General Hull rubbed his neck unconsciously as he violently kicked one of the unmoving corpses. Now that we knew where the seal was on their back, General Hull was able to dispatch all of them in a single instant with his innate talent before they could self-destruct. The expression of confusion and disbelief was still on the faces of the corpses.
“That illusion talent packs a punch,” General Hull complained with a sidelong glance towards General Arthur’s bodyguard, “I really felt like I was stabbed and dying. I never knew you had someone like that under your employ.”
“A secret weapon is only effective if it remains a secret,” General Arthur replied as he casually leaned back in his chair, "Do not try and steal her from me. She is one of my favorites."
General Hull shook his head and then scowled towards the corpses lying motionlessly on the ground. “These things are really under Lady Irene’s control? She actually dared try and use me as some disposable pawn! I will not let this insult stand! I am General Hull, conqueror of Blight’s Peak. I am the Earl of North Kanlock. She will pay for this, mark my words. I have powerful friends in the king’s counsel. Even if I have to spend a fortune in bribes, lady Irene will regret the day she made an enemy out of me.”
General Arthur gave me a sidelong glance with a smile that made me roll my eyes as he spoke, “Removin’ her from the council will not be easy. Irene is one of the few people that can speak directly to the king. Plan your actions carefully. There is no tellin’ how many more undead like these she has scattered through the kingdom.”
“You are right. These things remind me of the Undead Tyrant’s minions I saw when I was a kid. That one talent alone allowed the tyrant to rule her empire unchallenged for four hundred years. What kind of monster can actually use glyphs to imitate a talent like that? It is a scary thought, never knowing who might secretly be one of her agents. That leaves one question though, why does someone with so much power want the kid so much?”
I crossed my arms, grinning as General Hull scrutinized me with suspicion. “Because I am an even scarier monster. Would you like me to show you?”
The general unconsciously took a step back as his hand covered his neck. “No, that is ok. I have already died enough for one day.”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “The day is still young.”
I heard General Hull mutter something about a psychotic child before he took an extra step further away from me before turning back towards General Arthur. “What exactly are you planning. As your ally and a fellow general, I think I should know.”
“Irene is secondary right now. This was just a game for us. There is still much to do, but once things here are settled, we are goin’ to capture Bastya Fortress.”
General Hull froze as he stared at General Arthur in disbelief. “Are you crazy? Even under normal circumstances, marching on Bastya is a waste of resources. The place is practically unassailable under even the best of conditions. Going now is suicidal. Ignoring the fact that you just proposed an alliance with all the surrounding nations, the Avari have more than ten thousand troops here right now to collect their lost army. You have what, five thousand troops left alive at most? If you try to siege Bastya Fortress, you will be caught fighting both the normal troops garrisoned at the fortress and the troops here that will reinforce them.”
I chuckled at the general’s dismay. “Who said anything about a siege?”
General Hull looked toward me, then back at General Arthur. I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You have a plan... a trick? Will it work? What are the odds of success?”
“Our plan began days ago,” General Arthur replied, “The Avari angered a monster they should never have touched. Now they must pay the price. Just watch. In less than a week, General Izmos will voluntarily surrender, or die a stubborn death. There is no stoppin’ it now.”
“Conquering Bastya would be a huge merit…” General Hull muttered softly, “Alright, what can I do to help?”
General Arthur smiled as he leaned forward, lacing his hands together. “Your role will be simple.”
Our scheming was interrupted when General Arthur had to deal with diplomatic envoys from the various armies he had saved. I followed him back to his army where six different groups had sent representatives to thank the general for saving their men and to hear more about the details of an alliance against the Demonkin. The only nation that did not send a representative was the Avari. As the only army with large numbers of soldiers afflicted by the mist, they were scrambling to get the troops treated as quickly as possible.
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Not interesting in political alliance nonsense, I sat on a secluded rock and closed my eyes. I smiled as my mind connected with the eight undead I had hidden among the Avari ranks. I had spent a lot of effort turning the prisoners we had captured after they took Donte into my own personal tools. After turning them into undead, I released them back into the Avari troops that had not been involved in the attack and still followed General Arthur out of the mist. Under normal circumstances, someone would have noticed them and detained the returnees until it was verified they were not under the control of an innate talent, but our time in the mist was hardly considered a normal circumstance. With Orias gone and the knights fleeing after they kidnapped Donte, the Avari troops at the time did not have anyone with experience left to command them, let alone decent organization, or accountability. Now that my agents had mixed with the normal army, the real fun could begin.
As I was dishing out commands to the eight undead under my control, I heard the sound of crunching rocks getting closer. More than a little bit annoyed, I opened my eyes to look for the source of the footsteps approaching. Charly walked up to me, eyes darting nervously as he approached.
“What do you want?” I said with a sigh.
“Umm… well… Mom and Dad wanted me to tell you that they cooked an early dinner. We found some real food, and wanted you to join us.”
“I am not interested,” I replied as I closed my eyes again.
“I know… I know you are not Wren right now, but we thought it would be important to talk to you… This version of you. If you do not join us, Mom and Dad will just come here.”
I sighed again as I stood up from the and stretched my back. “Fine, I will not say no to free food, but I doubt you will appreciate my company.”
Charly did not look me in the eye the entire time he led me back towards the family wagon where Wren’s parents both sat around a fire. The sweet scent of roasted meat emanated from a bubbling pot.Despite my annoyance at being here, I could not stop my mouth from salivating at the familiar scent of the stew.
I sat across from the three family members as they stared silently at me with a mix of complicated emotions. Without waiting for an invitation, I grabbed a bowl and served myself some of the stew.
“What did you want to ask?” I said in between bites, breaking the awkward silence.
Wren’s dad spoke first, a polite, but a distant smile on his face. “We wanted a chance to get to know you… this version of you…”
“What is there to know,” I replied, taking another bite of the stew, “I am a violent, murderous psychopath that lives in your daughter’s head. The less time you spend around me the better.”
“I do not believe that!” Wren’s mom suddenly shouted as she shot to her feet, “I saw the way you reacted after we met that bear Guardian. I hear the way you speak when you talk about Lucia and King Sebastion. Those are not Wren’s emotions.”
I grimaced as I place my spoon down across the bowl. “What is your point?”
Wren’s mom placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. “Like it or not, you are a part of this family now. You are not some distant stranger, so stop acting like it!”
I blinked a few times as I looked at the woman before bursting out into laughter. “Of all the things I expected, I never thought you would say something like that. I am a part of your family? Really? That is the best joke I have heard in quite some time.”
“I am not joking,” Wren’s mom replied sternly, “You are a part of Wren now. That is not something that we can change, so you might as well accept the fact that you are now as much a part of this family as anyone else.”
I fell silent, realizing she was indeed not joking. Flashes of memories long forgotten flashed through my mind; blurry images of a woman I could no longer remember followed by the much clearer images of a man holding out his hand. My next words were practically a growl as I spoke, “Family… what a joke. Your words are nothing more than pretty lies. I know that if you found a way to kill me and forever remove me from Wren’s mind, you would. Look me in the eye and tell me you never thought about it.”
Wren’s mom stared back at me, but her eyes shifted uncomfortably as she let out a sigh. “It is true. I have thought about it many times. All I wanted for a long time was to save my daughter from you, but that does not change the fact that we are all stuck here together. Family means accepting the bad and the good and loving them anyway. I know better than most, you do not always have to like your family. You can get mad at them, curse at them, run away from them… but at the end of the day, they are still your family. If Wren were awake right now, I think she would agree with me. Even if we do not always get along, you are a part of our family.”
I grew quiet, at a loss for words. I could not help but think this woman was crazy, but despite it all, I could not help but feel a slight warmth in my chest. I looked away from her, towards Charly and Wren’s dad sitting silently.
Wren’s dad cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I was able to accept my mother-in-law being part of the family, compared to that, having you around is easy.”
“Does this mean I have two sisters now?” Charly asked curiously, though he still shifted nervously when he looked at me.
I frowned as I stared down at the bowl of stew silently. There was a long stretch of silence as I sat, unmoving. The entire family must have a problem with their head to even consider someone like me as part of their family, but as much as I naturally rebelled against the idea, I could not help but remember all the moments I spent with Wren by their side. The tears I shed as I hugged them, the comfort they had given me when I was at my lowest, it was a true family whether I wanted to admit it or not… and it was not like I was ever going to be free of Wren. The differences between the two of us faded every day as we merged together as one. It would not be long before we could not separate like this at all. It would not hurt to humor them a little…
“Fine, I am sorry I have been avoiding you. I guess you are right. We are family whether I like it or not.” I said, before pointing at Charly, “But I am the big sister, understand? That means you have to give me your portion of the stew. I have all of Wren’s memories. I know you picked out all the best pieces of meat for yourself before coming to get me.”