There were two things keeping Listra from enacting a long-laid contingency plan to leave Vyrinios in a hurry, and she was currently scared enough that they were both starting to sound like reasons only a fool would consider important. The first reason was that she had developed a motherly attitude toward her employees and did not want to leave them in danger while she fled to safety. The second was that she was in love, and did not want to abandon the object of her affections.

So she was still here, in her repurposed office, facing two more assassins across her desk. This pair were far more serious and terrifying than the pair that seemed to be on semi-permanent guard duty outside, or at least had been until McKenzie had wounded one of them. They were asking her questions about him, in particular the circumstances of his test.

"He did not hurt the girl?" The first assassin asked. They were both human, and both big, imposing men. The first had an accent that reminded Listra slightly of home, the second was probably Vyrinian born.

"No," Listra replied.

"Did he say why not?" The second asked.

"He did not think it necessary," Listra replied, leaving it up to them to decide exactly what she was referring to.

"Send for the girl," the first assassin said.

Listra sighed. She had been both dreading and expecting this since McKenzie's last visit. She had told Hennara in no uncertain terms that she should leave, and even offered her a considerable pouch of gold to do so, but the girl had refused.

She had no choice. "Very well." Listra rose, opened the door, and issued an instruction to the maid to fetch Hennara.

"It is unusual, is it not, for candidates not to sacrifice the whore?" The second assassin asked. He'd been using that word a lot since they'd invited themselves in. "I know I certainly did."

"It is unusual," Listra answered, as she placed a spare chair near the desk for Hennara, and then sat down again.

"How unusual?" The first assassin asked.

"In my experience, it has never happened," Listra replied.

"So it is, in fact, unique," the first assassin said.

"He fancied his chances with her," the second assassin snorted.

"Unique, yes," Listra replied, ignoring the comment from the second assassin. "I did not hide this fact in my report."

"The purpose of this visit is not to judge the veracity of your report," the first assassin told her, but not in a reassuring tone. "What is the girl's name?"

"Hennara," Listra replied.

"Is she pretty?" The second assassin asked.

"Judge for yourself: she'll be here in a few moments," Listra replied.

"Hmph," the second assassin said.

"Has there been any contact between this Hennara and Crowbar since the test?" The first assassin asked.

Listra knew they already had the answer to this. "Yes. He returned here earlier today, not in the best of moods. She calmed him down."

"Would you say that Crowbar has formed an attachment to her?" The first assassin asked.

"I doubt it," Listra replied. "He did not seem given to sentiment. He came in here demanding to know what had happened to the 'dangerous rogue cleric' your organisation is seeking. I was not able to tell him anything. He became angry, but an offer of hospitality with Hennara persuaded him to calm down. She took care of him and he left."

"Hospitality. Hah!" The second assassin commented.

"Did he ask for her specifically?" The first assassin queried.

"Not that I remember, she just happened to be on hand at the time," Listra answered.

"Were any other girls 'on hand'? Did he choose her over others?"

"Possibly, possibly not. He made a violent entrance, many of my girls chose to make themselves scarce, so she may have been the only girl around. On the other hand, she's certainly noticeable," Listra said.

"In what way?" The first assassin persevered with his line of questioning.

"She is very-" Listra began.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Listra said. She didn't dare sigh, but felt like it. Hennara didn't deserve this.

The door opened. There was a few moment's silence.

"Never mind," the first assassin said, after a moment. "I see what you mean."

"She'd certainly calm me down," the second assassin agreed.

Listra said nothing, because it wasn't Hennara that had entered. It was the cleric, dressed in somebody's working clothes. She wore a transparent shift over scanty white underwear, and was barefoot. There were many beautiful girls in the Unsheathed Dagger, but none to match her.

"I'm Hennara," Callena said.

The men: hardened, ruthless killers both, gave vent to sighs as she walked in past them. Listra almost sighed herself.

She had a lot of faith in her control over her features and voice, but even so she was surprised her tone was level when she spoke. "Thank you for coming, Hennara. These guild gentlemen want to see you."

"Certainly, Madam Listra. Gentlemen, if you'd care to follow me upstairs?" Callena indicated the door.

"Absolutely," the second assassin said readily.

The first assassin gave him A Look. "That will not be necessary. The girl will come with us. The Client wishes to see her."

The cleric was a talented actress, Listra thought, but then again the look of fear on her face could have been entirely unfeigned.

"Please, sir, I would rather stay here," she said.

"Take her to the carriage," the first assassin said to the second.

"With pleasure," the second assassin said. He rose, and took Callena by the arm. "This way, my dear. Not to worry, the Client just wants a word with you about a mutual acquaintance."

Listra had no doubt that, had she wished, the cleric could have easily protected herself. She chose not to, though, and in apparent docility allowed herself to be led away.

"Will she be harmed?" Listra asked.

"Why do you care?" The first assassin asked.

"She has regular clients. Important customers," Listra replied.

The first assassin showed another sliver of humanity, and sighed again. "I don't doubt she has." Then his voice regained it's coldness: "Tell them they will have to content themselves with your other girls. You will not see her again."

And with that, he left. Listra sat down at her desk, and put her head in her hands.

- o O o -

After Danandra and McKenzie left the party, it didn't take long for the festivities to start. Strange roars and howls started echoing around the halls. Danandra bolted her door - the doors to her quarters came equipped with some fairly heavy-duty bolts - and then cast another privacy spell to keep the noise out.

"Talius?" She whispered, sitting down on the large bed and running her fingers over the stone.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Hello Danandra, Talius replied, magic against her skin. It was all she could do to control herself, when he replied like that. She bit her lip.

"We are alone, and I have cast a spell of privacy," she said.

Talius appeared, sat on the bed. He wasn't beside her: he was choosing to not be over-familiar.

"Excellent," he said, and stretched. "The sensation of confinement is not pleasant."

Danandra narrowed her eyes. She was still wearing the necklace. "You are not quite transformed."

"An interim state," Talius explained. "Only you can see me and hear me, and I cannot exert any physical influence on the outside world."

Danandra nodded, trying to control a rush of instant lust as she considered the power and art that such a working must require. "Impressive," she replied.

"Thank you." Talius inclined his head. "I suspect that you would appreciate an explanation."

"Do not mistake me," Danandra told him. "I am grateful for your help, and presumably large portions of the Royal Free Magical College are still standing only because of your intervention."

Talius nodded. "But necromancers are not to be trusted. I know this better than most."

Danandra sighed. "You don't owe me an explanation. My own chequered past contains demonic rites and ruthless ambition that I sorely wish I had never attempted. I am in no position to judge the morality of others."

"Nevertheless I would like to explain. I was a necromancer, yes, it is true. I was one of the best, one of the most powerful practitioners in all the Empire. I grew to hate the art, though. I could no longer be a party to evil deeds - they haunted my sleep. So I gave it up, changed my name, and devoted myself to the study of the purer magical arts. I accepted an Adeptship at the Royal Free, and I thought I had found a new life. But it was a lie, a delusion - when I was refused a Mastership it was the last straw. The colleges are not the home of magic: it belongs out in the wild, just as you say. When I learnt of your situation from McKenzie, I-" Talius paused.

"Go on," Danandra said. "Don't fear any rebuke from me."

"I had sworn never to use the dark powers again. I had sworn to be a better person. I could not think of any situation which would persuade me back to my old ways. But when you were kidnapped, and it became clear that McKenzie could wield the quintessence, it seemed like too much of a coincidence. Here, I thought, is a chance to do some real good in a real way. I knew that I could obtain information from the dead mage, and with a Quintessent on hand, there wouldn't be any need for the usual rites with their usual price - I had all the power I could possibly need just waiting to be tapped."

Danandra mentally filed away the term 'Quintessent' for future use before she replied. "Well, I'm rather glad you're here, however you managed it. I'm not sure why you have thrown away your position and your entire life just to come to the aid of a wayward sorceress who is, probably, just getting exactly what she deserves."

"Nonsense," Talius said. "If you hadn't come to find me you wouldn't be in this situation, and-" He paused again and swallowed. "I hope you will forgive me for rushing to what might seem like too quick a devotion, I know we have just met, but I knew I had to find you. If I am to find another new life, I think I would like the opportunity to see if it might possibly be with you, Danandra."

"Fine words," Danandra said. Talius looked downcast. Danandra smiled. "Is it just words that can pass between us, in this manner?"

Talius smiled too. "For the wearer, I believe all sensations are available."

Danandra held out her hand. Talius took it. It felt real enough.

"Then whisper to me," Danandra said, laying back and pulling Talius with her, "in precise and exact detail, how you managed to contain an explosion of quintessence."

"Is this not something you would like to discuss later?" Talius asked, puzzled.

"While we are in a confessional mood, Talius, you ought to know that I am very passionate about magic," Danandra said.

"You struck me as someone with a passion for the art the moment we met. It is one of the reasons I esteem you so highly."

"No, Talius. I'm very, very passionate about magic. The more powerful and, I have recently discovered, the more artistic, the more passionate I become. Do you understand?" Danandra asked.

"Oh!" Talius said, getting it.

"Now: details," Danandra said. Talius was more than happy to oblige.

- o O o -

McKenzie didn't have the benefit of a privacy spell to cut off the noise coming from beyond his guest room door. It sounded like someone was stampeding a safari park's worth of animals down the corridor every few minutes - there was a lot of howling, some roaring, definitely something braying or whinnying in abject terror, and a lot of hoofbeats. There was, at one point, an absolute barrage of snarling and roaring, followed by a truly unsettling animal scream, a crunch, and then, disconcertingly, laughter. McKenzie had seen and heard some pretty disturbing things in his time, but this was enough to give him the serious heebs.

This lasted for probably forty minutes or so, before it petered off into a quiet, wet-sounding ripping noise. McKenzie realised, with a shudder, that something was being eaten right outside his door. This was confirmed when blood started seeping in underneath.

"Fuck's sake: enough is enough," McKenzie muttered irritably. He unbolted the door and pulled it open.

"Guys, seriously," he addressed a trio of large wolves which were methodically tearing chunks out of something big and brown-haired. "Does it have to be right outside my fucking door?"

The wolves looked up at him.

"If I killed something outside your door and then proceeded to rip bits off it, would you appreciate it?" McKenzie asked.

One of the wolves tipped it's head to one side and conveyed, somehow, that it probably wouldn't mind very much really.

"Even so, do me a favour and drag whatever the fuck that is down the corridor a bit, wouldya?" McKenzie asked.

One of the wolves growled at him.

"Yes?" McKenzie raised an eyebrow and asked.

One of the other wolves yipped at the one that was growling, which fell silent. They sunk their teeth into the carcass and began to drag it away.

"Thanks, much appreciated. A mop and bucket wouldn't go amiss, either, once you've got opposable thumbs again," McKenzie said, and rebolted the door.

Some people have got no table manners at all, he tweeted. That was so vague there was no way anything could be inferred from it by Lemuel's hypothetical eavesdropper.

A few moments later his phone rang. McKenzie got a feeling of anticipation and uncertainty for a moment until he looked at the screen. It was Christine.

"Vyrinios Supernatural Petfood Supplies," he answered.

"Hey McKenzie," Christine replied. "I figured that tweet meant you weren't currently in a life or death situation right this minute."

"Correct," McKenzie said. "I can't talk details, though. As much as I hate L- as much as I hate the guv, he's right, I've basically got no idea how secure this phone is."

"I'll ask The Fader about that for you," Christine said. "Maybe there's an app or something."

"Yeah, that'd be helpful," McKenzie replied. "It's a-" he held the phone away from his ear and peered at the back of it "-XTD 5, I think it runs Robot or something, if that helps."

Christine laughed. "It's called Android, tech genius."

"Hey, when I was your age muskets were considered high tech, don't give me a hard time," McKenzie said, although internally he was substituting 'bronze swords' for muskets.

"Sorry. So, you didn't chew me out for saying 'The Fader' instead of Jimmy: I guess your twitter is right and you really are having kind of a crappy day," Christine said sympathetically.

"Yeah - remember that time we were trapped in a sinking submarine, and then when we thought we'd found a way off it we discovered it was surrounded by genetically engineered mutant sharks, and then after we'd figured out a way to keep it afloat long enough to reach shore we found that nuclear warhead about to go off?" McKenzie said.

"Ugh, I like totally still wake up screaming about that," Christine replied.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what today's been like," McKenzie replied. "Tomorrow looks set to contain more of the same, with patches of 'oh-for-fuck's-sake-what-now' expected by the afternoon."

"Oh Crowbar, I wish I could help," Christine said. "What I actually do have to tell you might not be what you want to hear."

McKenzie braced himself. "Go on."

"Lemuel's gone dark," Christine said.

"Eh?"

"He's not answering his phone, emails, texts, anything. He was supposed to turn up for a reception in Geneva after this UN thing, and he never showed. It's like he just-"

"Disappeared off the face of the planet," McKenzie finished for her, grimly.

"Yeah, absolutely like tha- oh," Christine said. "You think he's on his way to you?"

McKenzie didn't answer that question.

"Gotta go, Christine," he said instead. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Okay, look after yourse-"

McKenzie cut the connection and sat down on the edge of the large bed.

"Fuck," he said. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

This was not good timing. As soon as Xixaxa said 'yes, the curse is definitely broken' then any time would be fine for filling Lemuel's smug fucking face full of lead - but the last thing McKenzie wanted was for Lemuel to re-establish control over him.

He needed to let the Archmage know about this, and he wasn't about to trust such a message to any messenger Jenata could provide even if he could recall the details of the cyphery thing he could vaguely remember being bored by. It looked like a little side trip might be in order tonight: the Melindronian embassy must have some means of getting messages back to The Tower reasonably instantly, and even if they didn't then that mirror was presumably there by now - McKenzie couldn't touch it himself for fear of, well, blowing up again, but the embassy must have a mage on the staff who could work the thing.

Only he had a meeting, didn't he? Bollocks, they could wait, he could be there and back in an hour. He got up and headed for the door. He could tell Danandra on the way out.

This plan was scuppered by a knock on the door.

"Figures," McKenzie grunted, as he unbolted and hauled open the door.

It was Onza, still dressed in her evening wear but barefoot, now - she was smiling and seemed slightly flushed and exhilarated. She didn't wait to be invited in but stepped over the puddle of blood and past McKenzie, laughing. Drunk, McKenzie figured.

"I assume you enjoyed dinner, then," McKenzie said.

"Fully and extensively," Onza replied, flinging herself down on the bed.

"Goat after all?"

"Lion," she replied.

"Can't say I'm surprised," McKenzie replied. "It sounded like someone was ripping a zoo to bits out there."

"Probably not an entire zoo," Onza said. "Lady Jenata has animals delivered from all over the world so we can hunt properly - at least within the confines of these halls. The lions fought incredibly well - it was amazing. Things always taste better when they fight." She gave vent to an odd sigh and rubbed her back up along the bed as she spoke, pulling the covers out from under the pillows.

"And what about the vampires - is dinner shipped in from all over the world for them, too?" McKenzie asked.

"No - they prefer their food locally sourced," Onza replied.

"Har de har," McKenzie replied. They were getting onto subjects McKenzie could frankly do without knowing about. "Anyway, I presume you're here to summon me to the briefing about tomorrow morning's arse kicking activities and not just unmake the bed for no reason."

"It doesn't have to be for no reason," Onza hinted. "You wanted to find out if I purr or not. Now's your chance."

Given Onza's undeniable physical charms, McKenzie was surprised how easy he found it to turn her down.

"Onza - this is a business deal. I'm not looking for it to be anything other than that," he said.

Onza genuinely looked, for a moment, as if she was going to spring off the bed and go for his throat. Then she sat up and shrugged. "Your loss."

Is Narra like this now? McKenzie thought.

"I'm sure it is," McKenzie told her. "So - meeting?"

"Follow me." Onza got to her feet.