The mixture of post-battle relaxation and needing to stay on guard to watch the prisoners was awkward, everyone trying to stay tense, but in need of rest, or simply wanting it to be over. Hakara was sitting in one corner of the mage’s room, sipping at some bitter-smelling potion, head nodding forward as she fought off sleep.

Semari tossed the book, so it thudded to the floor and skidded over towards Hakara. The sound roused Hakara, startling her closer to wakefulness. She picked it up, running her hands over it, feeling the cover and trying to open it up, the banding defeating her. One of the other mages crowded close by, looking at the thing but being careful not to touch it.

‘Do you know how to open it, Miss Stathis?’

‘It never used to be locked. Janaxia’s never mentioned anything about it, and I’ve not noticed. I’ve never seen her open the damn thing though.’

Hakara tried to bend open a corner and look inside, managing to spread the pages apart the tiniest part. Her eyes went slightly glassy until her grip relented, the tome closing again.

‘What are you going to try and do with it? It’s always been a bit strange.’

Hakara was measuring it now, noting down the dimensions. ‘I thought it was simply a spellbook, albeit enchanted and protected, but I suspect it’s something else, something greater. And that it has somehow formed a link or connection to Miss Janaxia.’

‘Is it dangerous? To us, or Janaxia?’

Semari rolled her eyes. ‘She’s still unconscious, we could just deal with her now. Or throw her in a pit. Although she can do that disc-thing now, can’t she? Maybe, like, a pit with a lid, she’s still super-weedy, so couldn’t lift anything heavy.’

‘We’re not “dealing” with her! Hakara, do you need to rest first? You look exhausted.’

‘I can endure a little more. And, considering the connection between Miss Janaxia and the book, it seems best to do such things while she is unconscious. I was hoping to see the contents.’

She reached out, casting a spell before touching the heaviest part of the metal banding. Swirling glyphs snarled into being, a faint snapping sound, and then blood was trickling down Hakara’s fingers, as she snatched her hand back.

‘Are you OK?’

Blood dropped from Hakara’s fingers onto the cover of the book. Rather than staining the surface, it was absorbed, one of the gems glowing a little brighter.

‘I’m guessing that’s unusual?’ From how the other mage was already forming a protective spell, that would be a “yes”. Hakara held her hand above the thing, allowing more droplets of blood to spill out, all of the being absorbed into it. One of the gems was touched with the faintest touch of frost, before shining red again.

‘That’s fascinating! To be able to absorb vital essence in such a way… Miss Stathis, have you ever granted any of your own essence to it?’

‘Yeah, back when Janaxia was mute. The book was all mangled and half-formed then – giving it magical energy helped it regenerate. There was no lock on it back then, and the insides were all unreadable text. I think Parth did as well. That was when Janaxia ended up with mind-speech. And growing horns.’

‘Interesting. The transferal of magical power in such a way is possible, but rarely so… neat. Although it does make me wonder where the energy is going. Certain magical beasts are similar, but they are more forceful, and require the energy to survive. Miss Stathis, would you be willing to lend some energy?’

‘I’d rather not? I think it might not like me. Is it a good idea to feed it more? It might trigger Janaxia becoming even more, uh, whatever she’s becoming.’

‘Hmm, true. Perhaps some caution may be needed. It would be fascinating to put Janaxia under close supervision and see what happens with different types of energy. It seems she is most closely attuned to the negative energy plane, which should be impossible for a mortal. At least while remaining alive.’

‘I don’t know if I want to know the answer, but are we sure she’s mortal? I mean, she has got those horns. Is that something that can be tested? Without killing her and seeing what happens?’

Semari looked disappointed.

‘That would be difficult to test. The easiest way to identify a demon is, of course, to kill them, and then see if their body disintegrates. Vampires are similar, with their attunement to the negative energy plane, and requiring energy from the living to retain their presence within the mortal realm, or they die. Well, fade away into dust, I suppose, they can sometimes be resurrected from such a state.’

Semari poked at the book, then punched it, hard enough to create a shockwave.

‘I’ve told you before, you don’t have punch magic! Maybe get charged up with lightning first.’

‘Not fair, you all get special magic!’ Semari punched the book again, Hakara’s drink sloshing around from the shockwave.

‘You’re part-deity, I’d say that’s pretty special, maybe you should be careful it doesn’t eat you. Anyway, Hakara, anything else? Semari, stop punching the damn book! I don’t think you can break it, and if you do, then it’ll probably be a bad thing. Don’t look so disappointed, you’ve had all night to punch undead. How are you not tired yet?’

‘Meh, this is more fun than sleeping. So can we, like, try blasting it with fire? Maybe we can make Janaxia burst into flames or something!’

‘Let’s not do that. Hakara, can you do whatever you need to do before Janaxia wakes up, and without making her explode or anything?’ As Stathis spoke, Semari looked disappointed again.

‘I will do what I can, Miss Stathis. This is a highly unusual situation, so there may be a certain amount of experimentation involved. If Miss Janaxia has endured thus far, I imagine that she will be able to survive some minor level of damage transmitted through the tome. I will try to avoid anything too potentially damaging though.’

‘Thanks. And please don’t let Janaxia know. We can talk it out somewhere a bit more private.’ She looked at the other mage, still hiding behind his magical shield. He saluted, looking awkward.

‘High Colonel Stathis Iristari! I will not speak of anything that I have learnt here!’ He didn’t meet her eyes.

‘Thanks, it’s appreciated. Hakara, seriously, rest up. There’s something going on with Janaxia but it hopefully doesn’t need solving tonight. Unless you think she’s going to turn into a demon-queen right now?’ That was far closer to an actual question than it should be.

Hakara paused, considering, before answering. ‘I do not believe so. Although it may be wise for you to stay close, as you seem appear to calm her down when she is agitated.’

Stathis ignored Semari’s snicker. ‘I’ll do that. How soon until we can get the call out, get some support?’

‘A few hours, High Colonel. We require time to refocus our magical energies. And we have the captives to guard.’

‘Fine. I’m going to sleep, because I’m knackered. Try not to kill yourself, or Janaxia, or make her into a demon. Wake me if anything happens.’

Just in case Janaxia woke up and came to find her, she hid, seeking out an empty room and barricading the door with a barrel.

When she awoke, it was almost midday, at least to judge by the height of the sun in the sky. She pulled herself out of the bed, looking at her armour with distaste, before putting on her breastplate, just in case something happened. She pulled aside the barrel and left. Everyone else was in the strange post-battle fugue, still tense and wired, wanting to rest but not yet able to, fiddling anxiously with their gear or making petty bets.

There was no ominous cloud of darkness or air of doom, so Janaxia hadn’t progressed further into becoming an evil sorcerer queen, which was probably a good thing. What the hell was going on with her? She had always been a little odd, but it was getting obviously worse. Although being close to that orb had likely not done her any good. And that the attackers had been led by her brother? It wasn’t entirely surprising but was still another bloody problem to solve.

She came across Brennik, currently stood on guard outside the concealed passage down to the hot spring. As she approached, he nodded. ‘Others are down there already, if you want to join ‘em. Not sure how I ended up on guard duty, but that devil-wizard-lady was pretty insistent.’

‘Yeah, she’s always bossy when it’s a chance to relax. Just let me know if she uses evil magic on you?’

He looked confused, but nodded before letting her past. As she got further down, the steam intensified, thicker and hotter, making her clothing sticky and uncomfortable. She could hear the sounds of conversation; Janaxia, Semari and a voice she didn’t recognise.

She emerged into the steam-filled chamber, where she could see several heads bobbing about in the water. Janaxia looked up at her, a towel wrapped around her horns, next to Vrintar, fingers teasing and tweaking the woman’s hair hair, cleaning out dirt and grime from between the strands.

‘Ah, you have awoken. Would you care to join us?’

Stathis stripped off, glad to dump her armour, before sliding into the hot water, feeling it sting her wounds and bruises as she submerged herself.

‘Vrintar was courteous enough to allow me to tidy her hair. An honour amongst her people.’

‘Oh, nice. Are you OK with this, Vrintar?’

The woman’s back was covered with more of runic tattoos, mixed with scars and healed-up wounds. She expected a nod or a shake of the head.

‘Janaxia has been most courteous.’ Vrintar’s voice was low and calm, surprisingly melodious. ‘While an oath of vengeance is a sacred and important thing, it is a pleasure to be clean again. And to be able to speak once more. Although I must applaud your quick-thinking, most others are less able to realise intent without words.’

Janaxia started to braid Vrintar’s hair, taking strands and weaving and knotting them together. ‘Vrintar, Flamebringer of the Skyrenders, swore an oath to defeat the undead that had attacked her home. The giant was apparently an ally of her clan, and so she swore vengeance.’

‘Aye, as the Lady Janaxia says it. They killed Antarus and despoiled the burial mounds. But now they will suffer for their sins, will they not? I hear that your mother is most harsh with those that breach the veil between the lands of the living and the dead, Stathis of the Iristari.’ She relaxed into the hot water, allowing Janaxia to continue to braid her hair. ‘I was most surprised that you had a companion that could read the script of my people.’

‘She’s got some odd skills, yeah.’ Stathis looked at the marks on Vrintar’s body, an impressive number of tattoos. She must have started young, if those were all her deeds! She relaxed into the water, Semari floating past, on her back. ‘Hey, where’s Parth?’

‘Dealing with the dead. For my part, I apologise for my brother’s part in this. Unforgivably rude, even if I can understand the expediency.’

‘Yeah, what’s going on with that? Any idea what he was doing? Other than desecrating a load of elven graves and attacking this place.’

‘Oh, he’s always wanted an army, even since I can remember. Although perhaps he should have spent some time studying tactics instead. It did seem a little… underwhelming. I thought there would be rather more tactics, the interplay of keen minds and so forth. Not simply a large number of undead shuffling around, while we batter away at them, so dreadfully tiresome.’

‘So, any idea what he was actually doing?’

‘I doubt he would tell me. The two of us have never been particularly close. In fact, he was distinctly cruel on numerous occasions. I do hope he will be treated most harshly. I would suggest some time on the rack to soften him up, maybe some thumbscrews?’ She looked far too perky, tugging on Vrintar’s hair with enthusiasm, the woman wincing slightly.

‘I know Mother has a reputation, but she normally just uses spells, it’s a lot easier and means you don’t have to have the sort of person that’s willing to use torture around the place. You don’t need to look so disappointed, he’s still going to be thrown in a cell and probably won’t get out for a long time. You can see him if you want.’

Janaxia nodded. ‘Oh yes, I think I will pay my dear brother a visit.’ If her tone was any colder, then the water would have frozen, and her smile was sharper than a razor. ‘It would be a delight to see him in such a state.’

‘You probably shouldn’t bully him. Anyway, how much of it do you remember? You were acting, um, a little strange.’

‘Yes, I suspect the stress of the siege must have gotten to me. Dreadfully unprofessional, I do apologise, but it was satisfying to finally be able to fight after that time cooped up.’

Stathis couldn’t be bothered to point out that it had only been a few days, scarcely long enough to drive someone to that level of manic boredom. Janaxia kept working on Vrintar’s hair with one hand as she turned, poking Stathis in the chest. She winced, anticipating further pain but there was nothing other than the usual pain of having a bruise poked, although Janaxia’s nail felt sharp against her skin.

‘You seem to have acquired a number of injuries yourself. I would urge caution, but you seem to almost perpetually take such risks onto yourself. Although your speech was rather stirring, you really should perform like that more often. And the troops certainly seemed to take it well. I suppose you are born to this, after all. Seeing you being so commanding was quite the invigorating image!’

‘Uh, thanks. So what do you remember about it? You sort of teleported in suddenly.’

‘Yeah, and you were, like, super spiky and stuff!’ Semari drifted past again, gently waving her arms before her head bumped against the edge.

Janaxia looked away, returning full attention to Vrintar’s hair. ‘I suspect that there may be some unusual magic here. Perhaps some remnant of ancient elven ley lines or similar? Although it is fortuitous that I was able to arrive just in time to aid the battle; I believe that you would have had quite some trouble with him. Despite his many personal flaws, he is a potent spellcaster, especially with the aid of others.’

‘Right. Can you let me know if you have any strange dreams or anything else weird? And also if you can do that teleport thing again, or if that was some strange one-off?’

‘You certainly do seem to have acquired a taste for command! We have only just endured a conflict, might I suggest some rest before indulging in experimentation? And perhaps I should work on your hair as well, I’m sure there will be some grand parade or similar, will there not?’

‘I really hope not, it’s always embarrassing being on the chariot at the front.’ That seemed to perk Janaxia up far more than it should. ‘Once the mages have had a chance to rest, then they can send a call out, and we can move on.’

‘Well, I do hope that it will be somewhere civilised for once. This place is decidedly lacking in certain aspects – it could certainly do with being something more than a military outpost, although this spring is rather pleasant. A little out of the way, I suppose, and there is decided scope for improvement. Perhaps we could visit your home next? Dear Carissia might be in residence, it has been some time since I had the pleasure of her company.’

‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up, she’s on the road a lot, probably sorting out some mess elsewhere.’

‘That is a disappointment.’ Janaxia kept working on Vrintar’s hair. ‘This water does seem to be getting uncomfortably hot though.’ She shifted awkwardly, as another shape loomed from the mist, Jamara appearing. Her holy symbol, a fist-sized metal shield, was in her hand, shedding a pale silver light from beneath the water.

She slid into the water with an exhausted sigh. ‘Don’t mind me, I’m just blessing the water, in case there’s any ghosts or shit around. Everyone’s as stable as they’re going to get, and I need to sleep. Stathis, if I pass out, you can carry me, you always seemed to like picking women up and dumping them into beds.’

Janaxia gave Stathis a very sharp look, as she tried to defend herself.

‘It wasn’t like that! People had a tendency to drink too much then pass out, and you could get in a lot of shit if you were found. Nothing dodgy.’

Janaxia looked both relieved and disappointed. ‘The revels of soldiers are renowned, I suppose, even for a group as disciplined as the Iristari.’

Stathis spoke to Jamara. ‘You were, what, two years above me?’

‘Yeah, that’s right.’ She sank deeper into the water, head sagging in exhaustion already. ‘Came as a hell of a surprise to find out that this one wasn’t just some big, strong knight but was the kid of the Lord Commander! I’m surprised you managed to keep it secret for that long.’

‘It wasn’t “secret” as such, people just didn’t ask, and Mother was sensible enough to not raise it. Carissia had buggered off to adventure, so she wasn’t around much either.’

‘And then you vanished off along with Pajaran. Next thing I heard was she was frozen in goddam everfrost, and you were off on the other side of the continent! And then you show up here and save the bloody day.’

‘Hey, that was Herith, I just helped. I’ll get Pajaran out, somehow, I swear.’

Semari drifted closer, taking a seat. ‘Yeah, I had to punch, like, a load of zombies. They stink, and the smell sticks for ages, it’s totally gross.’

Stathis ignored her. ‘It sounds as though you’ve managed to patch up everyone you can.’

‘We still took losses though. And heavy ones, fifty-six dead, half that again that won’t be the same again.’ She looked exhausted, skin ashen, eyes dazed and cloudy, staring into the mist, as Janaxia twisted uncomfortably in the water.

‘Shit, that bad?’

‘Yeah. That dust spell, and the final charge. Damn sight better than it could have been, at least we survived, but not good either. Herith is going to have a lot of letters to write to families back home.’

‘I’ll see if I can get them listed on the wall. They deserve it, dying all the way up here.’

‘I should complain about you using your influence, but I’m not going to. This time! They’ve paid the price, only fair they get remembered.’ She sank deeper into the water, head nodding. Stathis put an arm around her shoulders, keeping her above the water. Her holy symbol kept glowing, spreading a shine into the water, Janaxia starting to shift even more uncomfortably, before she was unable to bear it, pulling herself out of the water. Her skin was reddened, as though she’d been in too-hot water for too long, her tattoo looking pale, rather than stark black.

‘There we go, Vrintar. Much better, and fully clean of the assorted grime you had accumulated.’ She yawned. ‘I would offer to do yours, Stathis, but find myself quite drained. Please do come see me and I can make some improvements.’ She ran a hand through Stathis’ hair, shaking her head. ‘Do at least try and make an effort, Stathis.’

‘Maybe later.’

She left. Stathis sank deeper into the water, just the right temperature, Jamara’s holy icon continuing to glow. Maybe she could start spiking Janaxia’s drinks with holy water? Although that might poison her. Stathis yawned. Well, that was a problem for later.

When she was fully rested, she dragged herself from the water, pulling Jamara out – she must have been exhausted, and was now unconscious. Time to put her to bed, then go rest up herself.