‘Can’t believe you talked us into this.’ Semari spoke with her mouth full, chewing her way through an impressively-sized slab of meat, dripping with juices and spiced sauce. ‘I think I’m still on, like, the death list or something here? Pretty sure this place looks familiar, think I was here with Kethys, and we killed some dudes. Well, she killed some dudes, I was on watch with Hadric. Think I pushed a few people off things? But they didn’t seem happy. Heard they do some messed-up things to criminals here.’

They were sat in the corner of a crowded tavern, music tinkling through the air, merchants trading and chatting. Through the window, Janaxia could see the canals of the city, reflecting pale moonlight and the rainbow colours from lanterns. Across the bay could be seen the shimmering, crystalline hulk of the Crystal Palace, seeming to float above the water. Despite the late hour, parts of it were still alight, likely functionaries going about their business, or some of the legendary parties being held by the princes of the city.

‘Assassins are rarely popular anywhere, it does rather come with the territory. Unless of course, they use the moment to seize power for themselves, in which case matters can change considerably. But that must have been quite some time ago, so I doubt anyone will be looking for you still.’ Janaxia sighed, picking at her own food dispiritedly. ‘I must… thank you, for accompanying me.’ It hurt, almost physically, to have to say it, but it was good to have company, even if Semari was as obnoxious as ever, with Vrintar keeping her own counsel.

Kivata seemed to exist in a perpetual state of terror, flinching whenever anyone so much as talked to her. At least she was still dressing in a style better than loose robes, although only after repeated chiding. She had spent most of the journey hunched over on her horse, occasionally gibbering in what seemed to be existential terror. The one time she had raised any objections, Janaxia had called up her powers of darkness and summoned it into her eyes, which had sent Kivata into a catatonic wreck for several days. Which had itself made travelling somewhat swifter, and since recovering, she had done little but slump on her horse and twitch in fear whenever Janaxia approached. It was nice to be respected, but a little family solidarity would be better – she could at least offer agreement, even if everything else was likely beyond her competency or sanity. Especially considering that, if she had been left behind, she would likely be the pawn of Peresperan or Ophexia or Mother, or all three.

Semari lunged forward, trying to spear some of Kivata’s dinner, Janaxia fending her off. Do at least try and stand up for yourself, Kivata.

Kivata just whimpered, not even pulling her plate closer to herself. Really, she almost needed to be looked after, it was small wonder she was never allowed out by herself if this is how she behaved!

‘Now, if everyone could kindly be on their best behaviour? Belazaan is notoriously harsh on criminals, and it would be best if you weren’t to be brutally executed, amusing though it would be to see your entrails removed while you still lived, before being tossed to savage animals for dinner.’

‘Oh yeah, saw that once. Messy. Lots of screaming. Tigers are bigger than you’d think.’ Semari made growling and clawing gestures, making Kivata twitch again.

‘Nevertheless, this should primarily be a diplomatic mission, rather than one of larceny or general mayhem. If you could kindly not cause any issues, it would be most appreciated.’

‘Yeah, yeah, I’ll try not to get caught. But you know we’re probably going to have to try and break in and nick, uh, whatever the hell you’ve been sent to get. Although they’re, like, crazy rich, so there’s going to be a load of good stuff to grab if we end up in their vaults or whatever. Or are we doing something with this one? Make a good sacrifice, I reckon.’ She pointed with her fork at Kivata, who shuddered and flinched. ‘Some beasty in the vaults wants a soul? Not much meat on her for nomming though, she’s even skinnier than you are.’

Do show a little backbone, Kivata! Really, if she never stood up for herself at all, what did she expect to happen?

‘No, Kivata is here to provide additional arcane assistance. While she is less talented than Hakara, some dedicated magical assistance is likely to be helpful.’ And, of course, another body to throw in the way of any adversity – it would be little loss if Kivata were to be lost along the route. ‘Sen, if you could give her a nip? She appears in need of relaxation.’

Kivata yelped as Sen took her arm, pulling back the sleeve and gently kissing the skin near the wrist. Then she leaned over and bit down, Kivata wincing and giving a pained gasp, before sagging slightly in her seat as Sen’s narcotic venom took hold. Kivata was generally biddable enough, but sometimes need a little encouragement not to slacken in her duties. Her eyes went glassy, her face falling into a numb and dazed grin – not the most appealing, but at least it kept her quiet.

‘Thank you, Sen. Now, as we are here, let us make this as successful as possible. Sadly, this is something of a covert mission, so we will not be staying in the best apartments and will have to satisfy ourselves with more common chambers. I trust that is to your satisfaction, Vrintar?’

‘Belazaan is said to be a great trading city. I shall have to see I it lives up to the reputation. But the Crystal Guard are said to be fearsome – it would be best not to attract undue attention. Do you have a plan, Janaxia?’

‘She’s probably going to, like, find someone to seduce, be all demon-y at them.’ Semari made another lunge for Kivata’s food, Janaxia flicking a bolt at her as deterrence.

‘There is no need to be quite so crude! But, yes, Prince Anytha is said to have something of a wandering eye, I daresay attracting his attentions shouldn’t be too hard. Kivata can serve as bait if needed, I’m sure I can do something to make her more appealing to the eye, although I doubt that such will be necessary.’ She patted Kivata, currently lost in a daze and unable to respond. ‘While there may indeed be a certain amount of… pilfering, shall we say, that is required, that is not our initial aim. This is to be a scouting and research mission, and may not escalate further. Although, if amenable, I suppose Kivata could be traded. It would show something of a lamentable lack of taste, but I suppose the prince or one of his circle may be so afflicted.’

Semari poked Kivata, who had enough presence of mind to flinch and whimper. ‘Not much meat on her. And I bet she can’t, like, dance or anything. I guess a prince might want someone that can do creepy things with dead bodies?’

‘That was always rather more Trakatha’s area of expertise. Kivata was more of a general minion and hanger-on with a little dash of necromantic ability, with little to recommend her personally. If she had been recruited from outside of the family, then she probably would have been terminated some time ago.’

‘She is less adept than yourself, Janaxia?’ Vrintar was a surprisingly fastidious eater, managing to eat the meat without getting grease everywhere. ‘I would have thought studying with your family would have aided her knowledge considerably.’

‘I imagine she is knowledgeable enough, at least when she remembers she has a tongue, but always lacked a certain flair and dynamism. And with Ophexia and Perasperan to do the more arduous work, then she was largely surplus to requirements. But I’m sure she’ll be useful to us. Isn’t that right?’

Kivata let out a dazed sigh, that might have been a response, or maybe simply a response to Sen’s narcotic bite. Well, it kept her quiet and biddable.

‘Thank you for keeping her nice and obedient, Sen.’

Despite being sat down, Sen bobbed her head in an acceptable attempt at a curtsey. ‘Of course, Blessed One. As you command. Thank you for allowing me to use my venom, it can be uncomfortable otherwise.’

Janaxia shivered in delight. Having an obedient, willing servant was such a pleasure! Why couldn’t others simply follow her commands in the same way, it would be much simpler? ‘My thanks. Now, I suspect that making the appropriate introductions should be simple enough, but that Anytha may be somewhat unwilling to part with whatever knowledge or items he possesses.’

‘Wait, hold up.’ Semari looked up from poking the slack-jawed Kivata. ‘This is a job where fucking some dude is, like, core, and you’re not doing it? You’re way better at that than magic stuff. Get one of your fancy dresses and do your thang.’ She mimicked guttural grunts and groans.

‘There is no call to be crude, Semari! It yet remains to be seen if the prince will be worthy of my attentions; he may have to settle for Kivata. After all, if he has settled a harem around himself, then he may lack the discernment of my more… refined traits. It is said that he has a favoured hostelry and likes to talk to interesting-looking strangers. Which I think certainly qualifies us.’ She turned to look at them – Vrintar, in her savage glory, Sen, in her silks, scaled patches on display and just a hint of her fangs, and Semari, looking at least slightly strange, with her divinely-gifted bracers, and clothing that was relatively clean for once. And, of course, herself, far and away the most appealing, with her jet-black horns and hair, and perfect skin.

‘Securing an invitation shouldn’t be that much of a challenge. And then we will see if the Prince is worthy of any further investigation. Sen, you will accompany me as a handmaiden. Vrintar, Semari – if you could attempt to look suitably brooding and exotic?’

Semari twisted her face into a surly expression, before sneaking some meat from Kivata’s plate.

‘Yes, well, I suppose that will suffice. Hopefully Kethys will not appear, that would likely be inconvenient.’

‘Yeah, but seeing Hadric would be cool. Not seen him for ages! Got needs, know what I’m saying?’ She somehow managed to poke her fork in a salacious manner. ‘So, you’re going to do most of the work? Guess I’ll slack off a bit then. Not like we’re getting paid for this.’

‘I will do what I can do cover expenses, and will see what else can be done, should we be successful. Your skills will be needed as and when we have to sneak in. Or if we should have to fight without overt weaponry. Although I suppose between your abilities and my own spells, we are at something of an advantage there, as we can both fight without obvious equipment. And Vrintar, I imagine your strength would be handy in such a situation?’

‘I prefer a sturdy weapon, but find that furniture can function as such if needed. I would rather not resort to violence though – can you not perform a spell similar to how we were transported across the continent? That would certainly be easier than breaking and getting the guard involved.’

‘Yeah, why don’t you do, like, oogie shadow stuff? Make life a lot easier. Just walk through the shadows, just don’t go all evil and stuff like before. Not got Stathis here to sort you out if you go spooky and eldritch. Guess I could snap your neck?’

‘I would very much rather you didn’t – and I don’t know what “oogieness” you are referring to. I may have, in times of high dudgeon, used my native attunement to the flows of magic to perform impressive feats of magic, but there is certain nothing more to it than that.’

Vrintar and Semari shared a look.

‘What? There is certainly nothing untoward about my abilities.’ The sheer nerve of them, Semari especially!

‘Reckon she’d say the same thing?’ Semari poked Kivata with a fork, although it didn’t even rouse her from her stupor. ‘She probably knows more about magic than you do, I think she’d probably say something different.’

‘Hmmm. She always was something of a laggard intellectually, and simply lacks the talent to truly appreciate my talents. And isn’t much prone to talking either.’ She stared at Kivata; even in her stupored state, she flinched away, trying to make herself as small as possible, her pupils so large they filled virtually her entire eyes. ‘That her own talents are entirely mundane and pedestrian is to be expected. Nevertheless, while it would be helpful to simply warp straight there, without a target, or significant practice, I do not believe myself capable of such a feat, inconvenient though it may prove. And kindly stop prodding my sister. She hasn’t, yet, done anything to deserve it.’

Semari and Vrintar looked at each other again, leaving Janaxia feeling as though she were being conspired against, before Vrintar spoke. ‘While I have not known you for long, I must admit to a certain level of concern. Your abilities are potent, but rather… unusual. And you do, on occasion, appear to behave strangely, at times. Do you remember when you defeated your brother?’

In truth, her memories of that were rather jumbled and incoherent, mostly patched together from occasional dreams, fragmentary flashes of screaming faces amidst darkness, coupled with a certain satisfaction at having defeated her brother. But then she had succumbed to a momentary weakness, and apparently Stathis had carried her back. It would be nice to be able to remember that part at least! She felt a slight tingling on her chest, and looked down to see her tattoo, shifting slightly as it moved into view, the outermost edges orbiting slightly. It had been more active and mobile since leaving, hiding itself less.

‘It was most satisfying, and I hope he is being subjected to a variety of cruel and unusual punishments as we speak. He certainly is deserving of such!’ The tingling died away as the markings settled into position, the movement stopping. She managed to resist the urge to itch at the skin – she had never felt it move before! The feeling was rather discomforting and unpleasant, and hopefully wouldn’t become a regular event.

‘Yeah, well, better hope Carissia doesn’t catch up to you. She’s been making a lot of fires of a lot of folk. Well, vampires and ghosts and stuff like that, at least. If she catches up, then I’m gone.’

‘Your loyalty is noted. But the Crystal Guard protect against any disruptions to the city, which should serve to our advantage somewhat. They are potent enough that I imagine even she would wish to draw their ire.’

‘If she should appear, then that will be an issue to resolve. But I would hope she is safely a long way away, as such a conflict would be problematic.’

She was distracted from her thoughts as she caught the eye of what seemed to be a wealthy nobleman or merchant, wearing fabulously expensive clothing, a bodyguard eyeing her suspiciously. Well, if they were to be here, then, she may as well enjoy herself. She smiled back at him, widening the smile slightly as an attendant bought some drinks over.