“Who are you supposed to be?” The woman asked, folding her arms.

“I am Vakdragnar.” he declared.

“Oh, uh, not what I meant,” She said, placing a hand on her head and rubbing her eyes, as if to alleviate a headache. “To be fair, that was technically what I was asking. Although I meant it less in the introductory sense and more of a ‘wow you’re the first person I’ve seen in days. Not a lot of people come down here.’ That’s on me. Let me try again, okay?”

“Uh… certainly.” Vak said a bit confused by her animated tone.

“Great. So, you’re a shirtless brute covered in blood. Are you here to murder me?” She said, placing her hands upon her hips.

“No, of course not!” Vak exclaimed.

“Fair warning: the last guys that tried really regretted it.”

“I took a job from your employer, Mr. Flame.”

“Roland sent you?”

“You were late for your shift, and so he asked me to ask around and see if you were alright. It was almost pure chance that I followed you here.”

“Huh,” she said, not saying a word for a few moments. “Roland you beautiful, bald, bearded, sweetheart! I didn’t think anyone would look for me!”

“You have a lot of people worried about you. They all want you to return home safely.”

“Wouldn’t that be great? Small problem.” She stopped and pressed her hand against an invisible barrier. She pressed on it with her full weight then pounded on it with a frustrated fist. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Vak walked over, marveling at the magic. “What is this?”

“It’s a barrier or an invisible wall of some kind. I’m not sure.” She said.

Vak reached his hand slowly to touch the wall and passed through it. His hand pressed against Nina’s and she pulled it back.

“How did you do that?” She demanded, staring at her hand.

“I don’t know,” Vak said, pulling his hand back out of the barrier. For good measure, he reached his hand back in and shook it.

“Very cute,” Nina said, her voice anything except amused. “Okay, you can come in here, but I can’t leave.”

“I could try to hold onto you while extracting you?”

“My magic is also completely nullified in here; I was assuming it was a magic barrier, but what if it’s specific to me?”

“You know magic?”

“Hmm? Yes, but whatever keeps me here, won’t let me do even a simple spell.”

“So, it’s an Anti-Nina Barrier?”

She laughed. “I guess!” Her smile slowly fell away as she sunk back against the other side. “Looks like I’m not getting out of here.”

“Do not say that. We will think of something.”

“You don’t understand. There isn’t time. You should go. It will be back any minute.”

“The Demon?”

“Wait, you know about that?”

“I spent a lot of time figuring out what happened to you. I visited your apartment, and found the men that tried to abduct you, well, the one that survived.”

“So… you saw? What in ten of the hells are you still doing here?”

“I came to slay the demon.”

“Are you crazy? You cannot stop it. I saw it burn a man and char his bones. He tore another man’s legs off just to terrorize him.”

“I am not leaving, what would be helpful is if you could give me any information about it, any weaknesses or…”

“You are not listening! Vak, you cannot win. This thing was called up from one of the twelve circles of hell. It is smart, fast, and has no morals. It delights in torment and torture.”

“Where is it now?” Vak asked as he slowly walked around the room, inspecting various coffins.

“I don’t know.” She said, looking around the room. “This is the longest its ever been away. It could return any moment.”

“I see… Has it given you its name? Is this demon, Karkazes?”

“How do you know that…. No, it goes by Zogmodeth.” She said, looking around fearfully.

“And people accuse my name of being absurd. His name actually has ‘death’ in it.”

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“Deth not death.” She said, looking slightly annoyed. “In demonic, it means Cruel.”

“You know demonic?” Vak said, looking back to her. She looked at Vak in a panic. She had not meant to let that be known. “While I pieced together the events of your kidnapping, the only thing that never made sense was this demon’s sudden appearance. Why did he target you? Was it a coincidence, or is there something else going on?”

“Rag! Step away from that woman.” Braid’s voice called from the entrance of the room.

“Rag?” Nina said with a look of confusion and amusement.

Great, just what I needed. “Braid,” Vak said, walking back. “It is alright. This is Nina Hale. She’s alive.”

“Impossible. Goblins don’t take prisoners.” Braid said, walking over to her. The rest of Shattershade was with him, and Vak could feel their hatred for him. It radiated off them like heat.

“What Goblins?” Nina said, confused.

“I am not sure what kind of trick this is, but you will not deceive me!” Braid said, pulling out his hammer.

“Whoa, hold on a second,” Nina pleaded. “I’m the one in distress!”

“You must think me very stupid to lie so brazenly in my presence,” Braid replied his voice low.

“Braid, this is the woman you were hired to find,” Vak said, stepping over to him. He looked to the other members of Shattershade for some semblance of sanity. It was a mistake.

“I remember Nina,” Cassie said. “This floozy is not her.”

“Floozy!”

“Look at how she’s dressed? My money is on her being some kind of succubus to lure idiot men to their death.”

“Bitch, what did you just say?” Nina demanded.

“It does seem like a trap,” Anka told Braid.

“Fine,” Braid said nodding to her. “Do it.” Anka’s pendant began to spin around itself dramatically, and with an enormous amount of her will expended, a white light appeared under Nina.

“What in three of the hells is this?” Nina demanded.

“This is an Axiomatic Circle,” Anka explained. “You can’t lie in its light. Now reveal yourself, shapeshifter!”

Everyone stared at Nina for a long few seconds before she threw her hands up frustrated. “This is me, you idiots. I am Nina Hale!”

“Is it broken?” Braid asked.

“No, I can feel the magic compelling the truth from her. As ridiculous as it sounds, she is telling the truth.”

“How’s she alive?” Dam said dumbfounded. “We saw her place. It was exploderated.”

“It is because Zogmodeth is bound by his oath to protect me,” Nina said.

“What?” Vak said as her words sent a cold shiver down his spine.

“Yeah, what is a Zombiedeath?” Anka demanded.

“He is a demon, Tey Paira,” Nina told them. “One I accidentally summoned.”

“She’s a witch!” Braid said.

“She said ‘accidentally,” Vak said grasping at anything she said to try and make sense of the situation.

“It’s true!” Nina told them. “I didn’t know what I was doing. These men showed up in the middle of the night and were trying to abduct me; I was half asleep. I thought they were about to murder me. I begged for help, and something answered my plea I… I was scared for my life.”

“You summoned a demon?” Anka said her eyes wide with fear.

“It burned one of them alive. It tore the other one’s legs clean off, and then it grabbed me. It brought me here.”

“But why?” Vak said, shaking his head.

“Because this is a place of evil,” Braid said, stepping forward. “And she is a loathsome consort of Hellspawn.”

“No, it isn’t like that.” Nina pleaded.

“Save your tongue, witch. I know how you twist the truth, but not even your deceptions could fully evade this Axiomatic Circle.” Braid’s hammer glowed brightly as Nina slowly backed up into her invisible prison. Braid stepped through without a problem.

Vak wasn’t sure how to reconcile this revelation; this was a lot to process. He thought she was the victim in all this, but she had bargained with the demon. Was Braid right? Did she deserve to die?

Nina raised her hands and mumbled some words. Then she looked up and cursed as her spell failed. She looked in disbelief and slumped to her knees in resolution. Braid raised his mighty hammer above his head as its light illuminated the room.

“Now would be the time to beg the Sacred Hierarchies to forgive your wickedness,” Braid said as he prepared to strike.

“I… didn’t know what would happen.” She pleaded.

“As you wish,” he said. He tensed his muscles, attempting to drive the hammer down upon Nina's head, but he found resistance. Vak held Braid’s hammer firmly above Braid’s head.

“Stop Braid,” Vak said. “This is wrong.”

“Damnit Rag, You are bewitched by her. Think for one damn minute; we know how susceptible you are to spells.”

“No,” Anka said, looking at them. “You are both inside the Axiomatic Circle now. It would break through any compelling or bewitching. Rag is in control of his faculties, Braid. He has chosen evil.”

“This is ridiculous…” Vak began, but Braid silenced him by trying to jerk his hammer away. Vak was forced to spin around between Braid and Nina, and he held on firmly. Braid released the hammer with his left hand and struck Vak across the face. His iron gauntlet drew blood and Vak shoved the man backward, releasing his hold on the hammer. It gave Vak a bit of space between him and Shattershade.

The room seemed to grow very still as Vak looked over to his former companions. They stared him down.

“You lied!” Braid said, righting himself. “You knew all along the goblins had nothing to do with this. You got us to let you out of prison, joined us. You made me think you were a decent person. You are nothing but an agent of evil, Rag!”

“You are letting your bias blind you.” Vak retorted. “Not everything is so cut and dry between evil and good. What you are attempting to do here, might appear good but it is the mask that evil wears.”

“Enough of this!” Braid said, his hammer glowing. He charged at Vak, and time seemed to slow down for an instant. In the clarity of the moment, he could see Cassie prepare a ball of fire in her arms, and Dam sneaking around to his side to try and strike him or divide his attention. Perhaps, even attempting to kill Nina.

Then suddenly, as a torchlight going out, a sickening darkness filled the room. Vak felt nauseated, and every hair on his arms stood on end. Shattershade was attacking in slow motion from all sides. Vak caught the hammer with his axe haft. The radiant light of the hammer glowing hotly.

Cassie shot her fire, but it struck something else. A strange blur in Vak’s vision absorbed the flame. Dam paused his attack. Standing in front of Nina, beside Vak, was a frightening creature. It looked almost like an emaciated skeleton with swirling black skin that crawled around its tight body.

Vak came up to its rib cage in height, and each of its arms seemed longer than Vak’s entire body. Upon his head were two gigantic horns like a bull that extended upward. The demon made Vak’s insides crawl. It seemed impossible and wrong, and it almost hurt to look at directly. It raised its head to reveal glowing red eyes.

“I will protect the Summoner,” it said with a voice that sounded like a low growl. The words seemed to physically affect Shattershade as several members took a step back in response. Then darkness fell from the demon like a torrent of water. It covered the room, blocking out all light.