Because I did not know what to do and because I was not sure I could do anything if I did, I let myself slump against the nearest wall. Sleep would have claimed me if it weren’t for Daphne’s half dusted body. The way half her face stared up at me drove shivers down my spine, and I could not take my eyes off hers.

“What did he mean by puppet?” I wondered aloud, hoping to fill the silence of the city with something.

“He meant what he killed was just a puppet, not the real thing.”

My instincts wanted my legs to push me back to my feet and move away from the deceased voice, yet they failed to do so when my body couldn’t cooperate. Instead, I slumped over onto my side, failing to even push myself away.

“How?” I gasped, looking up as an intact Daphne descended from an invisible thread.

“The Nest is enormous, and considering you were teleported to the wrong place, it would be impossible for me to find you before you would starve on my own. To cover more ground, I used those puppets,” she explained.

Waving her hand at the collapsed corpse, the remains of the body fell to dust.

“I must say, having my neck snapped even through a puppet is unpleasant,” Daphne noted as she rubbed her throat.

“Is this really you, or another puppet?” I asked.

“Flesh and blood. I started heading here the moment my puppet was killed,” she answered.

Mustering whatever strength I could, I pushed myself up and wrapped my arms around the spider lady. At first she tried pushing me off, and if she wanted, doing so would have been a simple task. When I resisted her attempts, her own ceased, and she let me cling to her.

I did not care what she thought of me holding onto her. After everything that happened, I wanted nothing more than to cling onto the one source of safety in the city. Her warmth allowed me to catch my breath in peace, and it did not take long for me to regain control over my body.

But I knew I could not spend forever holding onto her, and I mustered what strength I could to pull away.

“Merthic, she was here, and she wasn’t alone,” I said.

“You did say something about that before my…unfortunate passing. Something about an Ordelia Order as well. Who else was with her?” she asked.

“A lizard lady, well, a lady with a lower half of a lizard, called Gor, and there was also some kind of lion centaur with them, though I never heard what his name was,” I recalled.

“Hmph, nobody important by the sound of it. Gor has a past with aggravated assault, so I assume either one is little more than glorified muscle. Was that it?”

“Gehenna, she was an elf and said-”

“The bitch!” Daphne screamed, slamming her fist against the building.

“So she was telling the truth about being in the service of Har—Master Harok?” I frowned.

“Unfortunately. She was employed before I was, and she used to revere her masters as she should. About a century ago, that reverence lessened, and within a few decades of that, it stopped altogether. She even had the gall to drop their titles when speaking of them. Master Harok never minded her behavior because she rarely had the honor of meeting him, so it was allowed to slip by. Perhaps if we had done something sooner, this wouldn’t have happened. I assume she was the one to kill me,” Daphne explained, venom dripping from every word.

“No, it was Ligram. He also tried to cast necromancy over the puppet, but it resulted in…that,” I corrected.

“Who? Who did you say killed the puppet?” the spider lady demanded, grabbing me by my arms and lifting me into the air. “Are you sure that was his name? Are you sure he said he was Ligram?”

“Yes. He went on and on about how he was a master of death and how great he was,” I answered. “I thought he was lying.”

Daphne let out a long sigh and slumped her shoulders.

“No, he was not. If he was truly Ligram and not some copycat necromancer, darker days are in store for us, especially if he has truly joined Ordelia,” she said, rubbing one of her temples.

“Who is Ligram, besides the things he says he is? If he’s everything he claims, why haven’t I heard of him?” I asked.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Ligram is a shining example of why humans aren’t allowed access to magic. A twisted man who pushes the boundaries of necromancy at every turn, he is best known for being one of the few individuals who can resist The Nest.

You’ve never heard of him because Pangea has no use for him. Anything he could get there, he could get from the magical world in far greater quantities. Throw in as much sadism as a human can store and three dead dragons, and you have The Nest’s most wanted,” Daphne elaborated.

“He’s killed dragons?”

“Nobody of importance, but yes,” she confirmed.

It took a minute for the magnitude of the old man’s reputation to sink in, but when it did, I felt weaker in the knees than I already did. When the fact he could have killed me at any moment hit, I lost my ability to stand.

“Guinevere, what’s wrong? Are you hurt, or bleeding somewhere?” the spider lady asked, reaching down to pick me up.

“I almost died,” I whispered. “I came face to face with him and almost died.”

“If it’s any condolence, I doubt he would have killed you. Ligram is a sadistic bastard. He revels in the idea of people being terrified of him. If he had killed you, there would have been no one left to spread his name,” Daphne said.

“You seem to be taking this rather well,” I noted, feeling some strength return to my legs but not enough to put confidence in them.

“I have seen a dragon rampage through a city. A rogue necromancer is nothing in the face of such a sight. Besides, I am not sure who you met was the actual Ligram. The man isn’t the type to cooperate with others. I am more worried about the real one hearing about it and getting involved to kill the imposter himself,” she explained.

“It was him; it had to be him,” I mumbled.

“Necromancers are scary individuals. I’ve seen grown men burst into tears at the sight of lesser ones. It would not surprise me if you confused one for him,” Daphne reasoned.

I did not believe her words for a second, but I saw it as an opportunity to move on to something new that could distract me from the events that transpired.

‘If you say so,” I replied. “So what happens next?”

“You tell the authorities what happened, and then we send you home.”

“What?” I asked, not believing what I heard.

“Do you want to stick around? Considering how much you tossed and turned in your sleep, I would have expected you to want to return home as soon as possible,” Daphne said.

“After everything that happened, I just…get to go home?” I inquired, expecting her to laugh and revoke her statement.

Even after the spider lady nodded, it did not feel as though my ordeal was over. Every shadow presented the threat it would continue, and nothing I did could shake the feeling.

—

After Daphne took me to some men wearing blue and silver uniforms, everything became a blur. I took them to the cave Gehenna took me to and acted as if I was the one responsible for there being nothing there.

Once they affirmed what I already knew, they questioned me on every aspect imaginable. Were there four of them besides Gehenna? What color were Gor’s scales? Did they say anything I felt was of note?

When they started asking about Ligram, however, their expressions changed to something solemn. What did his staff look like? How decrepit did he look? What color did his magic take? What kind of undead did he use? What did his laugh sound like? One even asked me what his teeth looked like.

I tried my best to provide them with the answers they wanted, but I could only answer so many of them before my memory was strained beyond their use. Only when the quality of my answers declined did they let me go.

Despite the number of questions they asked, the way it ended surprised me. I expected a greater reaction, and it shocked me that they went about filing paperwork instead of rushing out to track down the culprits. The aura around the situation became tense once Ligram came into the picture, but it did nothing to motivate them into taking greater action. If anything, it slowed them down, making each one of their actions deliberate and slow.

By the time they finished, Daphne had gone back to her home and retrieved my belongings. Before long, I found myself back on the ledge I came from.

“I’m going home a little sooner than expected. I thought I would be staying for a little longer,” I commented to Daphne.

“You were intended to stay longer, but after the mishap, it was decided having a child running around was not within the best interest of the investigation. Why? Did you want to stay?” she answered.

“No, I would quite like to return. I imagine my parents are impatient to know what Master Harok wants from me,” I said. “Before I go, I would like to thank you for-”

Daphne did not allow me to finish my pleasantries before snapping her fingers. In an instant, a flash of light engulfed me, and by the time I could see again, I found myself back in the hidden room. Like when I left, the orb in the middle was gone, leaving me in the dark.

Still exhausted from expending as much of my Aura as I did, I did not have enough confidence in my ability to cast magic without my legs giving out to make a light. Resigning myself to stumbling around in the dark, I found my way to the hidden wall, stumbling through the wall by accident. Instead of falling flat on my face, I fell into the arms of my mother.

“I’m back!” I cheered as I hugged her.

She did not respond with words but with a stronger embrace, squeezing the air out of me and refusing to let go.

“We heard what happened,” she whispered when she pulled herself away. “Why do you always find yourself in the middle of trouble? I swear, my heart cannot take anymore of this.”

“I’m okay, mother. I don’t have a scratch on me,” I comforted.

To reply, she rolled up my sleeve, revealing the red bruises where the skeletons had grabbed me. As my face turned red from the lie I didn’t know I told, my mother pulled me in once more. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t have held back my tears.

“You’re home now, and that’s what matters. That’s the only thing that matters,” she consoled.