We reached the cellar, without seeing any sign of her father and paused there, on the threshold between the manor and the depths that lay beneath. The absolute black of the tunnel was more foreboding than ever. And we were actually going down there? We must be insane. “What if it just traps us again like last time?”

Elmidath shrugged. “It might, but I don’t think it will. Last time it seemed to take a long time to react, right? If that’s the case, we should have plenty of time to get what we need before it notices us.”

I tried to recall my brief meeting with the being controlling this whole complex that lay before us. From what little I could remember of my encounter with it, it did seem quite lethargic. I suppose I had that much in common with it, whatever it was. But that was hardly a guarantee of our safety. I snorted. When had I ever gotten something like that in this world, anyway?

Elmidath gave me a strange look. “What’s so funny?”

“Our impending death.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh. Yeah, it’s hilarious.”

I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but as we descended, the darkness of the tunnel seemed to retreat less than before from our meagre light. Not only that, every so often I caught a glimpse of it moving of its own accord. The magic of this world had definitely been a mistake if this was the sort of thing it had created. Who wanted stupid shadow entities anyway? No one, that’s who. The mixture of trivial humour and grumbling helped to keep my mind occupied.

By the time I finally limped into Tagath’s workshop, I was only sort of a terrified mess. Despite its owner’s disappearance, it was as cluttered with diagrams, tools and half-finished projects as ever. It took some digging, but we found the bottle he’d shown us. The core of the dark blue substance still lay suspended within the water surrounding it. Having got what we came for, we hurried back toward the surface. We were getting close to the exit when we heard the now familiar sound of stone grinding against stone.

Not wanting to see what was in store for us, we ran for it. The walls were shifting around us, but we reached the stairs before they could move enough to stop us. Sitting at the top of the stairs panting, we watched as the tunnel closed behind us. It was hard for me to get my abused, exhausted body up again after sitting down. Only the thought that we were almost done kept me going.

We emerged back into the cellar to find Elmidath’s father waiting for us. “There’s really no need for any of this. I understand that you harbour reserves at working with a being you don’t understand, I did as well at first. But there is great gain to be had here for both of us. A new life for me, who would otherwise be dead, and power. Real power; enough to change the world.”

Elmidath blanched, though she remained resolute. “You were already capable of changing the world, and you have before. Don’t you even remember?”

“Of course I do, and I have far larger ambitions than that. As you should well know if you are truly my daughter. Or are you satisfied with this meagre existence; eking out a pitiful living in the borderlands?”

She tilted her head back haughtily at her shadow-clad father. “Far from it, I intend to advance to a much greater position. But I will do so with my own power, not by relying on a pact with whatever terrible entity holds you in thrall.”

“Then I have raised a fool. This is the greatest opportunity that you, or I, shall ever be offered. A chance at true greatness.”

“If you believe that, then you are lost. Your new master offers nothing other than shadow and death.”

“Then I shall simply have to kill you.” Her father drew himself up, voice full of cold fury. “You will better understand the gifts offered to you when they are all that’s keeping you from Ortyx’s embrace.”

A stone wall erupted from the ground in front of him, blocking him and the rest of the room from sight. It was followed a moment later by another and another, as they quickly filled the available space and his plan became clear; he meant to crush us between these walls and the ones that closed the tunnels behind us.

Trapped between two hard rock places, I touched Elmidath on her arm. “Is there any way to break through?”

She shook her head, backing away from the advancing walls. “My power’s not strong enough.”

If she wasn’t strong enough, then I certainly wasn’t without the magic of my sword. Which left precious few options; though still more than none. I took the bottle we’d gotten from Tagath’s workshop and poured some of it out on the ground, near the entrance to the tunnels below and the sheer stone that filled them. It ate right through the floor, creating a ragged hole barely large enough for the both of us to squeeze into.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Guiding Elmidath in, we sheltered in it with our bodies pressed against one another as the walls continued to close in. One of her horns poked me in the stomach and she shifted to make things slightly more comfortable in the cramped confines. “Are you sure this will work?”

“No, but it seems like our best chance. If he retracts his walls, that will be our first and only chance to strike. We have to kill him before he has a chance to react. Can you do that?” Arguably a more difficult task than avoiding our current predicament had been, but I hoped Elmidath could do it. She’d proven to be a competent killer in our time together, if nothing else.

“All I can do is try.”

Stone appeared above our hole, sealing us in but leaving us alive in the dark. I heard Elmidath take a deep breath and I could feel the air of it on my exposed skin. “Thank you.”

“What?” Given our proximity and the diminutive nature of the space we were in, it was impossible for me to miss what she said, but I still couldn’t believe my ears.

“I said thank you. Even if we die here, you’ve done a lot for me. Far more than I deserve.”

“I know.” Impolite a response as it was, it was how I felt and I didn’t feel like putting on any airs. Not now.

“I imagine my thanks don’t count for much after how I’ve ruined your life. If it’s any consolation, I haven’t done so well with mine either.”

I sighed. “They don’t and it’s not. I doubt there’s anything you can ever do to make it up to me. But that’s all in the past, all we can do now is try to make things better going forward.”

“When did your outlook become so damned positive?” Despite her words, and the mock disgust they carried, she sounded amused.

“I don’t know, I’m probably just way overtired.”

She laughed long and loud at that, only stopping when we heard movement above. I did my best to manoeuvre her within the tight quarters so that she was on top and we waited. The warmth of her blood crept across my body as it flowed from her into whatever weapon she was preparing. Other than the grinding of stone, our breathing was the only sound until the ceiling above us finally lifted and Elmidath sprung up with a boost from me. The tip of her long, thin weapon shot forward through the air and I heard someone cry out in pain.

I followed her out of the hole and saw her father, with a hole right through his chest. It looked like a serious injury but he was clearly still alive, as he was already sinking into the floor once more. Elmidath drew her weapon back for another strike, but by the time she lashed out he was already gone.

Drawing Elmidath along, I sprinted off. He may not be dead, but he was at least gravely wounded. As we ran through the manor, I looked to Elmidath. “Ready to finish this?”

I intended it to be encouraging, but evidently she was having none of that. Her dark lips turned downward in a frown. “Of course, I am. What kind of question is that?”

I sighed. “Never mind.”

After the long trek through the tunnels, the trip to the columns at the base of the building felt blessedly short. Covered in the tunnel’s distinctive spikes, the elegant supports now seemed alien. It made the thought of destroying them a lot more palatable. As we were nearing the largest pillar in the centre, I heard a gasp. Elmidath’s father emerged some distance away from beneath the ground and lay there panting, his shadowy form red with his own blood. I moved to strike before he was ready, but Elmidath put her arm in front of me and kept walking toward our target. “I suggest you leave, whoever you are exactly. You’re too late.”

The emaciated demon sucked in a deep breath. “What are you two doing here?”

Elmidath pointed upward and gave him a sweet smile. “We’re going to bring the whole place down.”

Her father’s mouth fell open. “You’d destroy your family’s home? How dare you even consider such a thing, you ungrateful bitch. This is how you’d repay everything I’ve done for you?”

“No, this is how I repay everything my real father did for me. This is how I preserve the legacy he left behind.” She pulled out the cork and poured out the contents of the bottle on the stone pillar. Her father, or whoever he was, twitched like he wanted to get up but remained where he was on the ground. Either he was too tired to fight or didn’t see the point. Either way suited me just fine. A small piece of stone, now turned to mush, fell away from the pillar, and I knew it was time to go. Past time even.

We left the former lord where he was, lying beneath his teetering former seat of power. I doubted he’d die; it would probably only happen if he could no longer use his magic. Even then the being that dwelled below might be able to bring him back again, but it sure would be convenient if he’d just die. As Tagath’s creation did its work, the entire complex tilted to the side before finally striking the ground with a titanic crash when we were a safe distance away.

Elmidath, the servants, the ogres and I could only watch in awe as the towering building shattered. Even if it was something I’d have preferred to keep, there was a certain thrill in destroying something of such significance. Though judging by the look on Elmidath’s face she found the task rather unpleasant. Perhaps this was the time for levity; something to lighten the mood and distract her from her loss.

“So we’ve destroyed your home, killed your uncle, sort of killed your father and ruined a whole village. Aren’t you glad you summoned me? I can’t wait to see what we ruin next.”

With a bitter smile on her lips, Elmidath chuckled though there were tears in her eyes.

I looked around at the gathered servants, now deprived of a home. It’s not like they could go to the village either; that place was sure to be a ghost town soon. “Speaking of what comes next; what the fuck are we supposed to do now?”

“Survive. Somehow.”

How reassuring. Well, whatever came next it couldn’t be that much worse than what we’d already been through.