Three. It was a problematic number.

If it were a single mind, that would suggest a messenger. If it were a dozen or more minds, that would imply a mob, or perhaps a demonstration. Three was too specific. It implied a specific number chosen for a specific job. Those with the appropriate skills and no more. Elites.

Fen was one of the stronger thralls serving Geneva. Using the humans’ method of measuring core strength, she’d have a coefficient around 430, give or take a few units. Not close to her evolution, but not too far off either. Less than a decade of work, sooner if she could extract a little more of Lou.

Like all creatures, succubi grew their cores by cycling mana through it. It was a subconscious process, but it could also be an active one, intention and focus increasing the speed of the cycling. However, the residents of Burning Earth had a special biology that allowed them to stimulate the process by “eating” the mana of others.

The better mana they ate, either in quality or affinity, the faster their own mana was cycled naturally. One of the four basic affinities, as the humans described them, wielded by a novice would barely do anything. A caster with her same coefficient and a greater affinity could increase the rate of her cycling by 50-70%.

Lou was an entirely different thing. One bite and power cycled through Fen so quickly, she could feel her core growing. Better mana had a taste depending its quality. Nothing as mundane as the sweet, bitter, and savory flavors of food. Something…deeper. More complex. And Lou tasted divine. If the succubi weren’t predators, they would probably worship her.

Fen didn’t fear death. She couldn’t, it simply wasn’t a part of her biology. But she did feel regret.

The source of her regret was the more than likely chance that the three coming toward the estate were master casters. It was almost a joke to call them that. Humans measured the competence of their casters by the size of their mana pool rather than their finesse, the true standard of mastery. Fen was utterly confident in destroying any of their master casters in a confrontation. Anyone of them. One. Not three.

Mastery aside, she didn’t like her chances facing casters who, between them, had three times her mana. There did come a point where quantity superseded quality.

If she were her own agent, she would have run the moment she sensed their intentions. Unfortunately, she was ordered to safeguard the others. Earl and his sister were exceptional for their ages and species, but they were still children. Yulia had training as a James’, but she was a poor example of the family known for their martial prowess and she had the extra burden of her son. Umphrieltalia didn’t have good physical strength.

None of them had the ability to escape from the minds she sensed at the rate they were moving. If they were master casters, as Fen suspected, they couldn’t defend themselves. Not even Talia. Most of her spells relied on mental intrusion and no competent fighter would let her get close enough to use her abilities to the fullest. Earl was stronger than any other boy his age but he was a boy. Geneva had focused on his physical and mental development. Neither would survive a master caster launching an explosive spell strong enough to level the estate.

There was only one way to fulfill her orders. She had to confront whoever was coming and delay them long enough to escape. Which would likely end in her death. The kingdom had no laws against the murder of elementals. With the city in chaos and tensions running high, she doubted they would be in the mood to hold their punches or hand out mercy.

As expected, the three intruders didn’t look best pleased. Also as expected, they were strong. She could smell their power and their affinities as they stopped in front of her, bringing three large horses to a stop.

The one in the lead was the oldest of the group and far too eager. He jumped off his horse before the beast came to a complete stop, striding forward with imperious steps and stern eyes. He was dressed for a fight but unarmed, not a single bulge showing in his tight-fitting leather armor. His mana smelled of fire and water, with a well-developed coefficient. Somewhere between Kierra and Gordon Sr. A master.

The next to dismount was a large man with a shaved head and a quiet menace. He smelled of a simple earth affinity, but she immediately registered him as the most dangerous. It was his focus. His eyes rapidly flicked over the estate, gauging the threats before narrowing on Fen. Evaluating her.

The last one she recognized. The succubi constantly shared information. She recognized his face from when Lou investigated the disturbance in the city. Lucas Macklemore, the interim guildmaster of the Torchbearers. He had the smallest coefficient of the three and a basic wind affinity, but he had to have some worth if he was accompanying the others. He was certainly brave given the fate of the Teppin knights.

“Evening, gentlemen,” she called. “What—"

“Lucas, secure Lord Teppin. As for you, creature. If you want to survive, you will empty your entire core and surrender.”

“That is quite the demand for someone who has yet to introduce himself.” Her eyes focused on Lucas, who was walking toward her. Soon, he would be close enough to strike but she knew the other two were waiting for a reason to attack her. It wasn’t a fight she could win, unless they were complete incompetents. Better to stall. “And I won’t be surrendering. Surely you can understand why a woman would be nervous to render herself powerless to three strange men.”

“Lucas,” the man in the lead snapped. “Go. Don’t let it get in your head.”

“I know.”

Fen let him pass. If it did come to a fight, it would be better if one of them concerned themselves with safeguarding the nobles, even if it was the weakest. Her gaze moved to the leader as Lucas disappeared into the house. “My name is Fen.”

“Expel your core, creature. I won’t ask a third time,” he snapped.

“His name is Tanner, the Boiler,” the third said. “I am Korn, the Mountain. I’m here to guarantee that our business is conducted honorably. If you surrender, no harm will come to you.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

She didn’t need a spell to know he was telling the truth. It was as plain as Tanner’s agitation. “I see. That is relieving to know. Unfortunately, I can’t do that.”

“Cheh. Wasting our time.”

“I was hoping this wouldn’t end in violence,” Korn said, voice stern. “We know that succubi are skilled but we are both named hunters with plenty of experience. This is not a fight you can win.”

Fen chuckled. “If only I had the choice.”

Sensing Tanner’s hostility spike, she made the first move, forming and launching a white-hot needle of fire before dashing toward him. She didn’t know either of their abilities, but she knew the strengths and weaknesses of their affinities. A fire caster would be much easier to dispatch than an earth caster, so he was the natural target.

Korn didn’t lie when he said they had experience. Fen’s spell was launched at the speed of an arrow, but Tanner managed to defend, his eyes glowing as he disassembled the spell, the heat displaced into the air. Korn also moved, dashing forward with a speed she didn’t expect. She grabbed Tanner as he tried to backpedal out of her reach but before she could attempt to attack his mind, Korn tackled her off him.

Fen shifted her tail, the spade-end transforming into a point before she tried to stab the hunter pinning her down through the neck. She barely managed to scratch him. She didn’t waste a moment before buffing herself and head-butting the man. His grip instantly lost its strength. Korn demonstrated some skill, using the properties of the earth affinity to buff his defense in lieu of a physical affinity, but he’d made a common mistake. No matter how tough the skin, organs remained vulnerable to shock. Specifically, the brain could be rattled.

She pushed him off her and was immediately met with the disgusting feeling of mana intrusion. Tanner stared at her with narrow, glowing eyes. She didn’t know the full extent of his spell, but she could feel her body heating up. Mana intrusion didn’t care for skill. It was a numbers game, where the largest core had the advantage.

Though her natural resistances held the spell at bay, as long as he poured mana into it, it’d overcome her efforts eventually. He needed to die or at least have his concentration disrupted. She threw three needles of fire at Tanner while leaping to the side to avoid the earth shifting beneath her feet, Korn having already recovered, harassing her before getting to his feet. Worse, Tanner proved his ability by once again countering her attack without stopping his main spell.

Casting two spells at once was not an easy thing. It required splitting one’s attention entirely, thinking two separate thoughts at the same time. Not impossible but a skill that had to be trained extensively, especially to be used in combat. She lamented not having the option of retreat before changing her tactic. Pain wracked her being as she drained her core, her neck bulging as she grew a new organ and her nails turning into claws. Then she rushed the fire caster.

Whistling air alerted her to Korn’s attack and she dropped. Two small rocks flew through where her chest would have been, fast enough she suspected they would have punched through plate armor, and she scuttled away as more projectiles followed. They were fast but dodging them was child play when she could feel when the earth caster was going to attack. He relied too much on their speed, constantly aiming for where she was rather than predicting her path. It was even more obvious when he rushed at her again, ready to pull her away from Tanner.

The fire caster was also ready to defend himself. She could feel his focus as he prepared to fend off her next lounge. However, she knew better than to attempt a strategy that had already failed. Five steps from Tanner, she turned on her heels and lunged at Korn.

She saw his eyes widen as he opened his arms like a loving father welcoming a particularly enthusiastic child. Her claws didn’t dig into his chest, but his arms didn’t break her as he intended either.

Tanner’s spell finally gained purchase and the heat suffusing her body intensified rapidly. She was fully cognizant of her body and knew the spell was targeting her blood. A combination of the man’s two affinities designed to take apart a creature from the inside, regardless of its defenses. A continuously damaging spell meant to counter her regeneration.

As she thought, elites specially chosen for a job. For her.

As she set her magic to work to preserving her life, her throat expanded, a loud croak building in her chest as the skin of her throat tinted green. Korn tried to shove her off, but the tail wrapped around his waist held her in place as she opened her mouth and belched out a cloud of green gas.

She felt him stiffen as he stopped breathing. Fen used her claws to pry open his eyes as the ground beneath them rippled, swallowing them. Then she was trapped in solidly compacted earth, unable to properly breathe. She could feel Korn’s rising panic as the poison started to do its job. In his panic, he forgot about her. Or perhaps not. Between having to claw her way out of the earth and combating her boiling blood, her core was rapidly depleted.

By the time she broke the surface, she’d estimate her mana was in the single digits. If she were human, she would have passed out from the pain of mana strain. She could endure it, but spasms wracked her body, impairing her movements.

Her raging blood calmed, Tanner likely having sensed her poor state from how easily his own spell ravaged her body. She watched as he knelt beside Korn, who was on his hands and knees dry heaving. The fire caster reached inside his leather vest and pulled out a thin vial of yellow liquid. He kicked his ally onto his back, kneeling next to him and raising his head to make pouring the liquid down his throat easier.

When he finished, he stood, catching Fen’s gaze. “Cure all. When one’s greatest weakness is poison, it pays to be wary of it.” He walked over to her but was careful to stay out of lunging range. A shame. She could have eked out one more attack if he let down his guard. “Did you think you were the first to think about bypassing his magic? Though whatever you did is certainly potent. He’s doses himself with the deadliest poisons in the kingdom and has an incredible tolerance. Perhaps something to explore while you’re in our custody.”

“Your custody?”

“Of course. There is a reason why you haven’t already been executed. You and all the other members of the Lourianne Tome’s household will be brought into our custody and we will end this farce once and for all. The others you sent aren’t going anywhere, we had the entire estate surrounded.”

The speck of power it took to increase her sensitivity to his thought emissions sent a bolt of pain through Fen’s body, but it was all laid out. They knew of Slaid’s cruel solution to the division between the guilds and the March. For once, Lou’s enemies were not underestimating her. Kierra killing a guildmaster singlehandedly combined with the stories of the March had convinced them that they couldn’t win in a direct confrontation, or at the very least, the losses incurred would be unacceptable.

So, they decided to target Lou’s one weakness. The people she cared for. While she assaulted their not-so-secret meeting, they stormed the estate, intending to capture as many hostages as they could. They had no illusions that Lou could stop the March, but they hoped to negotiate her out of participating.

As for Fen, he planned to raid her mind for every secret related to Lou. Her abilities, her family, her goals. Along with anything else they could get their fingers on. They had their own mental casters. It was far too valuable a resource to leave solely in the hands of the crown. And while they couldn’t match her for skill, eventually, they could overwhelm her defenses.

She couldn’t allow that.

“What’s so funny?” Tanner demanded as Fen chuckled.

“You are,” she rasped, throat still damaged as she’d run out of mana for healing. “You have no idea what you have just unleashed.”

“Please. It’s unseemly to posture at this stage. You can’t do anything to me.”

“You’re correct. But I can do something to myself.”

“Heal and I will burn you to near-death again.”

Fen chuckled harder, ignoring how painful it was. She had no intention of healing. Rather, the opposite.

With the last spark of her power, Fen reached out to Junior and gave a single order.

Kill yourself.