Kanda fired a bolt of Resonant Mana at Noctarii just as he swooped toward her, the shadow fae intent on possessing the older girl.

“Damn you!” The fae hit the wall, a table, and finally the ground. “Arggh… damn… you…”

“Good,” Kanda said, her eyes still locked on Ghost, her fingers blazing with Resonant Mana. “No more surprises. And this is your last chance: tell me what I want to know.”

Ghost tried as best he could in that tense situation to play out what could happen next.

If he told Kanda who he was, there was always a chance that the information could reach Felix. Kanda hated her supposed uncle; Ghost was aware of this and she had proven time after time that she loved to undermine him. But under duress, there was always the chance she would confess what she had learned to Felix.

Then again, the upper ranks of The Unknown Souls were thinning as Ghost knocked off the most powerful members one by one. Plus, he would deal with Goran on this trip. That was something he had already decided upon.

If Ghost played dumb, if he pretended to be Alistair, he may be able to hold Kanda off for a little longer. But there would be a point that she would likely figure it out anyway.

So this brought him back to an actual confession. If he confessed everything to Kanda, would he tell Alistair that she knew? Could Kanda and Ghost keep it a secret from Alistair? Did it matter? She wasn’t Juno; it wasn’t like Kanda was going to go around telling everybody and doing her best impression of the Ghost voice.

“You aren’t going to like how this feels,” Kanda told Ghost. “Tell me what’s going on here. Tell me now.”

“I want to kill your Uncle.”

The rune railpath hit a bump. The timing couldn’t have been any better because it caused Kanda to trip forward, close enough for Ghost to ensnare her. He grabbed the girl, pushing past the influence of her Abyssal summon.

It was moments later that Ghost wished he hadn’t done so.

Daisy was not to be trifled with, the summon immediately sending wispy bits of shadow into all of Alistair’s orifices. This included his hears, his mouth, his nose—

“Aaaah!” Alistair came alive at being choked, the boy somehow able to push through Ghosts’s influence. He scrambled to hold onto Kanda, who elbowed him in the face and pushed back. “Stop!” Alistair shouted.

This message wasn’t meant Kanda. It was meant for Ghost, Alistair still too confused to switch to spectral text.

Ghost took over. “You don’t—”

“What the hell are you doing? Ghost, stop!”

“Ghost?” Kanda got to her feet, her hand glowing with Resonant Mana. “Relax, Daisy.”

“I’ll get you!” Noctarii tried for Kanda only to be batted away. He hit a table, a chair, and finally settled on the ground. “Somebody… call… the slime…”

“Everyone, relax,” Alistair said as he regained control over his body. “Relax.”

“She tried to—!”

“I don’t care,” he snapped at Ghost. “Stop. I’ll explain.” Alistair looked up at Kanda. “I’ll explain everything but first, I want to know what happened. What did he do?”

“So it is someone else. You were right,” Kanda told Daisy, who remained mostly hidden by the shadows. “He is possessed.”

Daisy’s form relaxed to some degree. “I knew it.”

“It’s true,” Alistair confessed, the weight suddenly off his shoulders. “Anything else I’ve told you before about what I’m able to do, or how I learned how to fight, the stuff about my previous master, etcetera, all of that was a lie.”

Kanda stared at him harshly. “Go on.”

“The Unknown Souls killed an assassin named Ghost during what was supposed to be a ceremony known as the Feast of Shadows. That assassin—whom I will let you meet in a moment, relax, Ghost—had what’s known as the Card of Rebirth, A Forbidden Card, which was created by Professor Dreadwell.”

“Slow down. You mean the Professor Dreadwell, the famous guy with statues on campus?”

“That’s him,” Ghost said, taking over. “I killed him—”

“Let me explain.” Alistair cleared his throat. “About ten years ago, Ghost was tasked with killing Professor Dreadwell for selling secrets to the Dracolich Empire. Dreadwell is a traitor, if you didn’t know. Ghost completed his mission—”

“Damn right, I did!”

“—And was able to access the Card of Rebirth. I said let me explain,” Alistair told the assassin again as he ignored incoming messages. “Since Ghost now had that card, it meant that Dreadwell was reborn, and we now know he’s in the Dracolich Empire.”

“So he killed Dreadwell and took his card. Dreadwell was reborn in the Dracolich Empire, or so you assume. Ghost was then killed, and reborn into your body.” The glow of mana around Kanda’s hand vanished and she returned Daisy to her chest. “It’s all connected then. And Ghost is the guy who didn’t want The Unknown Souls to form an alliance with Dracolichs.”

“Correct.”

“So you weren’t raised by an assassin, you were possessed by one recently who has been training you.”

“Also correct.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“When did it happen?”

“At the start of the semester.”

Kanda started pacing, just as Alistair had seen her do before. “Okay, okay. Which means someone else now has the Card of Rebirth.”

“Either Kang or perhaps Dreadwell. We know they’ve been in contact.” Alistair didn’t mention the lich mask just in case it was dangerous. He was glad that Lionel had it locked away in a portal. “And anyway, the fact that an assassin and I share a body should answer a ton of questions you may have had regarding my advancement and my overall behavior.”

“Including your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

“They were both gold just a moment ago. When he was in possession.”

“Fuck. And now?”

“They’re back to normal. Well, sort of normal,” she said. “I want to officially meet him, Ghost.”

Alistair sighed miserably. “Are you sure? He’s sort of an asshole.”

“I’m sure.”

“Fine.”

Ghost took over from there. “I’m not an asshole, I’m a realist. Hello, Kanda.”

“Ghost.”

“What do you want from me? Alistair told you everything that you need to know.”

“I feel like there’s probably a lot more.”

“There’s always more. Here I am. What is it?”

“So you’re really him, the reborn assassin?” She took a step closer to Ghost, a hint of excitement in her eyes.

“You already know that. And this needs to remain a secret between us. You, me, Alistair, and all of our summons. If I get the sense that you have told someone else, I will wait, Kanda. I will wait until you least expect it, and I will handle things in a way that you won’t be able to take over the Baronblades. I have watched you through Alistair. You will make a fine leader. But it is best to learn now that there are bridges that shouldn’t be crossed, and one of those bridges is betraying me.”

Alistair: Bridges that shouldn’t be crossed? She wants to meet you, and you threaten her?

Kanda eyed Ghost curiously. “You are a strange and violent man, clearly.”

“Clearly. There’s another bridge not be crossed.”

Alistair: How many bridges are you going to mention?

Ghost grunted. “The dynamics of this have now changed. I want you to be in charge of the Baronblades. It is, after all, your birthright. But Alistair and I, or whatever we become, are not to be fucked with. You lashed out at us back in Solaria. Don’t think I forgot. Now that you know what’s going on here, you need to know your role as well and play along.”

“Know my role, huh?” Kanda seemed to shrug this statement off. “For now, we have a goal that aligns.”

“We have more than one.”

Kanda extended her hand to Ghost. “Then I agree. Your secret is safe with me. I will only speak about you to Alistair through Spectral Text unless I am absolutely certain we are alone. I’ve also noted your concern about a future pecking order.”

“One way to put it, yes.”

“Tell me more about Dreadwell.”

“We’ve told you what we know,” Ghost said as they shook hands. “He’s behind all this. Kang and your shithead of an uncle—”

“He’s not really my uncle.”

“Aware. Those fuckers are working with the Dracolichs to invade our kingdom and set The Unknown Souls up to be in a position of power once chaos reigns supreme. I’m going to assume that Felix has alternative plans, a contingency for when this happens that would likely see Kang stepping aside.”

Alistair: You never told me this.

Ghost: Shut up and listen.

Ghost continued, still in possession of Alistair’s vocal chords: “I’m going to assume that Felix wants the lion’s share of power and that he secretly hopes to combine the Souls with the Baronblades. I’m going to assume that he’ll work with Dreadwell and Kang up until a point, but then he will betray Kang and take The Unknown Souls and their vast influence for himself. Maybe he’ll even deal with Dreadwell just to get that twisted fuck out of the picture. It’s what any smart assassin would do. Your uncle—”

“Not my uncle.”

“—Is a clever man. He’s sick in the head, prone to theatrical violence, a pervert, and an absolute bastard, but those things have nothing to do with how smart he is. We would all be wise to pay close attention to what he says and does over the coming days. Even if he seems to have an affinity for you, and even Alistair, that could change. I suspect he is planning something.”

“And Caidan, the assassin that Alistair encountered? Where does she play into this?”

“I don’t know. She made an appearance at the academy, but we haven’t seen her since. I don’t think she’d be working with Felix. But that is an unknown.”

Noctarii, who was still lying on the ground, exploded toward Kanda, arrow nocked. “You dare attack me!”

Alistair took over and returned Noctarii to his chest. “Continue,” he told Ghost.

“I don’t know a lot about Caidan aside from the fact that she trained Senka,” Ghost told Kanda. “Which makes her dangerous. It also makes me wonder why she was there. I suspect we will know soon enough.”

“Could Senka have sent a raven?”

“It’s not easy to send a raven to the Dracolich Empire. It would have to go to the border first, where something like that can be delayed. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. And it doesn’t mean that Senka didn’t have another way to communicate with Caidan.”

“Who were the people there when you were killed?”

Kanda’s next question was a simple one, yet it made Ghost pause for a moment before answering. In that quick span of time he remembered the betrayers standing around him, the way they all had helped finish the assassin off for good.

Ghost also recalled the hit list he had made, how he had mentally scratched out the names of Stuart, Hilda, and Senka, also his Mother, Elyandra, countless times now.

“Felix, Goran, Kang, Hilda, and Senka. The two women are dead. Next is Goran.”

“You’re going to kill Goran this weekend?” Kanda seemed saddened by this fact.

“I am. And it won’t be easy. We’ll need to get him alone. Alistair might have to take his binded form if things get out of hand. There are faster ways through Noctarii and Lionel, but all of them come with risks. And before it happens, I want Goran to know.”

“I can help.”

“Not necessary.”

“I can,” Kanda told him, her voice firmer now. “I grew up around Goran. He used to play dolls with me when I was a child. After my father was killed, Felix had Goran watch me every time he had to go out. We used to go on long walks. I can separate him from the others.”

“So you’re closer to Goran than I thought.”

“I am.”

“Because when we first encountered him in Solaria, it didn’t seem that way.”

“It was a show. Also, I hadn’t spent much time with him since joining the academy,” Kanda said. “But I can help. You can trust me.”

Ghost considered this. It was certainly an option, but he didn’t know if getting Kanda involved was a good idea or not.

Alistair: This is obviously a terrible idea.

Ghost: It has merit. It just needs to be orchestrated correctly. And it goes without saying, I don’t trust her.

“We will see how it goes with Goran,” Ghost finally told Kanda. “I might need your help in that regard. For now, we should both get some sleep. Alistair, summon Ziggy and tell him to watch over us. Sorry, Kanda, but this is something we should have done in the first place. Then again, this conversation might not have happened if Ziggy was involved. You might not be alive.”

“That would only complicate things more,” Kanda said, clearly not intimidated by the assassin’s harsh words.

Ghost grunted a response. “Perhaps. Ziggy, now,” he told Alistair as he laid back down on the bed. “Tell the slime to keep his little black eyes on us while we sleep.”