The back door of the smithy slammed open while Arwin had a pool of metal cupped in his palms, nearly causing him to fling it straight into the air. He and Lillia spun to find Reya standing in the doorway, her features pale.

“An old dude just showed up with someone really sick and broke the door on the way in,” Reya said, speaking so quickly that her words overlapped each other. It took Arwin a second to decode what she meant.

“He showed up with what?” Arwin asked.

“Did you say he broke my door?” Lillia demanded.

Arwin sucked the [Soul Flame] from his hearth and dropped the pool of metal to the side. The look in Reya’s eyes told him that there was no time to sit around talking. He and Lillia practically sprinted out of the smithy as they followed Reya back to the Devil’s Den.

The door was indeed broken. It had cracked right down the middle. One half of it laid on the ground while the other hung crookedly from the hinges. Arwin shoved it out of the way as they all rushed into the inn.

A young woman laid on the top of Lillia’s counter, her chest rising and falling with weak, wheezing breaths. Anna stood above her with her features twisted into a mask of concentration. Soft white light poured from her hands and into the girl’s body, making it glow like a torch in the night.

The rest of the Menagerie was gathered around the table, watching her with concern — but they weren’t alone. Standing in the corner of the room, out of the way, was the drunkard. It was the first time Arwin had ever seen him hanging around in a group.

“What happened?” Lillia asked as she rushed over to the table, her door completely forgotten.

“He just showed up with this girl,” Rodrick replied, nodding over to the drunkard without taking his eyes off the girl. “Anna’s doing everything she can to stabilize her. The girl’s poisoned. She’s got Cure, but if it hasn’t fixed the issue yet, then it’s something really nasty.”

“Who did it?” Arwin asked. His hand flexed and Verdant Blaze appeared in his grip. “Are they still in the area? Do we need to prepare for an attack?”

“No,” the drunkard said, his raspy voice cutting through the room. “The assailant is dead. He was alone.”

There was no room for doubt in his words. Arwin hesitated for a second. Something about the way the white-haired man spoke felt almost familiar. It wasn’t that he recognized the person — Arwin was certain he’d never met the drunkard before they’d run into each other on the street. This definitely wasn’t the time to dig deeper. Not yet, at least.

“Can we do anything to help Anna?” Olive’s face creased with concern and she nervously tapped on the hilt of her sword as she shifted from foot to foot. “Is there something we could get her?”

“Just time,” Rodrick replied. “And don’t distract her. I didn’t see any serious physical wounds on the girl, so this is something really nasty she’s got stuck in her. If Anna loses concentration, it could be all over.”

A low groan slipped out of the girl’s lips in between her wheezes for air. Arwin’s jaw clenched and he glanced around the room in search of something he could do to help. He had no desire to watch a teenager die right in front of him while he stood around and twiddled his fingers.

Thankfully, Lillia was less lost. She grabbed Arwin’s arm and dragged him toward the kitchen. “Come on. You’re helping. We need to make something for her to eat that’ll give her some strength. It’ll help Anna stabilize her.”

Arwin hurried after her, grateful to have something to do. Lillia thrust a finger at the stovetop. “Fire. You can get it hot faster than I can.”

He obliged, summoning a ball of [Soul Flame] and setting it into the stove. Lillia shoved a pan onto the flame and hurried over to her ice chest, where she grabbed a large piece of marinating Wyrmling meat. She shot back over to the counter and slapped it down.

Arwin grabbed the knife from the other side of the counter and handed it to her before Lillia could even reach for it. She nodded to him as she held the meat down and whacked the knife down on it.

“I need oil. It’s near the ice chest,” Lillia said as she started to dice the meat with practiced, heavy cuts. Every swing carved straight through it and struck the wood below with a thunk.

Arwin rushed to oblige. He grabbed a metal pitcher, giving it a quick sniff before bringing it back over to Lillia. She took it from him and poured some into the pan. Lillia brushed a hand along the handle and a shimmer of pale gray energy slipped from her fingers into it.

She’s putting magic into the tools, not just the food. Lillia did say she did that before, but I never really thought about it.

Lillia tested the pan with the back of a hand, then nodded. She grabbed the diced meat and dumped it into the pan. It instantly started to sizzle and hiss as it met the hot metal. Lillia glanced back at him.

“Do the same thing we did a bit ago. It worked then, and we need all the power we can get with a poison that bad. Focus on strength and robustness. Think of how healthy and strong the Wyrmlings were.”

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Arwin nodded. He put his hands on Lillia’s waist, pushing her shirt up just enough to make contact while she tended to the pan. He hadn’t tried imbuing another person with his energy before, but it couldn’t have been that different from working directly with metal.

He focused on what Lillia had suggested, filling his intent with visions of the Wyrmlings’ terrifying muscles and powerful tails. Magical energy poured through his hands and into Lillia’s back. His palms tingled with rushing power, but Lillia didn’t react.

She was completely focused on the food in the pan. She sent her and Arwin’s energy into the plate and occasionally moved the chunks of meat around, somehow knowing exactly when to turn them so that every side was charred to the perfect color.

It wasn’t long before the room was filled with a tantalizing scent that really didn’t seem to fit the mood in the slightest. Tension stiffened Arwin’s back like an iron rod. He had no clue how things were going in the other room. He didn’t know if the girl was still alive, or if she’d even be able to eat.

They didn’t have time to wonder. Lillia didn’t waste a single move. She worked with practiced efficiency, her face tight in complete concentration. It only took her a few minutes to finish cooking the meat.

“Plate,” Lillia ordered, nodding to a shelf at their side. Arwin took his hands off her and grabbed one, setting it down even as she shifted the meat from the pan onto it. He sucked the [Soul Flame] back from the stove as Lillia picked the plate up, snagging a fork as they hurried back into the main room.

It had been nearly ten minutes since they’d entered the kitchen, but Anna and the girl were still in the exact same position. A droplet of sweat rolled down Anna’s concentrated face and Arwin could see the muscles in her jaw and neck taut with tension.

Her efforts weren’t for naught. The girl on the counter was breathing noticeably easier than she had been before. The wheezing had lessened, though her face was still twisted in pain.

“I’m running out of energy here,” Anna said through gritted teeth, speaking for the first time since Arwin and Lillia had returned with Reya. “I think I’ve got the worst of it out, but this is beyond what I’ve dealt with before. She’s not going to be fully recovered.”

“We’ve got something that might help. Will she be awake?” Lillia asked.

“She’s already awake. She’s just doing nothing to conserve energy,” Anna replied. The energy pouring from her hands started to fade. Her eyes narrowed and the light intensified again, but it was clear she wasn’t going to be able to continue for much longer. “Someone’s taught this girl what to do when she was poisoned. That’s not common training.”

“We can deal with who she is later,” Rodrick said. “Can we help in any way?”

Anna nodded to Lillia’s food. “That. Her body needs energy. I just hope she’s got enough strength to eat. I’m going to rest as much as I can and then get back to work. The poison is still in her system, not to mention the damage it’s done to her body. I was focused on keeping it from spreading farther.”

Lillia speared a piece of meat with her fork and held it out before her like a torch. “I’m ready. I’ll feed her.”

The light pouring from Anna’s hands faltered. She stepped back, stumbled, and fell into Rodrick’s hands. She barely even seemed to notice. Her eyes were completely fixed on the girl on the countertop.

The girl’s lips parted. Her eyes fluttered and she groaned, trying to form words.

“Don’t talk. Just focus on eating. We’re going to help you sit up,” Reya said. She and Olive moved as one to help support the girl’s back and prop her upright. Lillia held the piece of meat out.

To all of their relief, she seemed to have enough energy to eat. She opened her mouth and Lillia pushed the chunk of Wyrmling meat into it. The girl chewed, then swallowed. Her body stiffened in surprise.

Then she opened her mouth again. Arwin and Lillia exchanged a glance. Then Lillia stabbed another chunk of meat and delivered the payload. The rest of the food followed in rapid succession. With every bite the girl took, more energy returned to her posture and color to her skin.

Lillia’s food is really something else. Anna too. I don’t want to imagine how dangerous this poison was if their combined efforts are only barely keeping this girl alive.

Once the plate was cleared, Reya and Olive lowered the girl back down. Her breathing had steadied and the wheezing had stopped completely. Anna got back up, waving Rodrick’s worried look away with a hand, and summoned healing light forth once more.

“Where am I?” the girl asked, her voice still weak. “Who are you?”

“Just rest,” Arwin said. He glanced over at the drunkard, who still watched quietly from the shadows. “You’re safe. Someone brought you to us. There’s a competent healer looking over you. You’re going to be okay.”

I’m not sure if that’s true, but it’s not like I’m going to say anything else.

“Thank you,” the girl murmured. “Is the white-haired man here too? He saved me.”

“Yes,” Arwin said. “He’s here.”

Her lips twitched in a smile and she let out a small sigh. “Good. I owe him. I owe you too.”

“Don’t talk so much,” Anna said. “Rest. There’s just one thing that matters right now. Who are you, and why is someone trying to kill you? Should we prepare for them to try again?”

A flicker of pain passed over the girl’s features. She hesitated for a second before answering.

“My name is Melissa. I am… important. And yes. If my body isn’t found, more assassins will come. I’m sorry. You’ve done enough. I think I can move again. I won’t bring you any more trouble.”

Melissa started to shift forward.

“Lay down,” Anna barked with such authority that Arwin nearly followed her orders himself. “Anyone I am treating will not move until I have given them leave to do so.”

Even as she spoke, she looked up to Arwin and Lillia with a question — and a command — in her eyes. It wasn’t her guild and it wasn’t her inn… but it didn’t matter. Arwin and Lillia nodded in conjunction.

I’m not about to send someone out in this condition. It’ll take time for people to figure out she’s not dead yet if the assassin died as well. We can let her stay for at least a while, until we figure out what the hell is going on.

“But—” Melissa started.

“No questions. Lay down,” Anna said curtly. “I’m not done with you yet. If you want to kill yourself for the assassins after you, you can wait until after I’ve finished. Anyone that interferes with my work is welcome to get in line to receive it next.”

Melissa swallowed. Then she laid still and argued no more. Arwin would have done the same. In that moment, he was pretty sure absolutely nobody in their right mind would even so much as consider arguing with Anna.

Arwin’s eyes flicked to the drunkard in the corner of his room. They held each other’s gaze for a second.

The drunkard didn’t strike me as the type of person able to defeat an assassin this strong without getting so much as a scratch.

Just who is he… and who is Melissa?