Varyna’s head felt like it was hosting a full on Gladiatus tournament and her eyes were too heavy to open. She groaned and slowly managed to pry her eyelids apart, wincing at the bright light that nearly blinded her.

Once her vision adjusted, she surveyed her surroundings. The light shone in through a small window near the top of a stone wall, lighting up a small, nearly empty room. She was laying on a small, rickety cot below the window. She tried to move and found her hands cuffed together with old-fashioned metal cuffs. Her ankles were also cuffed.

A single question pushed through the fog in her mind. How did I get here?

She closed her eyes, trying desperately to remember what had happened before she blacked out. She had been running through the woods, trying to escape from…

The Crawler! Benou-Alf!

The Peacekeeper must have shot her with some kind of drugged projectile. It was a common tactic for restraining runaway minors and non-violent criminals.

But why would she-

Suddenly her conversation with Benou-Alf came back to her.

She's the killer.

Varyna’s eyes shot open and she looked around again in panic, worried the Nemarian might be waiting to finish her off.

Where is she?

With another groan of pain, she managed to raise herself to a sitting position. The walls around her were made of stone with a metal door set in the wall opposite the small window. She stood and waited a moment for her head to stop spinning, then shuffled over to the door.

Turning, she tested the handle with her bound hands. Of course it was locked.

Her eyes made another pass over the room, hoping to find something she could use to escape her shackles. The dated metal cuffs were notoriously easy to unlock if you could find the right tool. Who knew those history classes at the COPS academy would actually prove to be so useful?

Unfortunately, she couldn’t see anything in the room besides the cot, so she focused her attention there. Looking for any loose nails, screws, or other bits that might be useful.

She managed to pry off a loose piece of metal without losing her fingernails entirely, though they had become a bloody mess. Getting the metal shard positioned to unlock the cuffs was more difficult, but she got there eventually.

With a click, the cuffs finally fell off. She sighed in relief and stretched her arms, loosening up the tight muscles before getting to work on the cuffs around her ankles.

Thank you Professor Xavvy. I take back everything I ever said about your class being a waste of time. She sent out silent gratitude to her old history professor as she rubbed her sore legs.

Free to move, Varyna turned her attention to the door. There was a manual lock that looked like she might be able to maneuver it open. She set to work with the metal piece, trying to turn the lock.

After probably twenty minutes of work, she managed to get the right sequence of turns and angles, and the lock clicked open.

Looking around the room one more time, she decided to grab one of the sets of cuffs in case she had the chance to use it. She also gripped the metal piece tightly in her hand. It wasn’t as sharp as a knife, but it would make a passable weapon—her raw fingertips could attest to that.

Opening the door slowly and quietly, she found herself in a narrow, dim hallway. The only light came from a few open doors that appeared to lead into rooms just like the one she had been trapped in.

She crept forward, keeping her metal shard raised in a defensive position. A distant sound drew her to a stop. She froze and looked around cautiously. The noise had come from somewhere ahead of her, but she didn’t hear it again, so she kept moving with silent even steps.

The hallway ended in a solid door. She pressed her ear against it, listening to find out if anything was happening on the other side. When she had waited for a few minutes without hearing any sound, she tried the handle and found it unlocked.

Continuing slowly and cautiously, keeping her metal shard at the ready, she pushed it open. Inside, she found another nearly empty room, though much larger than the one she had woken up in. It seemed this was an old abandoned storage building.

Varyna’s eyes were drawn to the floor, which was covered in some kind of dark dust, likely left over from whatever the building was used for in times past. Something about the dust pulled at the edges of her mind. It felt important, but in her still-hazy, post-drugged state, she couldn’t quite remember why.

She stopped and leaned against the wall for a moment to try and settle her spinning thoughts. Her eyes again ran over the dust on the floor, and the thoughts that had been floating hazily at the edges of her mind came forward.

The dust- the footprints at the crime scenes.

If this was Benou-Alf’s secret hideout, it made sense that she would track the dust to the crime scenes, especially if she handled the bodies here before leaving them downtown.

Varyna did one more check to make sure nobody was hiding in the large, empty space, then began making her way around the edge, keeping her back to the wall. She checked for doors, not wanting to give her captor any chance to sneak up behind her.

Her goal was the far wall, which was lined with windows and doors. She got to the corner and turned to follow the side wall, her eyes constantly moving around, watching all the other entrances.

She reached the first door on the new wall and found it cracked open. Peeking inside, she found herself looking at Benou-Alf, standing with her back to the door. She was leaning over a metal table, but Varyna couldn’t see what was on it.

A cool breeze slid out of the crack into her face. As it washed over her, a strange, ominous tingling spread from her scalp down to her fingertips.

What is this? She wondered. Shaking it off, she made to move past the door. Instead of confronting the murderous Peacekeeper, she thought it would be better to escape and come back with reinforcements, especially since she didn’t have any weapons and Benou-Alf likely did.

Varyna had only taken a couple steps past the door when she heard footsteps. She spun around, getting into a defensive stance just as the door swung open and the Nemarian stepped out.

“Officer Rhine, so good to see you up and about,” Benou-Alf said with her usual warm smile, completely unbothered to see Varyna uncuffed and (somewhat) armed. Her eyes were hazy, almost a little unfocused and Varyna wondered if the Nemarian was using some kind of drug. If so, that would give Varyna an edge in a fight.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“I wish I could say the feeling was mutual,” Varyna answered, watching for an opening to attack. Unfortunately, while the Peacekeeper projected an air of casual camaraderie, she positioned herself for a fight, keeping her stance low and her hands near her belt, where her weapons were stored.

“You wound me. I thought we had gotten off to such a good start.”

“Well, finding out that your acquaintance is a murderer does tend to put a damper on the relationship.”

Benou-Alf chuckled. “Murderer. That has such a negative ring to it, don’t you think?”

Varyna’s eyebrows rose a fraction as she took a small step back, hoping to distance herself from the Peacekeeper. “Well then, what would you call it?”

“I’m a Visionary,” the Nemarian answered with a chilling smile.

Varyna’s eyes widened. It was a strange phrase to use, but it tickled something in her memory. She felt like she had read about it somewhere. Of the hundreds of Demonology books she’d read, some particular phrases and images were coming to her mind.

Images of people surrounding strange altars.

Visionaries.

Prophets.

Harbingers of Change.

Right, that’s what they called themselves according to the books. That’s what the Demon Worshippers called themselves..

She must be in a contract with a demon, Varyna’s eyes widened as she made the realization. That’s why her eyes are glazed, why she doesn’t seem quite like herself.

“Wait, does that mean I finished the quest?” Varyna mumbled to herself. She half hoped a screen would pop up congratulating her, but of course it couldn’t be that easy. Surely the demonic energy was contained in a vessel of some sort. She needed to find that—wherever and whatever it was.

Right, she reasoned. It’s so simple, facing down an armed adversary and destroying her most treasured object without getting killed.

Firming up her determination, Varyna returned her attention to Benou-Alf, who hadn’t seemed to notice her distraction. Instead, the Nemarian’s eyes had gone even more unfocused and she seemed to be murmuring something under her breath, having some kind of conversation with herself.

Or with the demon.

Taking advantage of her captor’s temporary diversion, Varyna leapt forward. She managed to plunge her metal shard into Benou-Alf’s arm before the Nemarian could react, but the Peacekeeper was quick on her feet and she jumped away before Varyna could continue her attack.

Pulling out a blaster, she aimed it right at Varyna.

Varyna came to a stop and raised her hand, dropping the metal piece.

“You’re quick,” Benou-Alf said, panting slightly and glancing briefly at her bleeding arm. “But you’re out-armed, and I think you’re smart enough to realize that this is where your little bid for freedom ends.”

Varyna glared at her captor for a moment before she decided to try another tactic. “I know why you’re doing this.”

Benou-Alf’s eyes widened in surprise, then she chuckled. “Do you, now? So confident, Officer. I’d love to hear your hypothesis.”

“It’s not a hypothesis. It’s pretty obvious you’ve been connected to a source of demonic energy.”

Benou-Alf’s smile got wider, making her look nearly insane. “Very good, Varyna. Consider me impressed.”

“Where did you get it?” Varyna asked, hoping to distract the Nemarian enough to make another move, either an attack or a bid for escape. Benou-Alf didn’t start ranting or telling a long, involved story, but her eyes darted down for a moment.

Varyna glanced down as well, noting a small bulge in one of her pockets.

Is that the source? She wondered.

As though the Peacekeeper could read Varyna’s train of thought, she turned slightly, moving the pocket out of Varyna’s direct line of sight and confirming Varyna’s suspicions.

“Well, as fun as this has been, I think it’s time to end thi-” Benou-Alf began, tightening her grip on her blaster.

“We have you surrounded!” a loud, familiar voice called from outside. “Put the blaster down. If you kill her, your life is forfeit.”

It was Hxlt. Varyna nearly cried out in relief. She’d never been so happy to hear her coworker’s voice before. Glancing over to the windows, she caught sight of at least one Crawler. Hxlt was peeking in and she assumed Opun and hopefully other reinforcements waited at the doors waiting for the Kremel’s signal to enter.

While her attention was briefly diverted, the Nemarian lunged forward. With incredible speed, one arm wrapped around Varyna’s waist while the other positioned the blaster against her forehead.

“Come on in,” Benou-Alf invited in a voice that was likely supposed to sound cheerful, but mostly came across as frantic.

With a loud bang, one of the doors flew open and Opun, Ershel, and Hxlt rushed in, all leveling blasters at Benou-Alf and, by extension, Varyna.

“Let her go and we won’t kill you,” Hxlt promised.

“What assurance do I have of that? I want more than just life, I want freedom,” Benou-Alf answered. “I cannot be contained like this. Do you know how powerful I am?”

While they talked and negotiated, Varyna carefully moved, trying to reposition herself without drawing the Peacekeeper’s attention. She only had one shot, so she had to do this right.

Once she was ready, she struck, slamming her elbow down towards the Nemarian’s pocket with such speed that Benou-Alf didn’t have any time to react. Before her captor could pull the trigger of the blaster, Varyna felt a small, round object smash under the force of her elbow.

The Peacekeeper let out an animalistic shriek and staggered backwards, her arms falling away from Varyna.

Varyna darted forward, sprinting until she was close enough for Hxlt to grab her and shove her behind his protective bulk.

“What did you do?” he called.

“I destroyed the source of demonic energy that was possessing her,” Varyna answered, distracted by the screen that had finally popped up.

[Quest Complete: Demonic Origin]

While her partners apprehended a very wilted Benou-Alf, Varyna quickly navigated to her [Quest] tab and accessed her rewards. The moment she clicked on the new [Skill], another notification popped up.

[New Skill Acquired: Demonic Intuition Level 1]

The moment the screen disappeared, she noticed the change. She could see dark tendrils oozing off of Benou-Alf, along with a dark cloud around the pocket where the destroyed source still resided.

Stepping forward now that the Peacekeeper—former Peacekeeper—was fully restrained, she reached into the pocket and pulled out the pieces.

The ‘Demonic Origin’ had been a small jar made of some kind of ancient pottery material. The outside was marked with black ink in strange patterns.

“We should make sure this is properly taken care of,” Varyna cautioned. “It still contains a lot of demonic energy.”

“We can contact the Demon Division and let them know. They might want to come check it out for themselves.”

Varyna felt a small spurt of excitement. The Demon Division, coming here? She might get to meet them in person, get her name out there. This could be the step she needed to get in.

Before she could get carried away by her excitement, Opun brought her back down. “We’ll need your statement about what happened.” He sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t come with you. I shouldn’t have let you go out alone.”

Varyna shrugged. “None of us could have known this would happen. Besides, you got here right on time.”

He gave her a half-smile, but she could tell he was still bothered by how close of a call it had been.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“We owe it to Peacekeeper Ershel. He recognized the material the foot smudges were made of and led us out here. Things really kicked into overdrive when you never came back from your excursion and we couldn’t get ahold of you.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Wait, how long was I gone?”

“It’s been a full day,” Opun answered.

“Oh. I thought it had only been a few hours.” She stretched her arms again. “No wonder I’m so sore.”

“You’ll be even more sore when I’m done with you,” Hxlt answered with a half-serious glare. “What were you thinking, taking on a serial killer by yourself?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Varyna protested. “But she came by while I was going over some evidence and offered a ride, and I had no reason to say no.”

Hxlt held up a hand. “Save it for your statement. We’ll hear it all in the Crawler on our way back to town, then you can clean up and get some rest. You’ve earned it.” He smiled. “Good job, Officer.”