"Please, sit." Andre motioned with his hand at one empty chair opposite him, and as I was about to wonder who would take it, two more chairs materialized next to it. "You all do look quite weary."

They did not appear with a glow like when Qubit makes things reappear but rather began as thin strands of wood in the shape of a chair which grew outward at a rapid pace. They looked identical to the other two, and out of curiosity picked out one of them to sit on. As I made contact, I could swear I felt a prickle for the briefest of moments, although it just as well could have been my imagination. The other two followed suit, with Tristan still nursing his arm.

"Where to even begin. There have been five murders in the last four days, all of which were performed with a blade. No trace of mana at all, but each one also had their heart ripped out and skin lacerated to draw blood. That is the most efficient way for a spirit to consume a victim's mana, but these were girls in their teens, with no elements to boot. Not exactly the prime targets for mana."

Andre took a brief pause to take another sip of what smelled like black tea as we digested the information.

"Now, spirits are cunning creatures as I'm sure you all know. Why would it expose itself to living in this town through very obvious killings which bring it practically no benefit? Well, it might simply be young, wild, and bloodthirsty, or perhaps weakened and desperate. Now, I highly doubt it is the former as it is hiding a little too well, not even utilizing any mana to kill. For the latter, someone would have had to put it in such a state in the first place, yet all the entities which could do that, that I know of at least, have been accounted for. Unless you all ran into one on your way out of town, and let it live, I would put those theories to rest."

"The only spirit we found was a two-day journey out, and I can assure you it is very much dead," Larry confirmed, looking to be in thought. "Are you saying a human would do something like that? Rip people's hearts out?"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. There are those of us that can be worse than the worst spirits, believe me, and I would not put it past someone doing all this to go undetected under our noses as we look for a spirit. The cutting would merely prove their innocence to the masses unless caught in the act."

"What if it is the reverse? A spirit killing to make it look like a human?" Tristan voiced his opinion, making me wonder how smart these spirits really are if that is a point to consider.

"Always the skeptic, aren't you? I won't say it isn't possible, but I'm confident that is a conclusion too few people would draw to be effective. Right now, everyone is looking for a spirit after all."

"So what's the plan? If it really isn't a spirit, then the guards would be enough, but if you are wrong"

"We prepare for the worst, that being that it is in fact a spirit, and hope we get a witness. Without mana being used, we have no way to identify anyone."

"What if we used a bait? I'll do it myself." Lucie volunteered with conviction, which made us all turn to her with varying reactions.

I myself was mostly surprised that she would put herself at risk like that, but then again she does so anyway going out to hunt for spirits. Tristan let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, while Andre gave her an endearing smile. Larry was the most vocal.

"No. No way. It's too dangerous."

"If we don't do something, others will die!"

"And if you die, how will we protect other people from spirits that show up after? Felix has been trying to recruit people but you know how hard it is. Sacrificing yourself is not always for the better."

Lucie looked down in guilt, seemingly conflicted about something. It made me wonder what she was thinking about as it was not the first time I saw her with this look, and last time it also concerned the safety of others.

"If it is any consolation, it probably would not have worked anyway," Andre reassured Lucy as he finally put his feet and his mug down and sat properly in his chair. "Considering the timing of the first kill, whoever or whatever is out there most likely knows all of you. Maybe not personally, but I'm guessing they will be warier now that you have returned. But otherwise, in all honesty, that would be a sound plan, if we had a suitable, willing bait."

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

Everyone in the room slowly realized what Andre was insinuating as he looked at me, prompting everyone else to briefly turn their heads as well before rounding on him. A chill ran up my spine as I saw the same, animated smile as from when I first entered directed at me. It made me want to run out of the room and get as far away from him as I could. I did not want to be dragged into this, as I already had enough on my plate to worry about only to be once again thrust back to facing another spirit. Or a murderer, which was not a big improvement.

"No way. I did say she was an ascended but she has no combat experience." Larry was adamant in his refusal, not even letting me get a word in but delivering practically the same message as I would have. "We cannot involve civilians like that. This is our job and responsibility."

"No experience you say? Interesting. Either way, ascended are hard to kill, especially without the use of mana which seems to be the case here, and this is such a perfect opportunity, would you really want to pass it by when the alternative is to wait for another body to show up?"

Larry looked like he wanted to argue, they all did, but nothing they could think of seemed to be able to refute Andre's point. I wanted out, and I began weighing the danger of participating with my need for a place to stay.

In the end, Tristan's voice broke the tense, contemplative silence.

"It doesn't matter what's best and what isn't. It's her choice, not yours, so stop pressuring her into doing what you want."

That's right. They can't force me.

I calmed my thoughts. I was still somewhat in a fight or flight mentality. Rather than thinking of how to get myself out of here, I just had to choose if I wanted in or not. This entire plan relied on me cooperating after all.

According to Qubit, I won't really die if I get killed. I think? I can regenerate too, and I have that werewolf arm. Maybe it would be worth doing if the risk isn't too bad and I could get something out of it.

That was when I made up my mind, to take a risk and try to turn my situation around for the better.

"What's in it for me? As heartless as it might seem, I'm not risking my life for strangers without reason."

"Good. Very good." Everyone looked confused as Andre gave me a genuine smile at my reply. "It is easier to trust, and believe, when there is mutual benefit. So what do you say, what is your life worth?"

"Hey, come on now. You are making this sound like a suicide mission." Larry then turned to me. "If you really are going to do this, we will make sure to be ready to jump in at a moment's notice."

"Yeah, we'll be there. We'll..." Lucie seemed to pause for a second, seemingly remembering something before looking more determined than ever. "This time we will do better. I swear."

"Thanks." I was beginning to feel a little embarrassed at their selfless determination to keep me safe, so I turned back to Andre. "Are we doing this tonight? I'd like the learn at least a little self-defense before going in."

"Tonight is our best shot, while our killer does not know you all have returned. Of course, we can always fake that you have left town again, but I think we can all agree that the sooner this is resolved, the better. If nothing comes up, I'll personally teach you what I can before we make another attempt."

"Wait a moment, why not hire a mercenary if tonight fails?" Larry interjected.

"So far, the victims have all been without elements. If it is a human doing the killing, they would only know this through research, meaning they probably know our little local mercenary roster. A disguise might work, but not guaranteed. Unless it has been pure coincidence. If it is in fact a spirit, they would be able to sense it. It would be the same in this case, but an ascended would be a much, much juicier bait."

I was a little hesitant to spend more time with the priest than necessary, but without a valid reason to refuse what seemed to be a potentially great learning opportunity I had been hoping for, I agreed.

"Alright, but I don't want just that as my compensation. That would definitely not be worth the risk."

"I could pay you the ascended mercenary rates."

"I'll need to think about it a bit more. If I can't come up with anything else, then money will do."

"Take your time. I am a man of my word. For now, we need to get moving. Tristan, you stay here. With that arm, you are more of a liability and we need somebody to stay here in case someone shows up. We'll circle around the North Quarter as that is where the first and latest bodies were found. Might be too many guards around for them to make a move tonight, but we can send them off if we run into any. There should be a tavern or inn open there as well, which could be a hotspot for finding victims, and beginning to cement you as a regular in one of them might be a good start in the long run."

With that, he stood up and, rather than make his way to the door, stepped up to a bookcase, where he gripped the side of one of the shelves and began pulling it open like a door.

Of course, there is a secret passage. Why wouldn't there be a secret door in a church?

What was revealed was a set of stone stairs leading down into a dark tunnel. Seeing it open up lifted my mood and eased my tension slightly as, after all the serious talking, this felt like a silly turn of events. It seemed I was not the only one amused by it as Larry also had a slight smile as he stepped up, picking up a lantern that was hanging from a hook embedded in the wall of the passage and lit it with an accompanying match. Andre motioned for us to step forward and, following closely behind Larry, we all descended into the cool tunnel. Soon the light from behind us was cut off with an echoing thud as Andre shut the bookcase door and fell into step right behind me.