“Just hide Eshantri and talk with him?” Lucy suggested.

“You are going to behave, right?” I addressed the demon.

“Yes.” She said meekly.

“I shall keep an eye on her, my ladies.” Lily volunteered.

“I will help!” Shani offered.

Eshantri morphed into an elf. Probably a reasonable choice. We could always pretend she was someone in my service.

Once more Elandru escorted someone in. This negotiator did not look like a diplomat. He was built like a tank. He was big, bulky and covered in armour. His face looked hard, his eyes were cold. A big sword was slung over his back.

“I am Inquisitor Raymond. You are all under arrest for crimes against the Empire. Surrender now, or face the consequences!”

Just how stupid could you be? Or did they want this to escalate? Did someone send this idiot to start a war?

“Are the consequences slaughter? Can we? Can we really?” Shani looked at me with puppy eyes.

“You are overstepping your authority!” Thessia said, addressing Raymond. “You are inside my temple!”

“Your temple is soon going to be firewood.” Raymond sneered.

“So much for negotiations.” I sighed. “Let’s pack our stuff and leave the Empire, for now. What do we need to start your ritual Thessia?”

“Didn’t you hear? You are under arrest! You are going nowhere!” Raymond insisted.

“Can I kill him now?” Shani asked.

“Eh, just throw him out.” I said.

Raymond tried to draw his sword, but Shani was faster. Her massive scythe appeared and hit his armour. Instead of slicing through it, the tip simply touched the metal. Lighting erupted and surged through the inquisitor. While he looked like a hardened fighter, he certainly screamed like a little girl. Then again, electrocution was painful I suppose.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“You… you attacked him. They will think we started it!” Josef said, panicking.

“Do you really think this could have ended differently? You know they can’t afford for us to reveal the mind control. I was hoping the negotiator would be someone working for the Emperor, not the inquisition. The moment this person was chosen to talk with us the outcome was decided.” I said. “Thessia was right, this is going to end in war. Maybe I was naive for not noticing that sooner.”

“I shall prepare the ritual to move my tree but it will take me a few hours.” Thessia said. “Elandru, pack everything that is needed. We shall abandon Unitera.”

Meanwhile, Shani was whistling as she dragged the inquisitor outside. Would the soldiers attack when they saw the elemental?

“I will take a look outside, to see what happens.” I wondered what the priests of the nearby temples would do. Probably nothing, unless someone used magic destructive enough to hit them as well.

What I did not expect was the chaos I found. A familiar face was struggling against the inquisition.

“Stop, you can’t attack a temple!” Iris shouted. She was currently being subdued by the inquisition. While we were inside, more soldiers had arrived. They awkwardly watched as she was being overwhelmed, not daring to interfere. The inquisition itself brought more troops as well. A small army was assembled before me.

Shani just threw the inquisitor towards the soldiers. That certainly got their attention. What I did not expect was Captain Gunther to emerge. Then again, he was in charge of the garrison. Unfortunately he hated me, and Iris, and probably everyone with at least two brain cells. Because that was more than he had.

“Ah. The foreign slut. This time you will get what is coming to you.” He said.

“Really? Did you forget the meeting already? Would you like to experience my aura again?”

“Your magic tricks won’t help you this time. The cleansing has begun. And the Empire will rise to new glory!”

I saw magic shoot into the air. It was not an attack, more like a flare. It was answered by explosions in the distance. Did they start a coup? It looked like Gunther was working with the inquisition.

Wait… did they demote Iris to ensure she could not rally the guards? And the missing mages… when the demons attacked all the mages were gone from the garrison. What if they did not just lure them away to create an opening for the demon attack? What if the inquisition abducted them to enslave them with their mind control? Maybe the demons simply used the opportunity to strike.

No matter. I could contemplate all that later. “Shani, get Iris.”

It was time to show them who they were messing with. I summoned my power. And I did not hold back. The sky darkened as the familiar clouds formed. My rage, my hatred for the inquisition was answered with lightning and thunder. I had to be careful about any actual magic I unleashed. I did not want to attack the temples, or innocent bystanders. But I would deal with this army.

“You want to challenge me? So be it.”

I decided to start small. Storm Bolts, a third tier spell. Three lightning bolts descended from the angry clouds and hit Gunther. An amulet he was wearing flared to live… and shattered. Then he screamed. It looked like he came prepared with an item to resist electricity. Too bad that my magic had a piercing attribute.

Shani moved like the wind, in the blink of an eye she reached Iris. Her scythe effortlessly cut through the soldiers holding her. A moment later she was back and dumped the surprised woman behind me.

“Finally! Finally we can cut loose!” Shani danced a little.

Lucy appeared from inside the temple, spear in hand. Her tail was once more covered in tiny bolts of lightning. I guess Lily stayed inside to keep an eye on Eshantri. Lucy gave me a nod and we both used Storm’s Embrace. Protective winds enveloped us.

A lot of our enemies were lying on the ground, trembling in fear, crying or even passed out. My aura was too much for them to handle. But the ones still standing looked determined. They all wore expensive, likely magical, gear. In the front a shield wall formed as mages in the back raised their arms.