Tafel sneezed and rubbed her nose with her finger. “Is it just me, or did it suddenly get cold out here?” she asked and shivered. “I feel like something dangerous is targeting me.”

Alice looked around before shaking her head. “The only dangerous beasts out here are phoenixes, and you wouldn’t feel a chill if one of those wanted to eat you,” she said. “I imagine it’d feel like falling into a furnace if you attracted the attention of a phoenix.”

“Maybe it’s an elf,” Tafel said and sighed. “I feel very uneasy right now. Could something have happened to Vur?” Her face scrunched up as she contemplated it for a second before she shook head. “No, that’s impossible.”

“What’s wrong?” a gravelly voice asked.

Tafel raised her head. Mr. Skelly was standing over her, carrying a squirming elf with one hand, his bony arm looped around the poor man’s waist. The moonlight shone down on them, illuminating the metal fetters binding the elf’s arms and legs. Tafel shook her head and leaned forward to pick up a stick. She pointed it at a pile of kindle and firewood, causing a blue flame to burst into life. “It’s nothing,” Tafel said. “Did you find a ginger elf yet?”

“A-are you going to cook and eat me?” the elf in Mr. Skelly’s grasp asked with wide eyes. He had been sitting with the other elves a few minutes ago before Mr. Skelly brought him over. Then the human with horns lit up a bonfire right next to him with a temperature high enough to harm him. “I, I don’t want to die this way!”

Mr. Skelly used his free hand to smack the elf’s head. “Oh, quit squirming,” he said. “No one’s going to eat you. You’re of more use to us alive than dead.” He rummaged through a bag by his waist and shoved a dim blue crystal into the elf’s mouth. “Here, charge this for me.” Mr. Skelly’s bones contorted as he smiled at Tafel. “No ginger elf yet, but through some interrogation, we discovered that there is indeed a tribe with red hair. They live close to the phoenixes though, so it might be difficult to kidnap them.”

“I’ve been wondering,” Alice said and furrowed her brow, not letting Tafel speak. “Does this make me an accessory to kidnapping?” She pointed at the elf that had tears streaming down his face. The crystal was brightening with every tear that fell. “I mean, look at this. This is barbaric.”

“Accessory to kidnapping?” Mr. Skelly asked, one eye socket widening. “That’s the least of your worries. How about blaspheming the holy dragons, invading the territory of the phoenixes, and waging war on the elves, humans, and dwarves? Did you forget about those?”

“I guess, I’m in too deep now, huh?” Alice asked. Her body stiffened. “Wait a minute. Waging war on the humans and dwarves? When did I do that?”

“Uh.” Mr. Skelly scratched his head and pulled out a shining blue crystal. He spoke into it. “Begin the operation!” He cackled and put the crystal away before smiling at Alice. Dread filled her as she swallowed her spit. “Since you’re on our side; I took some liberties and created some documents under your name with your signature. As of now, the church of damnedism is at war with the humans and the dwarves.”

“That’s forgery!” Alice shouted and rose to her feet. “I never signed any of your doc—I’ve signed some of your documents.” Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why she had interrupted herself. “Truth curse? But why don’t I remember signing anything?”

“Well, most people don’t remember things correctly when fairies are involved,” Mr. Skelly said with a grin. His eye sockets twinkled. “Think of all the documents you signed back at the adventurers’ guild. Are you sure none of them were enchanted?”

“That’s it,” Alice said with a growl. “You’re dead.”

Mr. Skelly cackled and held up the elf in his arm to block Alice’s view. “You’re right. I am.” He peeked his head around the elf’s body and grinned at Alice. “You wouldn’t harm a poor innocent elf, would you?”

Alice hesitated as the elf pleaded with her through his eyes. “I hate your guts, so much,” she said. “Cancel the declaration of war or whatever it is you did.”

Mr. Skelly rubbed his chin with his free hand. “Mm, well, you see,” he said, causing Alice’s stomach to drop. Something told her she wasn’t going to like the skeleton’s next words. “You know the saying, ‘words can’t be unsaid?’ Well, here’s another saying; You can’t unransack an empire. Two empires, actually.”

“What did you do?” Tafel asked while Alice bit her lower lip and trembled while staring at the ground. The demon turned her head and frowned at Alice. Did Mr. Skelly break her?

“Nothing much,” Mr. Skelly said. “I just created a giant army of skeletons and volunteers, split them in half, illusioned one side to look like dwarves, and illusioned the other side to look like humans. Then I sent them off to attack the other race’s border towns while simultaneously sending out a declaration of war signed by our very own Alice.” He chuckled. “I imagine the dwarves retaliation will be swift, and while their cities are defenseless, I’ll send in some squads to deal with them that way. I have thousands of spies to help orchestrate this; undead insects are very useful, you know?”

“You’re a monster,” Alice said through gritted teeth.

“Why, thank you,” Mr. Skelly said, a blush forming on his face. “You’re too kind.”

A rune shone on Alice’s forehead as a yellow aura rose up around her body, taking the shape of a lion. Her eyes turned red as she snarled, baring her teeth. Her canines became pointed, more pronounced, while her hair fluttered around her like a mane.

“Oh, she’s awakening,” Mr. Skelly said. “Is this her first time? How interesting. Well, Tafel, I’ll trust you to handle this. Oh, and figure out a way to confront a nest of phoenixes since you want those ginger elves so badly. Toodle-oo.” He dropped the elf in his arm and vanished without a sound.

“I feel like a nightmare’s been unleashed on the world ever since the skeletons starting getting along with the fairies,” Tafel said and sighed as she stood up while drawing her sword. She pointed it at Alice. “It’s all Vur’s fault, don’t you agree?”

Alice lunged at the demon in response.