That morning, Subaru rode Patrasche back through woods filled with a loud, droning buzz. He was followed by Meili and Elsa mounted on her Guiltylowe. The other mabeasts followed. Strangely, Meili had shown no inclination to dismiss her new swarm and the giant bugs drifted slowly through the forest behind them, flying from tree to tree and pacing them.

“So, Subaru,” Meili called. “What do we do now?”

Subaru thought for a moment. “I don’t think that there’s any point in going back to the ambush spot,” Subaru yelled back. “The Griest army is pretty throughly fucked up beyond any chance of recovery. Assuming that the folks in charge of Siros in Anri’s absence have the slightest clue, they should have started capturing or demolishing what’s left of the army as soon as the sun came up and they could can see what’s going on.”

“So what do we do now?” Elsa asked.

Subaru shrugged. “For now we head back to Stoneybrooke. I think you deserve to take it easy for a bit. I’ve been running the two of you ragged for days.”

Subaru realized that Elsa and Meili were both staring at him.

Subaru chuckled at their thunderstruck expression. “So, I’m guessing that Capella wasn’t one for urging you guys to take it easy and pace yourselves?”

Meili shook her head. “She never gave us any ‘time off.’ The only time that we got to rest was if Mother forgot about us for a few days.”

Subaru shrugged. “I’d like to at least be thought of as ‘Better than Capella.’ It’s definitely faint praise but it’s something that I’m really determined to earn. Anyway, you two have been running yourself ragged. You deserve a few days of rest.”

“So what do we do now?” Elsa asked.

Subaru chuckled. “I’m still figuring that out. Let’s meet at the ambush spot around ten every morning just to keep in contact for when new situations pop up. Oh, and before I forget,” Subaru reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a small bottle.

He handed the cream liquor to Meili who took it with an expression of surprised delight.

“I hate the fact that I’m contributing to the delinquency of a minor here,” Subaru chuckled. “But you did great work over the past few days and you deserved to be rewarded for it.”

“Thanks, Subaru!” Meili cheered. A moment later she frowned. “Hey, Subaru, do you have any idea where I could find a little ice?”

“You’re on your own there, kid,” Subaru muttered. He looked at Elsa for a long moment.

She cocked her head curiously.

Subaru made a face and then sighed. He pulled a tiny bottle of blue liquid out of his robe and handed it to her. “You did a good job too, Elsa,” Subaru sighed.

Elsa grabbed it and drink it eagerly.

Subaru watched as a scar on Elsa’s shoulder faded away.

“Thank you, Master,” Elsa said fervently.

Subaru nodded and looked way.

Elsa’s been acting weird lately. Every time she drinks the Vitae she seems to be… acting less bloodthirsty and insane. Maybe somehow it’s making her more into a person who was unruined by Capella’s tender care. I don’t know how that’s possible but it seems to be true.

The sun had risen by the time Subaru got back to the house. Patrasche was dragging her feet when they returned to Stoneybrooke and Subaru wasn’t feeling much better. He put Patrasche in the stable and praised her a little before letting the exhausted earth dragon slip off to sleep. Then, Subaru half-walked and half-stumbled up into the house. He heard the girls chatting in the sitting room.

“Subaru!” Emilia cried as he staggered in. It looked like they had just finished breakfast. “Where were you all night?!”

“Hey, guys,” Subaru groaned, staggering onto the sofa and sitting down hard. “Mili, how are you feeling?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

“I feel fine, Subaru. Thank you,” Emilia replied. She rubbed his back. “You look awful!”

“Where have you been?!” Anri demanded.

Subaru took a deep breath. “Hey, Anri? Remember that whole war thing you had going on?”

Anri blinked in confusion. “Yeah?”

“Good news. You won.”

Anri’s jaw dropped. “What?!”

Subaru sighed, struggling to keep his eyes open. “Yeah, the Sanshi army has been broken into pieces. I can’t promise that you’ll get a peace treaty out of this but the siege is broken and Siros is not in any real danger anymore.”

Anri just stared at him.

Emilia broke into a radiant smile. “I told you you didn’t have to worry, Anri,” Emilia said proudly. “My Subaru can do anything!”

“How did you do that?!” Anri demanded.

Subaru groaned and lay back on the sofa beside Emilia, rubbing his eyes. “Some big bugs were involved…” He said on the verge of passing out.

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it,” He grumbled. “The point is that it’s done.”

“Then we can go home to Siros?!” Anri asked excitedly.

Subaru sighed. “No. Not yet,” Subaru said with his eyes shut. “There are still a lot of Sanshi soldiers in the area. We should give Siros the time to finish cleaning house before we head that way. And also, give me the time to get some sleep,” He added plaintively.

“Subaru, how long have you been awake?” Emilia asked in a worried voice.

Subaru chuckled. “Since the last time I slept here,” He admitted.

“Gods, Subaru. Go to bed!” Anri exclaimed.

“Yes, Subaru. Go to bed!” Emilia agreed.

“I’m going, I’m going,” He sighed.

That night, Subaru visited Lady Koi.

“Welcome, Lord Taiyang,” Koi said with a deep reverential bow, her hands hidden in her voluminous sleeves. Senko, standing beside her, made the exact same gesture.

I’ve never allowed Senko to meet any of my allies but since Taiyang already knows about her, there’s no point in being secretive. Besides, Senko clearly charmed Taiyang last time.

Such a clever girl. I’m not above taking advantage of her charms.

I need to keep Taiyang completely locked in my corner and he knows that. He’s very deliberately given me no other option. As soon as Taiyang withdraws his favor, Zeno and Aperitif will do their best to kill me. For a time, it was even probable that Cynthia would assist them!

Luckily, I managed to work things out with Cynthia. She’s still angry with me for drawing Taiyang’s attention to the Coins but she’s always been a sensible woman and she knows that we still need each other. I agreed to offer deference to her needs and concerns while I hold Taiyang’s favor and am functionally in command of the Coins. She accepted the peace-offering and the entire matter was smoothed over.

However, we’re both on borrowed time. The only thing keeping Zeno’s hands from our throats is Taiyang…

Taiyang sat down on a chair in Koi’s sitting room and Koi sat down on a sofa nearby. Senko knelt on the floor with impeccable poise.

Koi swelled with pride at her daughter’s grace.

“Before getting down to business, Lord Taiyang. I thought that I would offer you a bit of refreshment,” Koi smiled.

Senko silently reached under the table and pulled out a small bottle.

“A distinguished vintage from my own small collection,” Koi explained as Senko gracefully filled two wine glasses. “I hoped that it might meet with your favor.”

Taiyang lifted the glass and stared at it intently.

Koi concealed a frown. Is he checking for poisons? She worried.

Taiyang swirled the glass lightly then sniffed it. Finally, he raised it to his lips and seemed to inhale a small amount of wine.

“Carménère?” Taiyang murmured. “A very distinctive flavor of grape. A mix of grapes and plums and just a hit of oak. An exquisite vintage, Lady Koi. I commend your taste.”

Koi stared at Taiyang in shock. “Very… perceptive, my lord,” She said weakly. “Please, take the bottle with my compliments…”

Senko began to pour tea into two tea cups as well.

“Having offered you my divine protection,” Taiyang murmured, “I assume that Zeno has been behaving himself?”

“Indeed!” Koi purred. “Not only has Zeno refrained from any more acts of aggression but I have made a veritable fortune smuggling goods to Siros as well as earning great favor with the city’s ruler. My gratitude for your wise stewardship is immense!”

Zeno has pulled in his fangs for the moment but that won’t last much longer. If I know Zeno, he’ll try to annoy me in small ways and then grow emboldened when he isn’t slapped down.

He’s going to try to dare me to bring Taiyang into our personal squabbles. Asking Taiyang to reprimand Zeno for me is as good as telling Taiyang outright that I don’t have the stones to keep Zeno and the others under control. Zeno is hoping that Taiyang will decide he made a mistake empowering me as his Hand and replace me with Zeno instead.

Cynthia and I made a plan to ignore Zeno’s little offenses until he finally oversteps his bounds with something large enough that it could credibly interfere with one of Taiyang’s plans. Then we can bring the matter to Taiyang and let him deal with Zeno.

My judgment of Lord Taiyang is that he’s a ruler, not a leader. While he may desire lordship over the Black Silver Coins, he has no real interest in managing it. Any problem potent enough to earn his attention is likely to earn his fatal annoyance…

But that’s fine. That’s why I’m going to be so useful to him. He’ll need a skilled lieutenant to manage these things for him. I just need to ensure that he continues to value me highly…

“Lord Taiyang,” Koi continued. “I’m pleased that you’ve returned because I have managed to acquire the information you asked for!”

“Oh?” Taiyang said quietly but Koi could tell he was excited by the way he sat up straight.

“Yes. Securing this information was no small matter,” Koi explained. “It required close work and considerable expense from agents belonging to both Cynthia and my own-”

Koi heard Taiyang’s fingers drum against the arm of the chair and cut herself off.

“The spirits you seek are located at the manor of Lord Roswaal near the village of Arlem,” Koi said. “My agents indicate that Subaru Natsuki is not there and that no one knows where he is. His knight and several of his former companions are currently searching for Subaru Natsuki near Mirula and Lord Roswaal is still missing. The only known residents of the manor at this time are a small group of maids.”

“Maids…” Taiyang growled.

Koi swallowed hard. Is it my imagination or did the room just get colder?

It’s probably my imagination. I hope that it was my imagination…

Taiyang took a slow breath and handed Koi a tiny bottle of glowing blue liquid. “You have done well, Lady Koi. As such, you and your daughter shall continue to enjoy my protection from your enemies and my favor in your business ventures. The Witch of the Wastes is a giver of gifts beyond the power of Kings. Continue to serve so well and your rewards will not be small.”

Koi smiled as she eagerly accepted the Vitae. “Thank you, my lord,” She purred and bowed low.

Subaru returned to the house late that night. “Good news!” Subaru shouted ebulliently as he bounded into the room. “Guess who knows where the spirits are!”

“Really?!” Emilia asked excitedly.

“How did you figure that out?!” Anri asked.

Subaru hesitated. “Eh. Don’t worry about it. Anyway, the spirits are back at the manor and apparently the only people there are Ram and… Rem…” Subaru trailed off in a grumble.

Emilia scowled at the sound of that name for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself. “Are you going to go rescue them?” Emilia asked.

“Of course I am!” Subaru snorted then hesitated. “But it might be a few days,” Subaru admitted. “I’ll need to send a spy to scope out the area and confirm that this isn’t some kind of trap with Reinhard waiting to jump me the moment I walk in the door.”

“Reinhard?” Anri asked.

“Reinhard van Astrea. The Sword Saint. He’s… He was… a good friend of ours,” Subaru sighed.

The room was silent for a moment.

“So what’s the plan?” Anri asked.

Subaru thought for a moment. “I think I know the perfect agent to send.”

“Agents?” Anri echoed. “When did you get agents?”

Subaru smiled deprecatingly. “You asked me to win a war for you,” He told her. “Did you think when I leave here everyday I was just sitting at the local pub drinking my problems away?”

Anri rolled her eyes.

“Oh, Anri, one more thing. I’m expecting a package to be delivered today or tomorrow to that clearing just down the road.”

“Why there?” Emilia asked in confusion. “Why not just have it sent to the house?”

“Because I’m not sure that I want the people delivering it to know where we live,” Subaru said sweetly.

“Oh,” Emilia flushed.

“Anyway, Anri can you keep half an eye on the place for me? I don’t really want the stuff to get rained on. I’m not sure how well packed it is.”

“Sure,” Anri nodded.

Subaru took a deep breath. “Alright. So that’s the plan. I’ll go rescue the spirits and by then the Sanshi army should have been dispersed and captured. Then we’ll head toward Siros.”

The next morning, Subaru went to the meeting site on the Siros border. It wasn’t long before Meili and Elsa appeared, riding on a Guiltylowe.

“Hello, girls,” Subaru said as they dismounted.

“Good morning, Subaru,” Meili said cheerfully.

“You seem to be in a good mood today,” Elsa commented.

Subaru smiled. “Yeah. I got some really good news last night. Meili, you think you’re up for another job?”

“Just Meili?” Elsa asked, sounding disappointed.

“Yeah. It’s mostly reconnaissance,” Subaru explained. “Elsa, you can continue your vacation for another day or two. Meili, sorry to cut yours short but I’ll make it up to you later.”

Meili shrugged, not much bothered. “So what’s the job?” Meili asked.

Subaru took a moment to organize his thoughts. “Meili, I’m guessing that nobody in Arlem knows about your connections with Elsa and Capella?”

Meili nodded. “I didn’t burn any bridges before I left. It’s just good policy. Why?”

“I need you to go back there and do a little snooping for me,” He explained.

She shrugged. “I can do that. But I may have some issues explaining where I’ve been all these weeks…”

“I have a plan for that. But we can talk about it on the road.”

“Is this going to be dangerous?” Elsa worried.

Subaru shook his head. “It shouldn’t be. My intelligence indicates that there’s no one terribly dangerous there and Meili shouldn’t be attracting much attention anyway.”

Meili shook her head. “I’ll be fine, Big Sis. I’ll bring some of my mabeasts just in case but the folks there like me. They’ll be happy to see me again. I can hide my pack in the forest.”

“How many mabeasts are you bringing?” Subaru asked.

Meili shrugged and gestured toward her massive horde of mabeasts.

Subaru pinched the bridge of his nose. “Meili, you are not bringing six Guiltylowe, a few dozen wolgarm, and an entire swarm of goddamn Goki to Arlem!” He sighed. “There’s no way you can hide that many mabeasts in the forest!”

“Aww! Subaru! I-” Meili complained.

“Take a few of them,” Subaru cut her off. “The rest will still be here to play with when you get back! Take a Guiltylowe or two and a few other pets. That will sustain you for a few days.”

Meili pouted.

Subaru rode Patrasche down the road followed closely by Meili on her Guiltylowe. Meili had taken two Guiltylowe with her and a small pack of wolgarm. A few black Knickerbocker birds flew overhead.

Well, at least Meili has learned how to balance her pack for different jobs.

Patrasche raced through the forest, followed by the mabeasts. Regular exposure had made the riding dragon more comfortable near the Guiltylowe but Subaru sensed that Patrasche would have still appreciated it if the monsters hadn’t run quite so close to her.

“So what’s my cover story?” Meili asked.

“You’re going to tell everyone that you were taken prisoner by Taiyang,” Subaru told her.

“Taiyang?” Meili repeated. “That witch that you’ve invented for Lady Koi?”

“Might as well get some more use out of him,” Subaru said grimly.

“Um. But why would Taiyang kidnap me?” Meili asked. “I mean, why would he kidnap ‘Meili the innocent orphan girl,’ not ‘Meili the mabeast controller.’ Even if you want to say that Taiyang knows about my special power, I don’t think we want the villagers to know about it.”

“No. We don’t,” Subaru agreed. “Taiyang kidnapped you because you had information about Subaru Natsuki, his greatest enemy.”

Meili squinted at him. “Subaru, why would you invent an alter-ego that wants to kill you?” Meili asked in confusion.

“Because it gives Taiyang an excuse to be invested in my life. If I ask Koi to investigate Subaru, she’s going to want to know why she’s doing it. She might even figure out who I am. But if she knows Taiyang wants Subaru dead, there’s no issue. She understands why she’s doing it and she won’t be thinking there’s any deeper meaning there.”

Meili digested that. “I suppose that makes sense,” She said slowly.

“Besides, Taiyang doesn’t have a very long life expectancy at this point anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“The plan was always to use Taiyang to help me and my wife disappear. People will keep looking for me as long as I’m alive so I created Taiyang to ‘kill’ me. All we need to do is provide a few corpses, have Taiyang announce that he’s going back to sleep and go silent, and we’ve tied up all the loose ends. Nobody in the world is looking for Subaru Natsuki anymore and we can disappear.”

Meili thought it over. “That’s… actually kind of brilliant,” She murmured.

“Thanks, I worked hard on this plan,” Subaru chuckled.

Meili thought for a moment. “So what happened when Taiyang took me?”

“His minions grabbed you and brought you back to his lair to be interrogated. You suffered terribly for weeks but were finally offered the chance to prove that you had value to Taiyang by going out on a mission. You escaped your handlers and then you returned to Arlem which was the only place you ever really felt safe and accepted.”

Meili gave him a dubious look. “Subaru. You’re laying it on really thick,” She said critically.

Subaru laughed. “I’m just giving you a broad outline, Meili. Feel free to improvise as you please.”

Meili thought about it. “The basic idea is sound. It should work. So what am I going to do there?”

“I need you to try to gain access to Roswaal’s mansion.”

“That might be tricky,” Meili replied.

“They frequently hire the locals to do odd jobs,” Subaru replied. “You can probably find a way to get inside using that. Once you’re in, I need you to confirm if Beatrice and Puck are in the mansion. They’re spirits that I love very much.”

“OK,” Meili said slowly, sounding slightly confused.

“Then we’ll see if we can find a time when the manor will be empty or nearly empty.”

“And then you’ll come in and take your spirits?”

Subaru flashed her a grin. “And then ‘Taiyang’ will come and take the spirits. I have it on good authority that Taiyang is trying to locate them to use them as bait against Subaru. And when Taiyang is blamed for stealing them, that should confuse everyone into looking for Taiyang instead of Subaru and give us plenty of cover to get away safely.”

“That’s really smart!” Meili said in approval.

Subaru and Meili halted their mounts atop a ridge. The manor could barely be seen in the distance.

Meili slid off her mount and when to the road side. She began to smear her face and hair with mud.

“Nice touch,” Subaru approved.

Meili flashed him a grin and then pulled some ratty old clothes out of her backpack.

She began to strip herself.

Subaru winced. “Um. Why don’t I just give you some privacy for this?” Subaru said awkwardly.

Meili shrugged. “Whatever,” She said with clear indifference.

Ah, yes. Raised by mabeasts…

Subaru turned his mount so he was facing away. “One more thing, Meili. I had Koi set up a message drop site near Arlem. It’s in the bush right under the ‘Welcome to Arlem’ sign. When you’re ready for me to come back, just leave a note under there that’s addressed to ‘Lucas.’ Koi will ensure that I have it within a day or two and Elsa and I will come down here as fast as we can.”

Arlem is on a major trade route with the capitol. Koi’s men travel this road all the time so it was easy to tell them to watch for messages there.

“OK,” Meili said. Subaru heard her pulling her peasant clothes on. “I’ll set up camp for my pets near the river. You should be able to find them easily using your own mabeast powers. Let’s meet there when you come back.”

“Right,” Subaru started to ride off then hesitated. “Hey. Be careful, Meili,” He said seriously. “I don’t want you to get hurt doing this.”

“I’ll be fine. It’ll probably be easier than the last time I persuaded them to take me in,” She said confidently. “They’ll have even more reason to feel sorry for me now.”

Yeah, maybe. Or maybe they’ll just be more suspicious of you now…

Subaru frowned and took a deep breath. “Listen, Meili. If you have to bail, then bail,” Subaru said firmly. “It’s not the end of the world. We know where the spirits are now. If this plan doesn’t work, we’ll just cook up another one. Don’t put yourself at any risk.”

Meili’s eyes widened. “Um… gee. Thanks, Subaru,” She said, sounding uncertain how to respond.

Subaru kicked Patrasche’s sides and she took off at a run.

Subaru got back to the house well after dark and found the girls waiting in the sitting room. He was both pleased and annoyed to see that the girls had waited for him before eating dinner.

Anri had gotten some kind of mutton dish from the local inn.

“What happened, Subaru?” Emilia asked excitedly.

“I sent out a reconnaissance mission to investigate Arlem,” Subaru said, pulling up a chair and digging in to his food. He hadn’t eaten all day. “OK, so we should have the info we need to rescue Beatrice and Puck in a day or two,” Subaru replied.

“You got your package today, Subaru,” Anri said through a mouthful of food. “It’s a big box of white powder. I don’t know what it is but you got a lot of it. I had a hard time carrying it back here.”

Subaru began to smile. “Perfect! We’re almost ready to leave here so this is perfect timing. The army at Siros should be on its last legs in the next couple of days so I’ll spend the next few days making as much Vitae as I can. I don’t know how quickly we can set up to brew it in Siros so we need to have a sizable supply before we leave.”

“Oh. Good point!” Anri murmured. “I didn’t even think of that!”

Not to mention that now the war is over, I won’t have many opportunities to steal more Years. I need to get my hand on that ebony stone and fast. As soon as I get the spirits out, Anri owns me answers.

“Aren’t you going to bring the ‘lab equipment’ with us?” Emilia asked.

Subaru rocked his hand back and forth. “I mean, there’s no way that Patrasche can carry all that gear. I might try to double back here with a wagon-”

“I’ll be happy to send some guards to help you, Subaru,” Anri offered.

“Thanks but I don’t even know if we can ship the equipment. Most of it is made of glass and that’s hard to move safely, especially through the rocky mountain roads… Anyway, we want to be prepared just in case. Having a few weeks of Vitae on hand can’t be a bad idea. It’s not like it spoils easily. Right now, I want to focus on rescuing the spirits.”

Subaru couldn’t stop grinning. Finally! Just hang in there, Beako! In a few days, you’ll be safe with me again and then we’ll all be safe in Siros!

Zeno sat in his sitting room with a scowl on his face. For a man who looked and acted so brutish, his sitting room was a commodious area occupied by soft chairs and throw pillows.

He had been wise to allow one of his mistresses to decorate it.

Magic had healed his arm but the sting of his loss to Taiyang still stung.

The door opened and a man walked in with short orange hair and a small scar across his lips.

Zeno growled and put a small pouch of gold coins on the table. “What have you found for me, Gatz?”

Gatz sat down across from Zeno and grabbed the coins. “Koi told Taiyang about the spirits last night.”

“You think he’ll go for them?” Zeno growled.

Gatz shrugged. “Probably. I don’t know but he seems really fixated on them. Beyond that, I did find a real lead for you.”

“Alright, what is it?”

Gatz smirked. “Lady Koi asked me to deliver something to Taiyang’s lab. Some… chemical thing. I was supposed to drop it off in a clearing outside of Stoneybrooke and then amscray. But I decided to hide nearby just to see what would happen.”

“And what happened?”

“A girl came to pick it up.”

“A girl?” Zeno asked sounding bored.

Gatz snickered. “I recognize that girl. I’ve seen her wanted posters. That girl was Princess Kairei.”

Zeno’s eyes narrowed. “Bullshit.”

“I’m telling you, she is.”

Zeno thought about it for a minute. “Taiyang is working with Princess Kairei?” He asked skeptically.

“I know it sounds funny but it does make sense. Some asshole calling himself ‘The Witch of the Wastes’ has been giving Sanshi a hell of a time lately. He attacked the Witch Festival at Kocytos and killed Griest’s brother! Rumor has it that Taiyang even caused the Sanshi army to be devoured by a swarm of ravenous Goki! A couple of days ago, mabeasts and killers slaughtered a mansion full of people a few days ago. The next morning, hundreds of lower officers soldiers died in agony from poison. Taiyang didn’t take credit for that one explicitly but most people are assuming that he was involved.”

Zeno growled to himself. “What do you know about Taiyang?” He asked. “Where the hell did he come from?!”

Gatz shrugged. “He told Lady Koi that he’s been asleep for centuries in the Elior Forest and he just woke up. He’s trying to kill Subaru Natsuki.”

Zeno shook his head. “Well, well. Isn’t that convenient?” Zeno said sarcastically.

I don’t believe that story for a second. He just randomly wakes up now so that he can hunt down and kill that jumped-up piss-ant from down south?

No. Something else is going on here. But every liar has a motive. What’s the point of this lie?

It gives him an excuse to attack Subaru Natsuki? It lets him claim to be a witch?

Maybe that’s it. Maybe he just wants to pretend to be as powerful as the old Witches. I can’t imagine a real witch bothering with a syndicate like ours. Even the Sin Archbishops usually wouldn’t care what we do. Although the Mother of the Assassins pokes her nose in from time to time…

No. This has got to be some kind of con. Yeah, Taiyang is powerful but my gut tells me that he’s not as powerful as he wants us to think.

But what do I do with that? I can’t take him on alone.

Zeno thought for a moment. “Gatz, how sure are you that this girl was Kairei?”

“Bet my life on it.”

“Yeah. You have,” Zeno growled. “Do you know where she’s staying?”

“I followed her back to a house on the outskirts of Stoneybrooke. She only leaves to buy food. She seems to be holed up there.”

Zeno slowly began to smile. “It sounds like the enemy of my enemy might be my old friend. Especially now that I have something to bribe him with.”

Subaru had spent the whole day making as much Umbra and Vitae as he could. Late that day, Anri joined him in the lab. “Subaru, I’m really getting worried about Emilia.”

He sighed. “I know. All that the Vitae is doing right now is a holding action against the Black Dragon Blood and the curse will start progressing again if we miss a single dose. But until I-”

“Subaru,” Anri cut him off. “I meant… emotionally.”

“Huh?”

“Subaru. Emilia… I admit I haven’t known her very long but… I feel like she’s changed a lot since we met and not in a good way,” She said helplessly. “When we spoke in the cottage, I felt like she was trying to be… more than she currently was. Now… I get the impression she wants to be… less. I’m worried that she’s just… given up on herself.”

Subaru frowned.

“You haven’t noticed?”

Subaru sighed. “I noticed. I was just… trying to ignore it since I wasn’t sure what I could do about it…”

Anri nodded. “I know how you feel… I’ve tried cheering her up but the thing is she doesn’t seem depressed. Or at least, she won’t let me see if she feels depressed. I care about Emilia. I consider her a friend and I don’t have many. But I’m worried that Emilia sees me less as a friend and more as a… benefactor.”

“I don’t understand.”

Anri frowned, struggling to put her thoughts into words. “Subaru, friendship is usually a union of equals. Two people who enjoy one another’s company and care about each other. But I get the uncomfortable feeling that Emilia thinks I view her as some kind of charitable contribution. That I’m spending time with her and helping to take care of her just as an act of charity. Or it’s something that I’m doing for you, to pay you back for helping me.”

Subaru winced.

Anri sighed. “I’m not even sure how to address any of this. She never complains about it. Honestly, rather then frustrated, she just seems to be blindly grateful for any attention that she gets,” Anri finished sadly.

Subaru took a deep breath. “I think… I think maybe we need to heal her body before we can heal her heart,” He said uncertainly. “Right now, she’s trapped in bed. We have to carry her to the bathroom! How could anyone believe us when we encouraged them to feel stronger and more independent in that situation?”

Anri nodded sadly. “I really don’t like putting this on pause, Subaru,” Anri replied. “Emotional wounds tend to fester even more than physical wounds do. But I think you might have a point.”

It was quiet for a moment.

“So, when are we headed back to Siros?” Anri asked.

Subaru sighed. “A few days, I think. I picked up a message from my asset asking me to head over that way tonight. Hopefully, I’ll be able to rescue the spirits. We should have plenty of Vitae to last us a few weeks now. Then we can head for Siros.”

“Can Patrasche carry all that?” Anri asked.

Subaru made a face. “Good point. Maybe we should buy a wagon. Actually, a wagon would almost certainly be a more pleasant way for Emilia to travel anyway.”

Anri nodded. “I’ll start looking for a wagon. Do you think Patrasche will be willing to pull it?”

Subaru chuckled. “She’ll complain about it. But I’m guessing we can bribe her into it.”

Zeno sat at a table in a small tavern on the road between Kocytos and Sanshi. His men had paid for the use of the building tonight and then forcibly emptied the establishment if anyone balked.

One of Zeno’s lieutenants, a dark skinned, heavily tattooed man named Farouk, stood behind the bar, making drinks for the others. Zeno sat at the table alone, draining a flagon of beer.

The door opened and Zeno’s men all turned to it in sync, putting their hands on their weapons.

Zeno nodded once in approval of their training.

A bear of a man with a short, black beard entered the room followed by several guards. He wore a small circlet that stopped just a step short of being a crown and had a sword belted to his side. He looked at Zeno and his eyes narrowed but he did not appear to be at all surprised.

Zeno finished drinking his beer. “All of you. Get out!” Zeno ordered. “You stay!” Zeno pointed imperiously at Farouk.

“Your highness?” A guard whispered to the man in the circlet.

The man scowled. “All of you out,” He said coldly. “All but you, Derek.”

Derek nodded and took a step back, standing by the bar next to Farouk.

The man with the circlet slowly sat down at the table across from Zeno.

“Well,” Zeno grinned. “Hello, old friend.”

“Oh. Is that what we are?” The man replied dolorously.

Zeno feigned looking hurt as Farouk brought both men a flagon of beer. “Is that all you have to say?! We haven’t seen each other since our novitiate!”

The man sneered. “Yes, our novitiate where you were dishonored and exiled for cheating in that grand melee and killing Master Gareth-”

“Watch it, Malcolm,” Zeno said in a dangerous voice. “Don’t forget that you were right there with me, sabotaging that same equipment. If I hadn’t killed Gareth, you would have been thrown out on your ear right along with me. Wonder if your Dad would have left his throne to a cheat and a backstabber.”

Malcolm curled his lip. “And now you mean to make me pay for it?” He said in a dangerous whisper.

Zeno drained another flagon. “Don’t be stupid,” He said bluntly. “The two of us confronting each other would be a losing prospect for us both. We’ll do enough damage to each other to make sure that breathing is the only thing the winner has over the loser.”

Malcolm snorted. “What a high opinion of yourself you’ve cultivated. Tell me, are you still working in your little criminal underground?”

Zeno’s face darkened. “I’m an underboss of the Black Silver Coins, Malcolm,” He said in a soft, dangerous voice. “I have fingers stretched all over the continent. Unlike you, who is still stuck in this little frozen wasteland.”

Malcolm scowled at him and Zeno glared back.

“Enough of this. Why did you bring me here, Zeno?” Malcolm hissed.

Zeno leaned back in his chair, crossing his enormous arms across his chest. “We have a common enemy, Malcolm.”

“I doubt that,” Malcolm grumbled. “The local lawman works for me.”

Zeno snorted. “Taiyang.”

Malcolm looked incredulous. “Are you mad?! Are you really taking those stories seriously?!”

“Stories?!” Zeno asked. “The man killed your brother!”

“Robert was a weakling. A charlatan likely proclaimed himself a witch in front of him and my idiot brother died from fright,” Malcolm snorted. “This witch appears and just happens to attack my House? This is obviously all smoke and mirrors designed to obscure the activities of House Ithil operatives who poisoned my armies and killed my brother.”

Zeno digested that slowly and started to smile. “No. Not all smoke and mirrors. Taiyang’s real, Malcolm. I’ve met him.”

“After how many beers?” Malcolm said in a bored voice.

“None,” Zeno said flatly. “I saw him. He came to my home. He brought a horde of mabeasts with him. I punched him in the head and he didn’t blink. Then he broke my arm with one hand.”

Malcolm’s brow furrowed. He might despise Zeno but he still remembered him as a fearsome and powerful warrior on the practice field.

Malcolm shook his head. “Do you really expect me to believe that some ancient witch named Taiyang has risen from the grave and is now targeting my House?”

“No. I expect you to believe that someone powerful is calling himself Taiyang. He’s powerful and he’s dangerous but he’s using smoke and mirrors to convince everyone that he’s more dangerous than he really is.”

Malcolm leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard. “What’s my interest in all this? I have real problems, Zeno! Problems that killing this ‘Taiyang’ won’t solve! Even if he did cause most of them. Vengeance is sweet but it will have to wait until I tidy up the mess he made.”

Zeno smirked. “If we can come to an agreement, I think that I can fix all your problems for you.”

“Oh really?” Malcolm said with heavy skepticism. “Can the Black Silver Coins conquer Siros for me?”

Zeno snickered. “Probably. But I was thinking of something more basic. How would you like to know exactly where Princess Kairei is holed up?”

Malcolm gasped, his expression utterly shocked.

Zeno chuckled. “Here’s my offer, Malcolm. You help me kill Taiyang and I’ll lead you right to Princess Kairei. Then we can go back to pretending that we never heard of each other.”

Malcolm frowned. “How do I know that this is true?”

Zeno looked at him in annoyance. “You really think that I’m dumb enough to personally lead you somewhere and then be surrounded by Acolyte Knights when you figure out that I’m conning you?”

Malcolm digested that. “I get Kairei first,” He said firmly.

“Fine by me,” Zeno replied. “Here’s the plan. I have it on good authority that Taiyang goes off taking care of other business for most of the day. That’ll give us a chance to get into his lair, kidnap the princess, and get set up. He’ll be less likely to fight us if we have knives at the princess’s throat.”

“Taiyang is aligned to Princess Kairei?” Malcolm mused. “That has some interesting political ramifications.”

“I couldn’t care less about them,” Zeno shrugged. “Anyway, Taiyang will come back there once his mission is complete to rejoin the princess. We’ll be waiting for him there. You’ll have sent Kairei away under guard and we’ll kill Taiyang when he shows up. The Witch is out of my hair so I can control the Gusteko Black Silver Coins and you’ve conquered southern Gusteko. Everybody’s happy.”

Malcolm considered this carefully. “How powerful is this Taiyang?”

“Powerful enough that I’d die if I faced him alone,” Zeno said bluntly. “No matter who he is and what he wants, he’s a threat that needs to go down or he’ll keep spiking our wheels.”

Malcolm nodded slowly. “Very well. Give me the location. I’ll inform the Witch Hunters that I have a task for them. I’ll also bring Deann and her… student,” He curled his lip. “All of us together should be more than sufficient to deal with this pretender.”

Zeno smirked.

“What have you learned?” Subaru said two nights later as he, Elsa, and Meili sat in the dark woods not far from the manor. The sun had set a short time ago but the lights were still on in the manor.

Subaru had packed a few Years and a whole Decade of Vitae for this trip. It would allow him to reward Koi if her information had been accurate as well as well as Elsa and Meili for their hard work.

It will also let me bribe people if necessary.

The impromptu camp that Meili had created was situated on a green and mossy knoll next to the river.

Meili shrugged. “Well, Petra and the rest of the villagers bought my ‘kidnapped by Taiyang who wanted to learn more about Subaru Natsuki’ story. Petra still thinks that we’re best friends,” She said without a bit of guilt. “So when Petra got a job as a maid at the manor, I was allowed to go visit her whenever I wanted. I pretty much had free rein of the place. Ram objected to me being there at first but she seemed to change her mind one morning and stopped complaining.”

“Petra’s working as a maid?” He said in surprise.

Meili nodded. “Her mother’s gotten sick so she’s trying to make some money.”

Poor Petra… I wonder if there’s any way I can give her a few crowns. A couple of gold coins would probably solve most of their problems, especially if they needed medicine…

Subaru shook off the idea. “You found the spirits?” Subaru pressed.

“Eventually, yes,” Meili replied. “A cat and a little girl who talks funny, just like you said. They seem to spend all their time in their moving library and they never come out. They seem pretty depressed.”

Subaru took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Who else is in there?” Subaru asked.

“Tonight it’s just Petra. Rem, Ram, and Fredericka had some business in the capitol for Lord Roswaal.”

Fredericka, Subaru thought. I’d completely forgotten about her. She was the one who gave me Roswaal’s message that lured me straight into the Sanctuary. It seems like a lifetime ago…

Strange that any errand required all of them. Especially Fredericka…

“Sounds easy enough,” Subaru replied. “I assume that we can sneak in after dark?”

“No,” Meili shook her head.

Subaru raised an eyebrow.

“Petra mentioned to me that they had some kind of magical alarm system installed. Anyone who tries to sneak in is flagged immediately and an alarm rings out in the village asking for help.”

Good old Roswaal, Subaru thought sourly. I can fight off the villagers pretty easy but I don’t want to hurt them. And if things get dicey, Elsa and the mabeasts are likely to start slaughtering people before I can stop them.

“I assume that the alarm doesn’t sound if I go through the front door?”

“Not as long as you go through them before Petra seals the doors for the night,” Meili replied.

Subaru thought about it. “Any chance that you could just ‘accidentally’ leave the door unlocked for me?”

“Sorry, Subaru. The door alarm is triggered by magic. Petra is on the list who’s allowed to arm and disarm it but I’m not.”

Subaru sighed. “Right. Why should things be easy? Alright, fine. The mabeasts, Elsa, and I will just break into the manor through the front door.”

Meili nodded. “I gathered up some extra mabeasts from the forest. They’re ready to support you.” She pointed at the enormous pack of mabeasts lazing around the camp. “I’m guessing that you won’t have much trouble getting them to do what you want.”

Subaru scratched his chin. “Alright. Meili, go back inside and keep an eye on Petra to make sure that nothing messes up our plan.”

“Like what?!” She asked incredulously. “Petra’s idea of hand-to-hand combat involves pulling hair!”

Subaru sighed. “I don’t know. Anything! Oh and here,” Subaru pulled a small bottle out of his pocket and handed it to Meili.

Meili looked at him in confusion.

“Give that to Petra. Say that it’s a magic healing potion you’d gotten from Taiyang before you escaped and you want her to have it. A sip of this will probably fix whatever is wrong with her Mother.”

Meili sighed. “Do I have to, Subaru?”

Subaru blinked. “Huh? It’s the perfect solution. If you give this to her she’ll probably leave the mansion immediately to bring it to her Mother. Then we can just walk in and out.”

Meili’s face was stony. “Do you know what else she’ll do?”

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Subaru cocked his head in confusion.

Meili rolled her eyes. “She’s going to cry. She’s going to tell me again that she thinks of me like a sister,” Meili moaned. “She’s going to hug me!”

Elsa laughed.

“You’ll survive,” Subaru said dryly.

Meili made a face. “Hey, Subaru? I’ve been thinking. What about me? If I disappear again after all this, won’t the people be suspicious? What if we need ‘Meili’ to come back sometime?”

Subaru chuckled. “I’m your exit strategy. Taiyang came here for the spirits but lucky him, he found a runaway too. Taiyang orders you to return with him and you obey because you’re terrified that he would hurt poor Petra and the villagers if you ran again.”

“Damn, Subaru,” Meili said admiringly. “You’re good at this!”

“One more thing,” He added, pulling a sack about the size of a gym bag out of Patrasche’s saddlebag. “If we run into trouble and we need to cover our tracks, I’ll lay this down and light on fire.”

“What is it?” Meili asked.

“Sylvite powder soaked in lantern oil.”

Meili frowned at the bag. “So… what? Is it poisonous?”

“No. But it burns bright purple,” Subaru said with a rueful expression. “If we need to run, we’ll spread this out and leave a wall of ‘Witch-Fire’ behind us to discourage pursuit. I don’t think we’ll have much trouble convincing people that anyone who touches the fire will be cursed.”

Subaru sat in the camp surrounded by mabeasts, giving Meili plenty of time to get back to the manor, give the medicine to Petra, and for Petra to leave the mansion.

Elsa sat under a tree knitting calmly. “Elsa, did you bring that mask I asked you to?”

Elsa nodded. “I brought it but I don’t know why you wanted me to.”

“There’s a chance that we’ll see someone here tonight who could recognize you,” Subaru explained. “I don’t want anyone to know that ‘The Bowel Hunter’ and ‘Taiyang, Witch of the Wastes-’”

“Wow. We have such awesome titles!” Elsa chuckled.

Subaru gave her a patient look then continued, “I don’t want anyone to know that we’re connected. It might be an advantage someday that nobody knows that we’re working together. I’d rather not squander that if we don’t need to.”

Elsa shrugged. “Alright. Fine by me.”

Subaru nodded. “Behave yourself tonight, Elsa. Don’t kill anyone without my direct say-so.”

“I know, I know,” Elsa sighed, continuing her knitting. “Are we going to get going or what?”

Subaru thought about. It had been close to an hour since Meili had left. Subaru took a deep breath and pulled up his hood. “Alright, let’s go,” He said.

Elsa put her knitting needles away and stood up.

Subaru wreathed himself in shadows and marched up to the brightly lit manor. Elsa and several mabeasts followed close behind.

This was home. This was where everything happened. This is where Mili and I fell in love…

And now I’m going to attack it and probably traumatize a little girl who was stupid enough to think of me as a hero.

As Subaru approached the manor, the lights inside the building began to flicker and grow dim.

What happened? How did I end up here…

Subaru triggered Indomitable and kicked the huge door down. It splintered into a million pieces.

Far overhead, he saw the faces of Petra and Meili who were peering down over the railing in terrified dismay.

Shit. Meili wasn’t able to get Petra to leave…

“It’s Taiyang!” Meili screamed. “Run!”

Meili is one hell of an actress…

The pair sprinted into a room and Subaru heard them lock the door.

This feels wrong. It’s necessary but… It still feels wrong…

Subaru slowly climbed the stairs, followed by Elsa and the mabeasts. Each floor that he reached, he triggered Reason and Judgment and scanned every door to look for Beatrice’s library.

He found it on the third floor and raced forward with an excited grin.

He paused and turned toward the masked Elsa. “Wait here,” He instructed.

She nodded once.

Subaru opened the door and stepped into Beatrice’s library, discarding his shadow so as not to frighten the spirits.

The library was dark. It was empty.

“Hello?!” Subaru whispered around. There was no one in the library. All he saw was a single sealed envelope on Beatrice’s futon that said: Taiyang.

Subaru quickly tore open the envelope.

Hello, old friend,

I was terribly sorry that I was unavailable to greet you in person. Unfortunately, personal matters require me to be elsewhere tonight. But do not despair. I am certain that a meeting between us can be arranged in the near future. Also, do not be too harsh on little Meili. It took significant effort and guile on my part to ensure that she did not become aware of my returning to the manor and absconding with the spirits.

Really, I found this entire venture to be terribly rude on your part. Did you really think to come to my home and remove from it these precious treasures without my permission? Why did you not simply approach me to negotiate? I am certain that an arrangement could have been struck to return your precious Beatrice and Puck to you.

You may not believe this but you have no idea how proud I was when you managed to slip the bonds of my trap in the Sanctuary. I truly believed it to be impossible for you to escape but you have shown a nagging ability to make even the impossible seem feasible.

I finally understand your true capabilities. I never imagined that pathetic little fool Otto could have freed the Sanctuary under your influence. In many ways, I find this to be even more impressive than you yourself doing so. Anyone capable of taking my beloved teacher’s trials and surviving with their sanity intact has the makings of a hero. But what could you call someone capable of inspiring a pathetic and broken little puppet to pass the trials FOR him?

Could this be anything else than the mark of a true king?

I laugh to reflect on our early interactions. When we first met, I had no idea what you really were. I knew what you held but not to what extent. I dismissed you as a witch or even as an archbishop! Can you imagine?

Truthfully, if I had recognized you for what you were on our first meeting, I might have killed you! There is a limit to what risk even I will accept and I would not want it said that I raised up the young dragon that later bit off my head!

But now I know what you truly are and this means that I am certain you are more than adequately equipped to see my dreams realized. I recognize that treating with you is very much like playing with fire but if I can only look into her eyes once again then let this wretched world burn.

Moreover, you are not only capable of restoring my beloved teacher to me but you can offer me a fantasy that I hitherto had barely ventured to dream of: the opportunity to stand beside her as an equal! I would give anything to see this come to pass.

I’m aware that you may have… misgivings about offering such an elevation to me after our, how shall we say, mixed experiences together. But consider this: to facilitate your own vision for this world, whatever it may be, you will require talented and loyal vassals to execute your designs. You are well aware that you can not in any way dispute my talent and my beloved teacher is above me. Loyalty is another matter of course but it is a small thing that can be enforced by a binding magical contract.

This is my offer: Restore my teacher to me and elevate me so that I may finally be her peer. Vow to ensure our safety and I shall restore your spirits to you and vow my eternal subservience to you in all your goals. I can assure you that my teacher will be equally willing to submit to your reign, purely out of curiosity’s sake. She always found the very notion of you to be fascinating.

Truthfully, I am jealous.

Be aware that my Gospel is following you closely, Subaru Natsuki. Do not delude yourself into thinking that you can trick me. I assure you that darling Beatrice and dear Puck would be most dismayed should you attempt such a risky strategy.

For my elevation to be successful, it requires that I be compatible with your offering and that it be genuine. Do not attempt to mimic the the tricks done to those poor benighted Archbishops.

I confess that I’m uncertain which one will suit me best. I admit that I would prefer ‘Despair’ due to an unpleasant incident in my own past with its former bearer but who can say if I would be compatible? After all, what man truly knows himself?

Nonetheless, I am confident that you will figure it out and my Gospel will warn me if you fail to do your own due diligence.

I’ll be watching you carefully, Subaru Natsuki. I can barely stand the anticipation. After all these centuries, the fulfillment of all my dreams are nigh. I’m sure that you’re in a frightful rage right now but I’m confident that once you calm down, you’ll realize that cooperation is the only sensible path forward.

I will find you when you’re ready to fulfill our deal.

Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers

P.S.

Also, I deliberately left Petra in the manor this evening as a peace offering. I understand that you may have some cause to view me unfavorably but I know that you are fond of Petra and might wish to have her. I’ve yet to see you offer any significant attention to a grown woman. Instead you have given it all in favor of young girls like Felt, Beatrice, and little Meili. Given your fascination with young girls, I thought it quite probable that you would enjoy adding Petra to your collection.

Mistake me not, I pass no judgment in this regard. Life is short and we must all seek out affection wherever we can find it.

Do with Petra as you wish, either as a means to slake your lust or as an outlet for your rage at being outsmarted by myself once again.

I look forward to speaking with you soon, Child of the Unconquered Sun.

R

Subaru took slow, deep breaths, desperately trying to control his fury.

He stared at the empty library around him with flinty hatred.

He did this. He came here and he took my Beatrice away to use her as a hostage against me…

Out in the hallway, Elsa jumped as she watched the Guiltylowe all roar and cry out in dismay. They sensed Subaru’s fury radiating out from the library even as he struggled to contain it. They flinched back from his rage.

Subaru couldn’t remember triggering Endless Hunger again but it was active and its intensity was greater than he’d ever known before. The library didn’t just become dark and cold, ice and frost flashed across the floor and walls like streaks of lighting. Subaru saw his own breath misting the air as he struggled to control his rage. The temperature began to fluctuate rapidly. The sweeping temperature changes in the library were so extreme that a powerful wind began to blow in circles around the room.

Once again that bastard smugly puts my loved ones in danger and all as a means to make me dance to his tune.

Tough luck, Roswaal. It’s a whole new world now.

Anyone who threatens my family will die. It’s just that simple. I’ll find you, Roswaal. I’ll find you and I’ll give you oceans of time to regret what you’ve done.

You’ve just volunteered to be my sacrifice for the Anima. I’ll pour the Azoth down your lying throat myself. I can’t wait.

Subaru finally managed to more or less contain his rage. He dispelled the Endless Hunger.

He looked around. The room was now covered in frost.

Subaru took a deep breath. Alright. So Roswaal is apparently ‘watching’ me with his Gospel-thing. Whatever that means. Where did he even get one? Is Roswaal associated with the Witch Cult now?

Subaru frowned in confusion. Come to think of it… I don’t really understand anything that Roswaal said!

This is the story of my fucking life, my enemies always seem to think that I know more than I do! Couldn’t everyone just assume that I know nothing for a change? It would actually be refreshing!

I have no clue who Roswaal’s teacher is or how I could possibly reunite them.

Subaru had a brief mental image of Roswaal, Subaru, and Roswaal’s teacher, whom in Subaru’s imagination also looked like a clown, all sitting in a psychiatrist’s office while Subaru played marriage counselor.

He wants me to ‘elevate him?’

Roswaal, why not just tell me what it is that you want?! Why do I need to guess? What does it even mean to elevate him to his teacher’s equal? Does he want a new title? I forget what’s above a Margrave. A count or a duke maybe? Not that it matters. I’m not in the running for the throne any longer so I have no means to elevate him even if I wanted to.

No. He said it was my ‘blessing’ that he was after but that’s even more confusing.

And what does any of this have to do with the Archbishops? He warned me not to try to trick him like they were tricked.

Who tricked them? And about what?

Alright. Fuck it. I’m back to square one. If nothing else, I’m sure that Roswaal will take good care of Puck and Beatrice. He wants me to do… something for him much too badly to risk enraging me by mistreating Beatrice and Puck.

I’ll just have to wait until he makes contact again and gives me more information.

Waiting… Always waiting…

Fuck me.

Oh, Beatrice… I’m so, so sorry…

Meili’s pet Guiltylowe sat in the middle of the hallway with a frightened expression.

Subaru opened the door and the massive beast recoiled from Subaru’s shadow form. The beast turned its face away with a whimper.

Elsa stood completely still, shivering in the sudden cold.

“Where are they?” Subaru growled at the mabeast, trusting in its connection with Meili to tell the beast exactly where she was hiding.

The Guiltylowe bowed its head submissively and led Subaru down the hall. It gently touched one door with an enormous paw and then backed away from Subaru as quickly as it could.

Subaru triggered Indomitable and broke the door down.

The girls were hiding under the bed but Petra screamed involuntarily when the door exploded into the room.

“I sense something here,” Subaru said in a hollow echoing voice. “Something… familiar… A small thing who believed in her blind ignorance that she could escape the unimaginable glory that is Taiyang.”

Subaru was almost enjoying this. He was so filled with blind hate right now that impersonating a monster and scaring children was even pleasurable.

There was whispering from under the bed.

With a heavy sigh, Meili crawled out from under the bed in spite of Petra’s best efforts to stop her.

Petra stood up beside Meili, looking up at Subaru with tear-filled eyes. She was wearing a maid outfit.

“Foolishness. You are mine, child. Mine own. Mine chattel. You will never escape me…”

Meili looked all around the room, searching for an escape that did not exist. Finally, she slumped in defeat. “Lord Taiyang, if… if I go back with you,” She said in a miserable voice. “Will you promise to leave Petra alone?”

“No, Meili!” Petra cried.

“The girl means nothing to me,” Subaru said dismissively. “Return with me and I will permit your pet her freedom.”

Meili nodded and started to walk forward with her head hanging low.

Petra grabbed her hand. “No!”

Meili looked at her somberly. “You need to stay safe, Petra. Your mother needs you. And remember that potion I gave you. It’ll help you.”

“Meili,” Petra whimpered.

Meili gave her a sad smile. “Don’t forget about me… OK?” She whispered.

This girl needs to be on stage…

Meili put an expression of utter misery on her face and shook off Petra’s hand. Then she quietly followed Taiyang from the room.

Subaru’s last look at Petra was of the little girl crying on the floor, her face buried in her knees and a small blue bottle lying beside her.

Subaru marched downstairs while halfheartedly pretending to pull Meili along by her arm. Elsa and the mabeasts came after, oddly subdued as if they sensed a mighty predator nearby and wanted to avoid its attention.

Subaru’s rage was still visceral and it kept flaring up the more he tried to tramp it down. Subaru’s wrath not only devoured all the mana in the mansion but drained the warmth anywhere near him and it started to snow indoors.

Again. Roswaal managed to trick me again. He managed to lure me right into his trap again!

I knew that I was going right into his lair. Did I take extra precautions? Did I do more investigating?

No! Koi told me that Roswaal hadn’t been there and I just took her word for it.

I sent Meili into the jaws of the beast. Roswaal could have taken her prisoner too!

Not even all the maids being conveniently out of town tonight tipped me off! Everyone that could have given me leverage over Roswaal was gone. Roswaal played me like a fiddle.

Maybe I should tell Koi to find Roswaal…

I guess that’s my best option for right now. Although I doubt she can find him.

Let Roswaal think that I’m powerless. He might know about Meili and maybe even Elsa but that’s all he knows about.

He has no idea how far reaching my resources and powers have become. I’ll be able to catch him by surprise.

He mentioned that he’s never seen me paying attention to a grown woman. So at least he doesn’t remember Emilia and should have absolutely no reason to pay any particular attention to the Elior Forest.

Then again, it’s starting to seem increasingly unlikely that Emilia and I can disappear there…

Huh. I never realized that if you take Emilia out of the equation, the only people I’ve given lots of attention to are Reinhard, Felt, Beatrice, and the Arlem children…

Subaru reached the bottom floor and started to walk out through a huge broken door that was half hanging off its hinges. He noticed a small table next to the door. A completely unremarkable table that he’d paid not attention to before. All he remembered was that he often saw Ram and Rem polishing it.

Subaru scowled and marched over to the table. He triggered Indomitable and smashed the table to pieces.

Meili and Elsa looked at him in confusion.

Subaru gave the shattered furniture a vicious smile.

Obliterating the completely irrelevant table had been an act that was spiteful, petty, and pointless.

And it made Subaru feel much better.

The pair marched out of the manor and into the forest nearby. The mabeasts followed silently.

Subaru still hadn’t said a word.

Elsa held Meili’s trembling hand. Meili and Elsa both knew that something was very wrong when Subaru had no spirits with him but they didn’t dare to inquire further until they were well out of sight.

As they reached the camp where Patrasche was waiting, Subaru finally dispelled his shadow and the freezing temperature faded.

“Subaru,” Meili said slowly. “Did something go… wrong?” Subaru was no longer wrapped up in shadows but the rage on his face was almost more intimidating.

Subaru took a deep breath. “Roswaal came here,” He said, fighting not to snap at her. “Roswaal took the spirits…”

Meili blanched in horror. “Subaru! I swear I didn’t-”

“It’s not your fault, Meili!” Subaru grated through clenched teeth. “Roswaal was one step ahead of us from the word ‘go.’”

Subaru went to mount Patrasche but then he froze, trembling with fury. He clutched the saddle and panted for breath as his rage burned through him like molten magma.

“So, what do we do now?” Meili whispered.

Subaru took a deep breath. “I don’t know yet,” He said in a somewhat more composed tone. “All I know is that the clown is going to pay for his transgressions…”

“Are we going back to Stoneybrooke?” Elsa murmured.

Subaru hesitated. If I can’t rescue the spirits then there’s no point in hanging around in Stoneybrooke any longer. Anri needs to get back to her city and Emilia needs more care and attention than the two of us can give her. Some healing magic certainly wouldn’t be unwelcome either.

What do I do with Elsa and Meili? Emilia will be happy to see Meili, assuming that I tell the girl to to behave but Elsa will scare Anri and Emilia both to death.

Maybe I could send them ahead? They could clear the road to Siros. After the army broke up there could still be remnants in the mountains. A little extra protection won’t hurt.

I can bring them back to Stoneybrooke with me and then send them ahead of us to Siros.

Finally, Subaru nodded briefly. “We’re going back to my lab in Stoneybrooke briefly. Then we’ll head onto Siros and settle in there,” Subaru knew that his voice was still coldly furious but he couldn’t help it.

“What are we doing to do there?” Elsa asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Subaru sighed. “You two should start by going shopping for a house for the two of you. Then you can stay close and have your own space whenever you’re not doing tasks for me.”

Meili’s eyes widened. “A house?” Meili asked in wonder. Elsa seemed equally dumbfounded.

Subaru mounted Patrasche. “Yeah. I want you to find a place you’d like to live longterm. Then we’ll buy it and I’ll help you clean it up and make it comfortable. I owe you that much,” Subaru grumbled.

Meili looked at Subaru in shock. She was speechless as she and Elsa climbed onto the Guiltylowe.

Subaru nudged Patrasche and they took off like a shot. Meili followed.

The next morning, Anri and Emilia sat in the master bedroom upstairs. Anri had come to help Emilia get dressed and get ready for the day but they had gotten sidetracked and were discussing one of Anri’s books that she had lent Emilia. “Do you think Subaru will be back today?” Emilia asked hopefully.

“No idea,” Anri sighed. “But I hope that at least he found your spirits.”

Emilia nodded and her eyes grew watery. “I know that Daddy won’t remember me. And he still won’t like me very much. But just knowing that he’s safe would be… such an enormous weight off my mind…”

Before Anri could reply, they heard the front door open.

“Subaru?” Emilia brightened.

“He’s back awfully early,” Anri said with a worried expression.

They heard footsteps on the stairs.

Anri went to the bedroom door and then back slowly away, her face pale.

A handsome man with long blond hair and a sardonic expression walked slowly into the room. He had a sword belted at his side and he wore a tabard over his breastplate.

“Hello, Princess,” The man smirked. “My, my, most of Gusteko has been looking for you.”

Anri took a deep breath. “I fail to see how that would involve the Witch Hunters, Gilbert de Ray.”

“Witch Hunters?!” Emilia gasped. She desperately tried to reach out for her magic but it didn’t respond. The Black Dragon Blood’s curse still blocked it. She tried to climb out of bed but her legs refused to cooperate. More men came into the room.

“Really?” Gilbert mused. “I have it on good authority that you have been dealing with some very bad people recently. Does that ring a bell? Foreigners, demi-humans, and witches?”

Anri scowled. “Good authority?! You heard that directly from Malcolm an Griest. Did you even bother to get any corroborating evidence of his accusations?!”

Gilbert gave Anri an amused look. “Corroborate what? That you’re associating with foreign scum? I can see evidence of that before my own eyes. Worse, you appear to be cohabitating with demi-humans and bringing foreigners into Gusteko politics. It’s hardly a surprise that a House accursed should fall so readily into corruption. The Holy King was a fool to restore your standing but such matters are easily rectified.”

Anri took a deep breath. “Then you’ll deliver me to the Basilica so that these ‘charges’ can be investigated?” Anri asked calmly.

“Hm? Oh no, Princess. I don’t think so. That would really be inconvenient. I’ll have to find someplace closer to drop you off while I track down and deal with this ‘Taiyang.’ I imagine that Sanshi will serve.”

Anri’s expression was enraged. “You’re supposed to be working for the Church, not for House Griest! How can you justify taking a nakedly partisan position in the war?”

“My position isn’t partisan at all, Kairei,” Gilbert said flatly. “I am engaged in the holy calling of defending fair Gusteko from all who would seek to defile it. I simply make allies where I find them. Malcolm an Griest and I share the exact same goal: The destruction of a House that shames all of Gusteko by its ill repute.”

Anri turned pale.

“Where is Taiyang?” He asked.

Anri and Emilia looked at each other in confusion. “Who?” Anri asked.

“Don’t insult my intelligence,” Gilbert snorted.

“I’ll do my best but it’s not easy,” Anri said, folding her arms across her chest as two large guards took Anri by the shoulders. “I don’t know who ‘Taiyang’ is and I don’t know where he is. Pity. Looks like you’re just stuck with me.”

“And your little friend,” Gilbert pointed toward Emilia. A soldier marched over to the bedridden elf with a faintly nauseous look on his face as if he were about to touch something filthy.

“She has nothing to do with any of this! There’s no reason to take her prisoner!” Anri shouted.

“She’s not a prisoner, Princess,” Gilbert shrugged. “She’s evidence. Evidence of your crimes and of your miscegenation.”

Anri huffed as the soldiers began to drag her from the room. “We’re both women so I doubt that you know what that word means, Gilbert! Leave her alone! She’s useless to you. She can’t even walk right now.”

Gilbert sniffed. “You’re right about one thing. She is utterly useless,” He agreed. He looked at the guard. “Take her. Drag her down the stairs if you have to.”

Emilia was seized under one arm. She beat at the man’s chest with her fists but with no mana to boost her strength, her blows were insignificant. The soldier responded with a backhanded slap across Emilia’s face that landed with stunning force and left her in a daze.

Emilia could barely move as the soldier dragged her out of bed, clad only in a thin shift. Emilia bit her lip against crying out in pain as she was dragged down the staircase. Her useless legs hit every step.

Anri and Emilia were dragged to a carriage. An enormous tattooed man stood beside it.

Anri checked her satchel. At least she’d managed to rescue some of Emilia’s medicine before they dragged her out of the house.

“Hm,” The enormous man snorted, taking a long leer at Emilia. “If you lot don’t want that one, I’ll take her,” She said with an evil smirk.

“They’re all going back to Sanshi,” A guard said firmly.

Zeno shrugged, not much bothered by this.

The guard picked up Emilia and all but threw her limp body into the carriage.

Emilia landed hard with a yelp.

“Hey!” Anri protested.

“Princess!” A voice called.

Anri sighed and turned around, her hands folded behind her back and her chin raised up imperiously as a bear of a man with a large black beard approached. He had a vicious smirk on his face. “Princess, how lovely to see you again. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“So I’ve gathered, Malcolm,” She said pointedly. “Sorry. I would have come to see you but I was too busy dismantling your armies.”

Malcolm’s face twisted in fury but his smile came back quickly. “A setback to be sure but in the end, you’ve lost and I’ve won. You will be my prisoner here until Siros agrees to submit. And then, you, my dear ‘Frost Queen,’ will be executed.”

Anri pursed her lips, refusing to allow Malcolm to see her quail.

Malcolm snorted. “Put her in the carriage and let’s get moving.”

“Yes, sir,” The guard replied, forcing Anri into the carriage and locking the door.

Zeno snorted. “Well, looks like you’re finally the ruler of southern Gusteko, Malcolm,” He drawled. “What are you going to do next?”

“That is not your concern,” Malcolm said coldly. “You are dismissed.”

Zeno’s face darkened. “Excuse me?” He growled.

“We will deal with this ‘Taiyang,’” Malcolm said. “You can scurry back to whatever roach-hole you usually reside in.”

Zeno bared his teeth but he pondered the situation carefully. Despite his thuggish appearance, Zeno was quick-witted and strategic.

Zeno didn’t especially want to kill Taiyang personally, he just wanted him dead. If Malcolm could kill him, great. If Malcolm failed to kill him and Zeno wasn’t here when it happened, there was a very real possibility that Zeno’s perfidy would never come to light. He could plead ignorance, wait and scheme, and come up with another plan.

Finally, Zeno shrugged. “Whatever,” He said, walking away. His lieutenant Farouk and a handful of his best men, waited by a carriage nearby.

“Farouk,” Zeno muttered.

His lieutenant flew to his side. “Yes, boss?”

“Change of plans,” Zeno growled. “We’re leaving.”

“We… are?” Farouk asked in confusion.

Zeno snorted. “Send out the word to all our forces. Execute plan ‘fox hunt.’”

Malcolm watched Zeno climb into his carriage and trundle away.

Malcolm snorted and then dismissed his old ally from mind. “The princess and I depart for Sanshi immediately,” Malcolm called to Deann. He lowered his voice as he approached her. “Daughter, I have received new… intelligence. This ‘Taiyang’ may arrive here by nightfall. Wait here for him.”

Gilbert approached them with a frown. “What is this… intelligence?” Gilbert asked slowly.

“That is not your concern. It is reliable intelligence, you may be certain of that,” Malcolm said firmly. He turned back to Deann. “Daughter, wait here until nightfall. Just in case Taiyang does appear. If he does, teach him a lesson for meddling in our affairs.”

Deann nodded solemnly.

Malcolm climbed into another carriage and rolled away, followed by the carriage containing the princess.

“Nice of him to stay and help,” Duncan muttered to Deann.

Deann pretended deafness and didn’t respond.

Duncan heard the Witch Hunters cheering and turned around.

He stared in near shock as the hunters tossed burning torches onto the house and set it ablaze.

“What the devil are you doing?!” Duncan demanded, racing over to Gilbert.

Gilbert looked quizzically at Duncan. “Burning a witch’s hut.”

“First of all,” Duncan grated. “We’re supposed to be sitting here and waiting to ambush this witch. A burning house is a beacon signal that can be seen for miles around that just screams something is very wrong and to stay away! Secondly, what do you plan to do if the fire spreads through this forest? There’s a village a few miles away!”

Gilbert frowned and thought about it for a minute. “Don’t… don’t be a killjoy,” Gilbert said finally. “My men are having fun.”

Duncan scowled at Gilbert who resolutely turned his back on him.

Duncan grabbed his mace tightly and he fought not to bring it down on Gilbert’s head. Then he slowly took his hand off his weapon and marched back over to Deann.

“Please give me my bag!” Anri fumed at the guard when they stopped to rest the dragons and eat lunch. The soldiers had made a small fire and were preparing a quick meal.

“What’s going on here?” Malcolm muttered, walking over to Anri.

The guard turned and bowed to the prince.

Anri closed her eyes and steadied herself. “Prince Malcolm,” Anri said slowly. “My companion is very sick. She needs the medicine in my satchel. Surely you wouldn’t deny her that?”

Malcolm smirked at her. “Where is this medicine?”

Anri felt uncomfortable but she had no choice but to play ball. “It’s in my satchel over there.” She pointed out to where a guard had secured her bag.

Malcolm walked over to her satchel and took out a bottle of Vitae the size of a thermos. “What is this?” He murmured in confusion.

“Medicine,” Anri said again. “Please. My companion has done nothing to you. She’s just my… servant. There’s no reason to make her suffer because of your grievances against me.”

Malcolm walked back toward the campfire with a thoughtful expression on his face. “You are correct,” He admitted. “Your servant has done nothing to me. Other than choose an inept princess to serve,” He amended as he strode around the area, surrounded by his guards.

Malcolm pulled the cork out of the bottle and casually poured the Vitae out into the dirt.

Anri gasped. “What are you doing?!” She rushed over trying to stop him but the guard held her back.

Malcolm poured out the entire quantity and shook the bottle a few times for good measure. He then walked back and handed the empty bottle to the horrified Anri.

“I’m making a statement,” Malcolm said pleasantly. “You see, whom you choose to serve has consequences. In this case, your people chose to serve and follow an idiotic princess of an accursed bloodline. You’ve led your people to utter ruin but it’s so hard to make that revelation visceral to you. So, please watch your companion slowly die while you’re helpless to prevent it. That should give you perspective on what an inept leader you really were. You failed to save your city, your guards, and even your friends. History will vindicate me for my war to preserve Gusteko’s purity.”

Anri again tried to throw herself at him but the guard held her back. “Be honest with me at least, Malcolm,” She hissed at him through clenched teeth. “Our war has nothing to do with ‘purity.’ It has to do with your insatiable lust for power and gold!”

Without changing expression, Malcolm backhanded Anri. She fell back into the guard’s arms, stunned. She touched her mouth and her hand came away wet with blood.

“You refuse to learn,” Malcolm said in mock pity. “Just like your idiot brother. I really should try to teach you some manners so you can better represent proper Gusteko etiquette. But why bother to educate the dead?” He mocked.

Anri jumped toward him, her fingers extended claw-like at his throat but the guard held Anri back without difficulty. Malcolm just smirked and walked away.

He made it a few paces before a soft sound brought him to a halt. It sounded like stones being sifted.

Malcolm looked back at the dry, rocky soil where pebbles were being pushed aside by a small green shoot that pushed up from the earth.

A plant was growing in the bare soil but it was doing in seconds the work of years.

The green shoot pushed up and started to break into multiple branches. The skin of the plant turned brown, hard, and coarsely textured. In a matter of moments there was a young tree proudly standing in the middle of the dry, sandy ground. Grass and ferns grow thickly around its roots but the ground just a foot away was bare, rocky, and bone-dry.

Malcolm stared at the spectacle in shock.

The soldiers all murmured in fear.

Malcolm snatched the bottle from Anri. “What is this?!” He demanded in a roar.

Anri was gaping as hard as anyone else. “I… I don’t know. I was… just told it was medicine…”

“Taiyang’s witchcraft,” Malcolm growled.

“Who is Taiyang?!” Anri asked in exasperation.

Malcolm ignored her and handed the empty vial to one of his guards. “Bring that to the best alchemists in Sanshi when we get back and have them analyze whatever is left. I want to to know what it is, what it does, and where it came from!”

The soldier nodded.

You shook it out, Griest Anri thought with disdain. You have nothing left in the bottle to analyze. You’re so busy trying to act decisive that you don’t realize that you’re acting like an idiot.

Malcolm glared at Anri for a long moment and then walked away.

The guard restraining Anri finally released her and stepped away, looking nervous. Anri took a deep breath and climbed back into the carriage.

Emilia lay there under a thin blanket, unconscious. She whimpered in her sleep. Anri gently lifted the blanket to inspect her. The marks along her legs were starting to bleed again.

Anri bowed her head in despair.

Subaru arrived back in Stoneybrooke late that afternoon. The aroma of smoke hung heavy in the air.

Subaru turned to Meili and Elsa who looked at him sympathetically. Subaru had been sullen and moody all night.

“You guys wait here,” He said quietly. “I need to check a few things out and discuss next steps with someone. Then I’ll let you know how we’re going to do this.”

Elsa and Meili nodded. They dismounted and waited in the woods not far from the house, surrounded by mabeasts.

He dismounted Patrasche and led her by the reins slowly back to the house, his thoughts grim.

Subaru sighed. Alright. So, there’s no point hanging out here any longer. We have plenty of Vitae saved up. We’ll head to Siros and then we can regroup and wait for Koi to find any other information about the spirits and Roswaal. The only question is does it make sense to leave tomorrow morning or should we just leave right now? We’re all tired. How long will-

Subaru stopped talking to himself and his heart stopped as he finally noticed the burned out husk of the house.

“Oh my god!” He screamed.

“And who do we have here?” A clear voice rang out.

Subaru spun around. Standing in the shadows of the nearby trees was a man with long blond hair as well as a large crowd of soldiers and a few men in black robes.

“Do you think that this is the witch?” Gilbert said idly to the people who stood beside him, a man in heavy armor with blond hair and a delicate woman in a flowing robe and two short swords belted at her side.

Subaru clenched his teeth until he feared that his jaw would snap. “Where’s Emilia?!” He roared.

“Emilia?” Gilbert raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you mean Kairei?”

“Answer the question,” Subaru whispered between clenched teeth.

Gilbert looked confused for a moment and then his face twisted in revulsion. “Are you seriously concerned about that elf?! That is… truly disgusting! Lagunican association with demi-human is simply mind boggling. Do you really fuck animals as well?!”

Subaru took a deep breath. “Buddy. You have exactly five seconds to tell me where Emilia is. After that, I won’t be responsible for what happens to you.”

Gilbert’s face twisted in rage. “You fantastic fool. Do you think I’m inexperienced at fighting men with strange powers?! I am more than prepared to deal with you! I have two more Acolyte Knights with me to ensure that we rip your gruesome body to pieces and feed it to the crows!”

The armored man looked at Gilbert with disgust. “Enough of this!” He shouted. “We’re here to clean up a potential threat to the realm, Gilbert, not to indulge in your ‘racial purity’ bullshit!”

Gilbert’s eyes glittered dangerously. “You had best watch your tongue, Duncan,” He warned.

“Or you’ll do what exactly?” He said just as quietly.

“Both of you, stop it!” Deann said. “Fight the enemy first. Then you can fight each other!”

“Sound advice, I must say,” Gilbert said, turning his attention back to Subaru. “Time to die, freak of nature.”

Gilbert made a gesture.

The priests behind him bowed their heads and began to chant. A veritable swarm of spirits began to whirl around them, bright as stars.

Thin purple chains appeared out of nowhere and quickly bound Subaru’s arms and legs. Subaru didn’t struggle. He just looked at Gilbert with flames in his eyes.

“Seal Evil,” Gilbert said carelessly. “The ultimate power of the spirit arts. So long as my priests continue to commune with their spirits, all magic within the area is rendered void. Every person within is trapped by mystic chains to be dealt with as I see fit. It even disables the filthy Authority of a witch.”

Subaru took a deep breath and all of his pent-up rage exploded. “Endless Hunger,” He whispered, draping himself in shadow and bringing a frigid chill to the clearing.

The chains shattered into pieces and the knights and priests all screamed in pain, falling to their knees.

The shattered chains hovered in mid air for an eternal moment and then they flew toward Subaru vanishing into his shadow as if falling into a black hole.

The priests’ spell to attempt to bind Subaru was still active and they found they couldn’t cancel it. Instead, the chains now bound them, like a group of straws that was slowly sucking their power dry.

The dozens of glowing spirits flowing around the knights and the priests… unraveled like balls of yarn. There was a high pitched metallic scream and the spirits were all stretched into long spindly threads that were inexorably drawn into the abyss of Subaru’s shadow.

Gilbert, Duncan, and Deann screamed. Their connection to their spirits had been severed. Worse, the three Acolyte Knights were almost in shock from the experience, their last senses from their cherished spirit companions had been a blizzard of images of unimaginable pain and horror. As if they had been sucked into the gullet of a hungry blender and there torn into pieces.

The cold surged and the surrounding trees were instantly covered over with ice.

The priests screamed, transfixed and held in place as the mana was pulled both out of them until finally there was nothing left of the priests but living mummies that crumbled into dust and were drawn by an oppressive force into Subaru’s shadow.

“What… What just happened?!” Gilbert shouted, climbing back to his feet. His face twisted in shock.

“I don’t know!” Deann said. “He somehow… ate our spirits! My mana is drained! My magic is sealed!”

“Attack!” Gilbert shouted at his soldiers. Most were smart enough to hang back until they could properly assess the situation but three men, braver or dumber than their fellows, charged toward Subaru with their long spears extended.

Before they could close the distance, Elsa was there in a blur. Her knives blazed around them too fast to see as she sank her curved blades into the chinks in their armor and opened their bodies.

The men fell to the ground screaming, blood pouring out of their armor.

Deann watched in horror and quickly stepped forward to confront Elsa who engaged her with a friendly smile. Deann was by far Elsa’s superior both in blade work and certainly in magic. But with her spirits having been torn away from her, Deann struggled. Her magic was gone. Without access to her spirits or even her mana, Deann’s body felt heavy and unfamiliar, her strength and speed both muted. She felt as if she she had been taken apart and put back together inside out.

Elsa kept throwing herself at Deann, a look of frenzied joy on her face as Deann struggled to push her away.

Duncan clapped down his visor and charged toward the darkened shadow that was Subaru Natsuki and the strange little girl cowering behind him.

Subaru met Duncan’s gaze with nothing but boredom.

Duncan swung his huge mace down in a hard arc to crash it into Subaru’s neck. This blow should knock his head clean off if not pulverize it like a dropped melon.

Subaru triggered Indomitable.

The mace crashed into Subaru’s cheek and stopped. The painful vibrations of the impact traveled up Duncan’s arm in a violent shiver and it forced him to drop the mace.

Subaru gave Duncan a small shove and Duncan flew backwards into the massed soldiers, bowling them over. He landed on his side some distance away and slowly skidded to a halt.

Duncan shook his head. By sheer luck, he was not knocked flat on his back and he could still stand up. As Duncan fought painfully to regain his feet he heard a growl nearby.

When he did finally stand, Duncan saw with horror that an immense horde of mabeasts had appeared. Several Guiltylowe were snapping the heads off of soldiers with a single bite. Packs of wolgarm were chasing down any who tried to flee, leaping atop their bodies and tearing into them, eating the men alive.

Duncan saw that what had growled at him was a massive Guiltylowe which now leaped atop of the knight, driving him to the ground. Duncan tried to push the Guiltylowe off but he’d lost his mace and more Guiltylowe joined the fight, gnawing at his armor and searching for chinks.

“Keep the knights alive,” Subaru said coldly to Meili as her mabeasts ripped the soldiers apart.

Meili nodded.

Subaru heard a shrill scream.

“Big Sis!” Meili screeched.

Subaru looked and saw that Deann had buried her twin blades deep in Elsa’s guts. The swords-woman jerked her swords back and Elsa’s body fell open in a great glut of blood.

“No!” Meili screamed in despair, rushing over to Elsa’s side.

Subaru frowned at Elsa’s broken body. He glanced at Meili’s broken horned Guiltylowe. “That one,” He said as he pointed toward Gilbert who was running for dear life out of the battle.

Gilbert had been spared thus far purely so that Subaru could question him and Subaru had no intention of letting him get away.

The Guiltylowe thundered after the fleeing knight.

Deann ignored the mortally wounded killer and the little girl. She rushed to help Duncan who was on his back and struggling with four Guiltylowe but Subaru stepped in her path.

Deann gave a hiss of pure hatred and swung both swords at his neck.

They didn’t even break his skin.

Deann gasped and Subaru grabbed her by the neck, lifting her over his head.

Deann fought to breathe and she spastically dropped her swords as she clawed at his hand. It felt like ice.

Deann looked down into a faceless void and she felt herself draining. Every passing moment there seemed to be less of her. Her muscles weakened, her thoughts felt slower and less precise.

Deann squeaked, wanting to beg for it to stop but uncertain what to even ask the shadowy monster to stop doing.

Just when Deann felt like she would break apart and be scattered to the wind like dandelion spores, the monster dropped her.

Deann hit the ground hard but she was alive. She could barely twitch a finger.

She stared helplessly as a pride of Guiltylowe gathered around Duncan, growling at his helpless body. Deann knew that once on his back in his enormously heavy armor, Duncan had no chance of regaining his feet.

As her eyes shut out of sheer exhaustion, Deann saw Gilbert being dragged back over to her, one of his legs caught in a Guiltylowe’s jaws.

Subaru dissipated his shadow. He walked over to where Meili knelt crying beside the prostrate Elsa.

The woman had an enormous wound in the middle of her belly and the blood was dark. Her body had been nearly cut in half. Meili had gathered Elsa’s head into her lap.

“It’s alright, Meili,” The killer’s face was serene as she comforted Meili.

Subaru knelt down beside the crying girl and put his arm around her shoulders.

Elsa’s breathing was shallow. She chuckled ruefully. “Well. You said you wanted to watch me die.”

Subaru made an expression of disgust. “Yeah. Thanks for seeing to my wishes with such dispatch,” Subaru muttered sarcastically.

Elsa smiled at him. “For what it’s worth, I really did enjoy our time together.”

Subaru closed his eyes and sighed. “That’s not going to fly, Elsa,” He grumbled.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re not getting out of this that easy,” Subaru said. He reached into his robe and pulled out a blue vial the size of a thermos.

“What are you-” Elsa began.

Subaru dumped the glowing blue liquid on the ruins of Elsa’s abdomen.

Elsa squealed as the liquid hit her with a sensation like bubbly, icy water. Her torso glowed cerulean.

A moment later the glow faded and Elsa saw that her wound was just… gone. Her pale, white skin was clear and unmarked.

Elsa stared at her stomach in amazement.

Meili virtually tackled her Big Sis, squeezing her tight and crying out in relief.

Elsa saw with wonder that all of the curse-doll scars on her body had faded as well. Normally most sensations were fairly muted to Elsa after the grueling damage that Capella had done to her soul but now the rough ground under her body, the warmth of Meili’s skin against hers, and even the coolness of the air struck Elsa full-force.

She couldn’t even remember the last time that she had felt this alive.

Elsa looked up at Subaru in disbelief.

He gave her a grumpy look as he stood up. “You just cost me ten years, Elsa,” He grumbled. “Expect to be working for me for a very long time before you pay me back.”

Elsa felt a tear sliding down her face. “Thank you, Master Subaru,” She whispered. “Thank you… Thank you so much…”

Subaru flushed and then shook his head. “Forget it,” He grumbled. “I-” Subaru was thrown off step as he felt something collide with him.

Meili had thrown herself at Subaru. She’d wrapped herself around his leg, weeping in gratitude and thanking him incoherently.

Subaru awkwardly patted Meili’s head. “Yeah. It’s fine, Meili. Really. Now if you two wouldn’t mind focusing, I really need to find Emilia.”

Meili looked up at him in confusion. “Wait. Who’s Emilia?”

Duncan was still struggling to move but without any luck. The pack of Guiltylowe who were guarding him just looked bored.

Duncan started as a figure as black as pitch loomed over him.

“Where is Emilia?” The figure intoned.

Duncan took a deep breath. “I have nothing to say to you!”

The figure cocked his head. “Your companion is too tired to speak right now. So questioning her would be a waste of time,” He said to himself.

“That’s right!” Duncan shouted, anxious for the monster to leave Deann alone.

“Elsa,” The figure turned to the beautiful woman at his side. “That girl opened your guts. Would you like the chance to open hers?”

The woman squealed in glee like a schoolgirl.

“Wait! You can’t do that!” Duncan protested.

The shadow looked down at Duncan. “Tell me what happened to Emilia or your friend will die just as slowly as I can manage it,” He said in the voice of doom.

Duncan felt a shiver run up his spine. “The princess was taken to Sanshi,” He said quickly.

“What about Emilia?”

“Who?” Duncan asked.

The shadow drew in a sharp breath that sounded like a winter wind. “The elf.”

“Oh. She was taken too,” Duncan said.

“You’re sure?” The shadow demanded.

He nodded. “I saw her get dragged into the carriage this morning.”

“Master,” Elsa whimpered in disappointment. “Does this mean I don’t get to slice up the girl?”

“No!” Duncan shouted. He fought to rise off the ground and failed again. “Listen to me. Deann is a princess! She’s Malcolm an Griest’s daughter! He won’t dare hurt your princess as long as you have his!”

The shadow hesitated. He turned the woman whose face reflected deep disappointment. “Tie them both up tight. Quickly. I want to check the house for supplies and then we gotta go. I’ll find you another toy later, Elsa.”

Elsa sighed but hurried to obey.

Emilia and Anri arrived in Sanshi as the sun set. The pair were transported in a small enclosed carriage that was well guarded by soldiers.

Emilia had been unconscious for most of the trip and she had only just woken up.

Emilia’s eyes were fuzzy and she seemed only vaguely aware of where she was. “I’m sure that Subaru will rescue us!” She murmured to Anri.

Anri looked at Emilia with dead eyes and simply shook her head. Her expression utterly hopeless.

The carriage rolled to a stop.

“Well. I guess we’re here,” Anri muttered with grim humor.

The soldiers opened the carriage to force their captives out but Anri waived them away. She half carried Emilia out of the carriage and let her sit down on the ground.

Malcolm came swaggering over. “Welcome to your new home, Princess-” Malcolm’s face twisted in disgust as he actually saw Emilia for the first time. “What is that?!” He demanded in outrage.

“One of my handmaidens,” Anri said quickly. “She has nothing to do with politics and she’s a cripple besides. Let her go. She’s no threat to you.”

Griest snorted. “A filthy elf. How can I let someone go who can’t even walk? And I certainly won’t allow a demi-human to stay in my city, much less a cripple who can’t work!”

Anri’s eyes widened in horror. “Malcolm!” She whispered.

“Deal with her!” Griest gestured, walking away.

“Malcolm! You can’t!” Anri screamed as the soldiers dragged her away.

Emilia wasn’t sure what was going on as the soldiers sprang into action around her. One dragged Emilia over to a large flat stone on the ground and several others forced her chin down on it and held her there.

A hulking soldier walked toward her carrying an enormous axe.

Subaru had quickly gathered the little Umbra that had survived the fire. Unfortunately, the sal-ammoniac was heat-sensitive and none of it could be salvaged from the burned out husk of a building.

I only have the four days of Vitae left that I packed in my robe before I left. I hope Anri managed to salvage some…

By the time he had emerged from the burned-out ruin with a bag of black crystals, Elsa and Meili had pried Duncan out of his armor. Deann seemed barely conscious and Duncan wasn’t stupid enough to fight back with Deann to protect and surrounded by mabeasts. Elsa had disarmed them and blindfolded them and tied each of them to the back of a Guiltylowe with stout rope.

Both Guiltylowe seemed to feel extremely put upon due to the knights tied to their backs.

“Are they secure?” Subaru asked. He whistled for Patrasche who came running.

Elsa snapped Subaru something that might have been a salute. “They’re not going anywhere!”

Subaru nodded. “Come on. Let’s go!” He mounted the earth dragon.

“Stop it!” Anri screamed. “Please!”

The soldier stared down at Emilia, grim as death and he raised the massive axe high over his head.

Emilia trembled, too frightened to scream.

“Stop!” Malcolm shouted, running back into the courtyard.

The axe-wielding soldier barely arrested the downward swing. The soldiers all looked at Malcolm in confusion.

Malcolm’s face was pale and he was panting hard. Apparently he had run back here in a panic.

One of the soldiers slowly stood up from where he had been holding Emilia’s face to the stone. “Um. What do you want us to do with her, sir?”

Malcolm slowly caught his breath. He thought about it for a long time, his face twisted in disgust and confusion. “Put her with the princess. Make certain that nothing happens to either of them, you understand?!”

The soldiers looked at one another in confusion. “Yes, sir,” The soldier replied.

Malcolm staggered off.

The soldiers moved away from Emilia.

Anri and Emilia stared at each other in shock for a long moment and then Anri flung herself into Emilia’s arms and they both sat there crying.

“Hey!” The soldiers pulled them apart. “Get up! Move!”

“She can’t get up, you simpleton!” Anri yelled back as the soldiers pulled her to her feet.

The soldiers looked momentarily nonplussed. Then one shrugged. “Eh, just take her.”

The largest soldier grabbed Emilia by the arm and proceeded to drag Emilia’s body across the courtyard flagstones to the palace.

Anri scowled at him. “Perhaps when Prince Malcolm said ‘don’t let anything happen to her,’” Anri said in a tight voice. “That included, don’t try to drag her down the blasted street like a sack of flour!”

The soldier grumbled but he put his arms under both of Emilia’s and picked her up. Now only her bare feet scrapped the ground, scraping and bruising on the hard stone. The soldier’s nose twitched as if he was smelling something foul.

The soldiers shoved Anri and forced her to march with them into the palace.

Anri and Emilia shared a helpless look.

Malcolm an Griest sat in his study fuming.

What happened?! An hour ago victory was mine! Now I don’t know what is going on!

Malcolm took out the small black book given to him by his ‘benefactor’ from the Assassin’s Guild. He read the lines again.

‘The renegade will lead you to your quarry but the death of the Frost Queen ends your line.’

Malcolm growled. It seemed straightforward enough. I listened to that wretched thug Zeno and he led me right to the Princess. I don’t know why it’s calling her the ‘Frost Queen’ now but the book uses odd nomenclature sometimes. I assumed it was just because Kairei was giving herself delusions of grandeur. The warning was unnecessary anyway. I won’t do anything to her until after Siros is mine or rubble.

But after I walked away from the impending execution, I felt the Gospel throbbing in my pocket. I pulled it out and found a new message:

‘The Axe that cuts the Frost Queen’s throat also cuts the throat of your heir.’

Then I raced back to stop the execution. I was barely in time. The Gospel was pulsating in my pocket the entire time as if to warn me how badly I nearly messed up.

What in the world can this mean? Why is this elf called ‘the Frost Queen?’ There’s no demi-human nobility anywhere in Gusteko! The only thing she could be Queen of is some barren part of earth in the northern wastes. And if I discovered any land in Gusteko that allowed demi-humans to rule, I’d burn it to ash just to prevent those uppity demi-humans from getting any ideas.

Malcolm thought about it.

For right now, I just need to keep the demi-human safe until the war is over. I can always fumigate the guest apartment once she’s gone. I considered dumping her in the dungeon but that seems like begging for something to happen to her there too. Somehow our fates are tied together…

The Gospel will give me new instructions eventually. Until then, I should just proceed with my plan: Tell Siros that I have their Princess and invite their surrender.

Hopefully, Deann will return soon. I could use her counsel before I send that message to Siros.

That night, Subaru hid in the forest just outside Sanshi with an army of mabeasts. Elsa and Meili waited close by. Duncan and Deann were lashed on top of the Guiltylowe and they had been gagged to prevent them from calling out for help.

Subaru had a sick feeling in his stomach but the rage held it back. Sanshi was a real city. A huge metropolis with a stout wall encircling it.

This won’t work you know, A cold voice whispered to him.

“Shut up,” Subaru hissed, barely aware that he had spoken out loud.

“Master Subaru,” Elsa commented gently. “I don’t think… this is going to work.”

Subaru took a deep breath and turned his head to look at Elsa. His expression was blank but the force of his gaze was still oppressive.

Elsa actually blanched.

Subaru paused and seemed to count to ten. “Excuse me?” He asked quietly.

Elsa took a deep breath and spoke kindly. “Mabeasts are no good at attacking a walled city! We’d never get them inside the city and even if we did, the numbers are stacked against us.”

Subaru stared at her. “Do you expect me to just leave them in there?!” Subaru whispered.

“Honestly, I still don’t know who ‘they’ are but that’s a separate problem,” Elsa continued calmly. “You need a distraction while you get them away from their captors. If we just attack, everyone will know what we’ve come here for. And if they can force you to surrender by putting a dagger to the hostages’ throats, then we can save ourselves a lot of time and effort by just surrendering now.”

Subaru stared at the city for a long moment. He took several deep breaths and then threw his head back with a roar of frustration that echoed through the forest.

The mabeasts all shuddered as did Duncan and Deann.

Meili suddenly felt a surge of pity. “We’ll get them back, Subaru,” Meili promised. “Whoever they are.”

“I’ll get her back,” Subaru agreed, sounding like a rumbling volcano. “I’ll get her back if I have to burn Gusteko to the ground!”