Neska’s entire body froze at this rather uncanny knowledge. It was as if this meeting had been planned, even without the monster attack.

  Risha clicked her tongue in a measured annoyance. “Control your temper, Marikand. That’s a dent in my wall.”

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do, monster maker.” He stepped closer to her, and she stood her ground. He leaned in. “And you know something.”

  Neska could barely contain her rage. I should go down there and give him a love bite for being so rude. With her enhanced venom…No, she shouldn’t. That would do nothing but make this situation worse and carry immense risk for both her and Risha.

  The witch let out a tsk. “That’s all you have? You needed an excuse to come here, didn’t you?” Risha waved the man inside, then gestured to the chair. “Sit. We can be civil. It’s on you whether it remains that way.”

  Neska shifted her attention to the window, left open to allow the warm summer breeze through, and she could still hear inside. A moment later, they walked in front of the window. The man sat across from Risha at the kitchen table.

  Now, Neska could see Marikand in detail, Risha remaining eerily composed. The man sat in a chair far too small for him, the wood creaking softly. He removed the latch of the helmet attached to his gorget, and she saw his weathered, scarred face, with a short black beard, long black hair, and dark eyes like pools of ink. He didn’t speak; he just stared at Risha before letting out a sigh.

  “You know I didn’t want to come here.”

  “Yet you did, anyway. I know you through others. And your reputation.” The implied accusation lingered in the air. “I’ve been gone for three years. They did fine without me.”

  The man leaned in, unblinking. “A woman of your talent should never have been allowed to leave. That’s what my superiors say. I understand why you wanted to leave. You had others to think about.”

  Risha narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you dare to presume you understand me.”

  There was a tense moment of silence before he changed topics. “Tell me about the monster attack yesterday. I want all the details. I would have interviewed the girl and her mother, but they apparently left town.”

  “Monsters attacked them. They were scared, as they should be. Those rats are capable of adrenaline frenzies, even at Tier one, and should not be underestimated.” Risha’s logic was sound. But Neska wondered if Marikand was fishing for something. A lie, or something else he was interested in.

  The Seeker withdrew a notebook and opened it to a bookmarked page. She couldn’t read it at this range, but it was filled with a fair amount of text. “Please describe yesterday. I would have examined the corpses, but they were burned and swiftly disposed of.”

  “A practice the Seekers perform routinely. A few rare monsters can regenerate from a near-death state,” Risha said dryly. Marikand’s grunt indicated she was right.

  They began talking about the day in detail. Neska quickly realized the man was thorough and would be here a while. If he really had something on her…would he be this patient?

  She wanted to find out. The three other Seekers stood at attention, but after a while, they relaxed into a more casual stance. One looked utterly bored and leaned on a fence post. Better yet, tall grass lay adjacent to the horses and the men. If she kept quiet, she should be unseen, even discounting this blessing Risha had used on her.

  One kept making little sudden movements with his wrist, twisting and jerking. Neska noticed it after sliding a little closer, peeking her head up just enough to look past the grass blades. It kept happening, random twitching of his wrist, and fingers randomly clenching. Odd. Maybe some kind of injury? Illness? She didn’t know enough to be sure, but it seemed strange.

  Their boredom extended to their conversation. One man rubbed sweat off his brow. “Damn hot outside. Why do we gotta wear these suffocating uniforms? Marikand will be sitting on his arse all day in the shade.”

  “We didn’t get much from the rat's remains,” the second one said, still leaning on the fence post. “Ain’t right that monsters got that close. Not with the higher-ranked hunters somehow missing it.”

  Neska crept closer. They were focused on each other, and not the snake twenty feet away, hidden in the grass. She was confident they couldn’t see her.

  This close, she could taste them. Sweat, salt, unwashed bodies. And something that made her recoil.

  Sour. Like vinegar, but worse. And another scent, that smelled sickly sweet, but not the good kind. This was the smell of…

  A corpse? Or something dead at any rate. Neska peered at them, but no one seemed bothered. She noted a heavy burlap wrap mounted on one of the horses. A single bloodstain bloomed on one corner.

  She really wanted to know what was in there. But these three men were too close. They’d spot her if she attempted to look in.

  “Think he’ll…you know,” the first one said. The one with the twitchy hand shrugged.

  “Beats me. We came to inspect rats. But he seems keen on interrogating the witch.” The one by the fence let out a soft chuckle. “We ain’t got a witch hunt here, do we?”

  “S-shut it. He wasn’t supposed to do what he did,” the twitchy one stammered.

  “It attacked him.”

  “It did not! He smacked it and it lightly nipped at him, for Goddess' sake. Then he butchered it!” Twitchy really was anxious about something, and the closer she got, the more she realized he was the sour-smelling one. She didn’t know how the other two tolerated it and said nothing.

  “You’re not the one who has to ride with it, either,” the first one snapped, a dark scowl crossing his face. They shifted stances, no longer looking in the direction of the horses. If she made this quickly, she should get a quick peek.

  They started arguing about some dice roll, and how one of them had cheated, and now they had to ride with ‘it’. Neska hoped it was a monster they’d killed. But that didn’t make sense. Would they have even hesitated to kill it?

  She hoped the horse didn’t get spooked. It had blinders on, so its gaze was focused forward. Neska could see a few flies trying to land on the sack, its mane flicking agitatedly. But how do I get into it?

  It was lashed onto the saddle haphazardly with a thin rope. She saw one end hanging loose; if she pulled it, in theory, the whole knot would come undone. And, it might deposit its contents all over the road. That might immediately attract unwanted attention.

  Worth the risk. Something isn’t right here, even with Risha being wary of Seekers. She grabbed the loose cord with her mouth, then pulled it toward the grass adjacent to the road. She coiled her body backward, but she slid. She didn’t have enough weight to pull it loose. Or maybe just traction?

  A series of gnarled roots from a nearby tree stump might work as an anchor. Well, if I can grab a pen, I can hold a root for leverage. She repositioned herself so that she wrapped a coil of her body and gave a tug. She felt the rope give this time, loosening slightly.

  The three boys were still arguing about riding bowmen with their glamorous prize. Neska had a contrasting opinion of how alluring it was. It stank of carrion, but only faintly. Knowing my luck, this macabre prize will–

  The knot came loose, and the cord unfurled, as did the burlap. The contents dropped onto the road with a wet splat and congealed blood, and she recoiled in fright.

  Their luggage was the corpse of a large black feline with gold stripes, stabbed and hacked repeatedly, all across its body. This feline was twice the size of the barn cats Neska had seen around Risha’s home. This one looked…mutilated. It bore far more wounds than needed to kill it.

  Worse, she knew this one. Oh, no. That lady by the corner of the town square, that’s her cat! The one that always seemed uncannily intelligent, and I swear, left me extra mice on Risha’s doorstep as a gift! Cats never share! A proud and noble creature had met a horrific end.

  She didn’t have long to process it as she heard a sound of surprise from one, then all three of the boys. She spat the cord out of her mouth, and she skittered back through the grass.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Oy, what the hell!” All three of them hustled to the corpse, with the twitchy one looking pale. The boy by the fencepost pointed accusingly at Twitchy. “Dumbass, you can’t even tie a knot right! Get this damn thing wrapped up, ‘fore anyone sees it!”

  “You just said it was an animal–”

  Post (or what she imagined the boy’s name was) loomed over his pale friend, jaw clenched. “Pick it up, ‘fore Marikand sees it and adds your corpse to our cargo.” His hand drifted to the shortsword on his belt, and Twitch got a dose of inspiration to improve his work performance.

  Neska didn’t dare to move from the grass or even breathe. As soon as they finished their ghoulish task of securing the corpse, and they were far enough away and belittling Twitch, she fled. She undulated as fast as she could back to the deep cover by the house. She needed to keep a vantage on Risha.

  The conversation about the dead rats ended by the time she got back to her vantage point. Marikand looked disappointed, if nothing else. Strangely, he hadn’t left yet. Neska dared to get closer to the window, risking the chance that the boys might see her. Maybe. They were still making boyish insults at each other.

  “Three dead rats. How’d the girl kill all three?” Marikand asked a pointed question.

  “She had a dagger,” Risha answered. “She stabbed them repeatedly.” Neska knew the truth; the girl was still fearless, coming back to protect her.

  “Huh. Might make a good Seeker someday,” Marikand said with a laugh that sounded fake. Risha’s eyes narrowed as he said that.

  Please just go, you vile man. Leave my witch in peace. Add no more bodies to your collection.

  “Well, I suppose this was a waste. Nothing really to write home about,” he sighed. “Except for one thing.”

  He pulled out a crumpled note. “The courier in town indicated he delivered mana salts to you. A large amount. Those are assets intended for the academy. Along with the living assets.”

  “Assets.” Risha let out a bitter laugh. “Is that the term you use to make yourself comfortable with what we do? Like they’re not people, just disposable fodder? You just grouped them in with a lump of salt.”

  “What I call them is irrelevant,” Marikand replied without emotion.

  I know what to call you. A murderer of a harmless pet. She couldn’t wait to report her findings to Risha and warn her.

  “Maybe you should consider your words more carefully, Seeker,” Risha uttered with a voice as chilly as the grave. “The Awakened face adversity at every turn. A death at the hands of a monster…or a death at the hands of people filled with hatred, more than they’re filled with hope. Even if neither of those two happens, they’ll never have a place to belong after the war. I should have stopped bringing them back a long time ago, to spare them from that.”

  “Save the lecture, Risha.” His gauntlet creaked as his fist tightened. “You know it’s getting worse. The monsters are evolving, even without consuming humanoids now. They’re changing. We’re losing ground.”

  “And I have done everything in my power to continue to assess our options. I did keep in contact with the Academy. I made the ritual safer to gather the severed souls. Found ideal matches in compatible monsters. Theorized on evolution routes as far as we’ve gotten with the highest tiered Awakened. All valuable. And saving lives.”

  Risha pointed toward the window, where the men were milling about, outside. “Stop wasting my time, Marikand. You and I both know you need something.”

  Marikand let out a soft chuckle. “Oh? Well, then. Guess I’m skipping to that part. I’ll be blunt, I need your help.”

  Risha gazed at him with icy fury. “My help. You want mine. I came to this town to get away from it all.”

  “We never stopped keeping track of you.” Neska heard the tone shift in the man’s voice. Darker, more foreboding. “We knew you were here. We just didn’t need you badly enough until now. I need more Awakened for the Seekers. To train them. We need all the information we can glean about the monsters and their Interface.”

  “Then ask the academy,” she said calmly, tapping her fingers on the table gently. “You have a free license to do what you want.”

  “Not for everything. I need stronger ones. Tier two and above. Preferably, Tier three.” His demand elicited a scoff from her.

  “They are people, not commodities,” she fumed, fingernails digging into the armrest. “And for what purpose? Even if I were interested and kept them alive long enough to get there, what would that gain us? More insight into the monsters and how we use our classes to defend against them? Again, you’d be better suited to ask–”

  “This effort is…better not disclosed to the academy.” Neska dared to swivel her head to the horse burdened with a bloody sack, and felt her blood freeze. A horrible thought welled up. He surely can’t be…oh no…

  Risha looked right through Marikand. “You think you can do better than them, or me? The academy, and the Awakened they train and protect, have helped us stand our ground. You think you’ll gain more knowledge?” A soft, mocking cackle left Risha’s lips.

  “No. Experience.”

  The laughter died in an instant.

  Oh gods, no.

  Neska felt a chill along her spine at the same time Risha’s eyes went dark like the night sky, and her fingers clenched the armrest. “You are not serious.” Her voice was as dead as the grave.

  “I am.”

  Risha rose from her chair, the air humming with energy. Shadows grew from the corners of the room, moving and twisting as if they were tree boughs in the wind. “Get out, Marikand. That is the only warning you’re getting.”

  The man gazed at her unflinchingly. After several seconds, he rose from the seat, letting out a sigh of disappointment. “I understand what I’m asking–”

  She interrupted him, her teeth gritted and tendrils of shadow flickering from her arms. “What you’re asking for is a sin against whatever gods are left protecting us.”

  He stared right through her for several seconds, emotionless. “No? Well, if you can’t help provide them…”

  He shrugged and stood up from his chair, sliding it back in place casually, even as the shadows in the room seemed to move with a life of their own. It was eerie how little reaction he had to the imminent danger around him. “I guess we’ll have to find replacements, then.” Risha never took her eyes off of him as he walked by. He turned the latch to the front door, and a malcontent smile emerged.

  He then turned to face Risha, her stance tense, her hand on her belt, close to her dagger. “I’ll give you a day to think it over and decide what you value most. Your need for the ethical high ground? Or preventing the extinction of our species as the monsters devour us, one farm, one town, one city at a time?”

  “Thought about it. Not going to happen. Not for you, not ever.” Risha kept the winding shadows at bay as he turned, his hand remaining on the latch. He once again paused.

  “Where’s your snake? I heard you had a…familiar in your shop.”

  The turn of conversation was sudden, and Neska lay flat in the grass. Risha gave the man a scathing glare. “Likely hunting mice. I’m a witch; we can and do keep familiars.”

  Marikand smiled politely. “A familiar is the most precious thing to a witch, just like a hunter’s bonded animal shares their Vitality and Endurance. Isn’t it? I wonder what would happen to you if something happened to it? Do you share pain with it?”

  “You. Wouldn’t. Dare.” Her words were more forceful than audible, and Marikand smiled faintly.

  “Forget already? I can bring in assets for our war with almost limitless discretion. I suggest you spend the day thinking it over, Risha. The next time I’m here, I suggest you have your…pet here with you. Or, is she your ward?”

  I changed my mind. Death by venom shock isn’t good enough for you, Marikand. Neska focused her baleful gaze at him as he strolled out casually, as if he hadn’t just threatened a witch who was practically a saint.

  Then she smelled it again, as he drew close to her concealed position. That sour smell was back, stronger than before, and even more repulsive. Something was very wrong with that man, and not just his behavior.

  Risha emerged from the front door. The three boys, having stood at attention when Marikand emerged, started to close, hands resting on their weapons. She looked furious, but remained on the wooden porch.

  “So that’s what the Seekers have come to?” Risha’s words were little more than a growl from the porch, and little vines and roots continued to sprout nearby, waiting for her command. “Taking the sacrifice of good men and women, only to herd them to you like sheep to the slaughter pen? Did you tell your squires that when they took up this apprenticeship?” All three looked like they might soil themselves, aware of the danger level in a way Marikand was indifferent to.

  But the Seeker didn’t take the bait. He turned and gave the witch an indignant shrug. “What would you do to survive, Risha? Or, what would you do to protect the ones you care about? Don’t leave town. We know how to find you, even if you try.”

  Risha stood there, quivering and biting her lip so hard it bled, even after the horses took off in a galloping hoofbeat. The energy surrounding Risha faded into the ambient world. Her entire expression grew morose, as if she wanted to do something…but couldn’t.

  Seeing the road was clear, Neska undulated over to her as fast as she could. Risha glanced at her and tapped her foot. “I told you to stay away–”

  Her halfway shout was realized even before she finished. Her posture slumped.

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted. But that was reckless!” She reached down and scooped her up, holding Neska snugly, her whole body trembling as she did. She was hurting like nothing else she’d seen since Neska hatched from the egg.

  It’s not your fault, Risha. She gently wrapped around her neck, hoping it would bring some measure of peace to the witch.

  But, she had to get her attention, and tapped her tail repeatedly on her wrist a moment later. “Neska, what does that mean? Here, let’s get inside, before those fiends circle back.”

  She closed and latched the door. Neska sped over to the table, coiling up and getting to the flat surface after Risha set down the paper. The witch was right: they had been on a clock. And now, they knew how much time was left.

  “Neska, slow down,” Risha protested, scribbling letters. “I think he’s blowing smoke, I don’t think he realizes how dangerous I am…what are you…”

  {Dead cat. Stabbed. Gold and black fur. Lady by the corner.}

  Risha’s eyes widened as she wrote the letters from Risha’s intent. Her knees shook. “Oh, goddess…not Sharise.”

  {Do you know her?}

  Risha nodded weakly; Neska didn’t have to tap out letters for Risha to understand. The witch’s eyes threatened misty tears, and she swallowed as if she had just eaten a rock. “Yes. Part of the process, is that it takes a while for the human soul to recover. It can be a day, a year. They’re housed with guardians who care for them, help raise them to prepare for the Academy. By the time they reach Tier two, their memories and personalities normally recover, and they can speak. But Sharise…why did they do it?!”

  Neska tapped out the one word that she knew would convince her.

  {Experience.}

  Risha stared blankly at her notepad. “But…why…are they this desperate? Or is there something worse at play?”

  {They smelled wrong. Something off. Twitchy.}

  Neska had Risha follow along, and Risha narrowed her eyes. “Neska, what smell, specifically? What limbs were twitching? Did they speak?”

  {Sour. Like vinegar. Hands twitched, too. And his voice stuttered. As if his body forgot how to move.} She hoped this proved useful. Something clearly was not right with them.

  Whatever that meant to Risha left her in shock for a split second before she grimly nodded. “Neska, good finding. This just got worse. Way worse. We’re doing this ritual as soon as I prepare some things.”

  How much worse could it get? As if reading her mind, Risha answered.

  “Those were not Seekers. I think they’re something else.”