Uh… Just stay here for a bit."

Jade strode over to the door and tapped out the pattern. There was a soft 'click', and a mechanism inside the door disengaged.

Perfect.

She rejoined the group, speaking softly.

"Does anyone mind if I drain him?" She glanced at Aylin. "I have certain… needs."

"Go ahead." Aylin nodded. "We can't leave him here."

No one else protested, although some of them looked a little uncomfortable. Jade didn't like it either, but she would do what she had to.

"I'm sorry." Jade said to her captive. She could feel his mind straining against her charm spell. At this rate it wouldn't hold much longer, but it was still in place.

"For what?" He asked.

She pulled him in for a kiss, breathing in sharply as she did. The pathways for 'Kiss of Night' ignited in her veins, drawing in his life force and suffusing her with energy. The newly enhanced 'C' rank version of the spell was far more potent than the old version, and Jade made it quick. A moment later, the man's lifeless body dropped to the ground, even as she felt the rush from absorbing his essence. She was left with a sense of satisfied release. The man's emotions had been muted, giving no great bounty for her instincts to latch onto, but it had been enough to take the edge off her growing hunger.

"Let's get going." Aylin said, forestalling any comments. Vamir was eyeing her carefully, but no one said anything else. Luis squeezed her shoulder, and Naomi touched her arm. Jade was grateful for their understanding. The three former captives were less charitable, looking at Jade with renewed suspicion. Nythis, on the other hand, was eyeing her with curious interest.

"You three." Fenrin pointed down the passage they had entered from. "That's the exit. You'll find help outside. Be careful of traps on your way out, we marked them."

"I'm not leaving without-." The man started, but Aylin cut him off.

"We'll get the others. In your state, you'd only get in the way. Leave it to us."

The mage's tone left no room for argument. He swallowed once, bowing his head, and left, taking the others with him.

You're welcome… Jade thought.

With Luis's help, Nythis shoved open the heavy stone door. It revealed another dark passageway lined with more ethereal green torches. It was short, sloping down to another chamber. A cold, dark power emanated from the opening, growing steadily with each passing moment. It was accompanied by faint, distant chanting, the sound of which sent a shiver down Jade's spine.

"Time to put a stop to this." Fenrin said, and led the way in.