WE DRAGGED LORD DRALIK to the roof of the castle. My reverse magnetic shield was firmly in place, ready to push back anything that came near us. We only needed to give a convincing speech. Well, I had to. If Vinsor could help me, it might even work.

I concentrated on the soundwaves, amplifying them as I said, “Soldiers, brothers, who are you fighting for? Lord Dralik, who hid behind you in his study while you faced weapons you have no way of fighting?”

Seth lifted Lord Dralik by his tunik, and dragged him to the edge of the tower where everyone could see him.

“Lord Dralik is nothing without you and yet he doesn’t even trust you. He always has a demon in the castle to spy on you, does he not? You risk your life and what do you get in return? He leaves the most grievously wounded of you to die on the battlefield. Some of them are behind these walls. They are your brothers, but we were the ones to save them.”

All sounds died down except a wave of murmur as the soldiers looked over the army outside their gate.

“Enough dying. This war must end so that you can live. Stand with us and help us finish this madness.”

“The witch whore and her lies.” The familiar voice came from behind me.

Vinsor already had the gun pointed at Misavan, one of the few elves who had joined Lord Dralik to become his right-hand man.

“You couldn’t gain any power by charming our lord, so you decided to seek it from the doctors?”

I cringed on the inside but refused to show it, even as my mind kept going back to Seth. He was right here. He could hear it. What would he think about me now?

I concentrated on the calcium ions in Misavan's body and made them stop. He gasped, clutched his chest, then fell.

Oh, no. I didn’t mean to go that far. Before any more damage could be done, I released the spell, but he still wasn’t moving. A tiny, panicked sound bubbled up from my throat. How could I fix this?

“You okay there, beautiful?” Seth asked.

“Yes. Everything is under control,” I lied, then sent the tiniest charge of electricity to Misavan’s right atrium.

The elf groaned but didn’t get up. At least I didn’t kill him. Just because he was an asshole didn’t mean we couldn’t brainwash him into being nicer.

“You filthy…”

I blocked the flow of calcium in his tongue. There. Better.

“You will dah foh it. I won't leht you geth awah wis sis.” The man could never shut up when I needed him to.

I expanded my magic into his jaw. It went slack. Now he only made a mixture of howling and growling sounds.

“You sure you’re okay?” Seth asked again.

“Yes.” And I was even honest this time. I put on my friendly smile, turned back to our audience, and gestured for Vinsor to give me a hand.

The surge of hope and happiness came in waves from Vinsor’s essence. I concentrated on it, weaved it into the soundwaves and began the last part of the speech.

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“Open the gates and let the new, better future into this castle. We will fight together, so your children won’t have to.”

The cheer rose from the soldiers, and the inner gate opened. The outer gate followed. Still a dangerous ground for our men, but everyone smiled. No drawn bows, no exposed blades. Our troops began to file in between the two walls until they filled the yard.

I let out a sigh of relief. We did it. “Let’s put these two in the dungeon for now. We’ll question them later.”

Bralazin led our men through the castle gates, and the soldiers from both sides began to chat. Our men could do all of the convincing. They knew the difference between fighting with us and with the lord who couldn’t find it in him to care about the wounded. We didn't have much, not like they did in the other world, but our technology still trumped anything Lord Dralik could offer.

Vinsor, Seth, and I came to the dungeon together, locked Misavan and Lord Dralik up, and took all available keys to the cells. I didn’t want to take the chance of them getting away, not after everything they had put us through.

Before leaving, I weaved a spell around the entire area, so I would know if anyone tried to break them out, then added a residue to it that would cling to Lord Dralik and Misavan if they walked through it themselves.

Now we could go find that demon kid. He looked so young. Maybe we could still save his mind, even if we couldn’t turn him back into a human. Too many people might scare him, though.

“Vinsor, can you check if there're any trouble makers hiding in the castle?” I asked.

“Of course.” He checked the corridor. “Be gentle. He couldn't have been taken from a witch that long ago. His wounds are too fresh.” He tapped at his head. “In here, I mean.”

As Vinsor walked away, I guided Seth to the kitchen on one of the lower levels. Even now, two years later, I still liked this one room in the castle better than anything else. It had been the place where Vinsor, Jill, and I had been able to talk with a reasonable certainty that no one would spy on us.

Seth kicked the door open and checked inside before letting me follow. No one but the kid. Good. We could talk for a while and figure out if there was still any hope.

“Nikorik, come sit with us.” I offered him a chair next to the large kitchen table. “Are you hungry?”

The kid nodded as he took his seat. I remembered where the servants stored all the food and found a few pieces of dry fish.

“When we bring our supplies here, I can make you a better meal,” I promised. “Now, please, tell me, how long have you been with Lord Dralik?”

“One season,” the boy answered. “I came here at the beginning of the spring.”

The summer was about half way through. It hadn’t been that long at all. Maybe we could still help the poor boy.

“And before that, you were with the one who turned you?”

“Yes. Gaziliga sold me to Lord Dralik.” Nikorik took tiny bites from the fish. His shoulders stooped, and his eyes never lifted to meet mine or Seth’s.

In all my time, I couldn’t remember ever meeting anyone who looked like this boy. His skin was a mixture of brown and grey, his hair long, wavy, going from dark brown to dirty blond as it reached the tips.

“How long did Gaziliga train you?” I asked.

“I don’t remember. I’m sorry,” the boy said in a tiny whisper and shrunk away as if he expected punishment for not being able to answer the question.

“It’s alright, we won’t hurt you,” I promised, even though I knew there was much more to his fears, and one short conversation couldn’t undo it all.

Seth gave me a questioning look, picking up on the strange behavior as well. Maybe it would be good if I explained this in front of the boy.

“When demons are turned, they are trained to follow orders and to never lie, but it’s done through pain and intimidation. Nikorik is scared of not being able to answer.”

Seth let out a frustrated, tired sigh. “What the hell is wrong with people in this world?”

How could I even begin to answer that? We had been at war for centuries, and everyone was willing to do anything and everything to win, but that wasn’t all. Lord Dralik had brought much misery simply because he could. Perhaps all rulers were that way.