Sunlight and sound. A distant rumbling chatter of noises, of people. Stathis sat up, feeling her entire body ache, sore and battered. She could feel a warmth on her legs, and looked down to see a thick spill of dark hair pooled over sheets, Janaxia’s head and arms leant on the mattress, her eyes shut, breath coming out in soft, sleep puffs.

Pajaran was on watch, starting from her chair, mace still close to hand. It fell over with a loud clang, Janaxia stirring in her slumbers but not awakening. Sacred fire blossomed around her hand as she looked at Stathis, staring into her eyes. ‘Are you still… you?’

‘I bloody hope so! Just don’t make me go route-marching through Per Tolith with full kit. My head’s killing me. It’s good to be physical again, being a projection or whatever gets freaky after a while. Feels like I’ve had the shit knocked out of me, several times over.’

‘Yeah, I dumped what healing spells I could into you, should keep you together at least. You looked pretty beaten up.’

Stathis reached out and touched one of Janaxia’s horns, running her nail along the ridges, making a bzzzzt sound, her arm still aching and sore.

‘Gods, yeah. I need to talk to Hakara about it, all sorts of weird dimensional stuff. And I guess we should try and get Agon out as well. So what the hell has been going on here? It looked like Carissia was trying to kill Janaxia.’

‘Yeah. We thought she’d eaten your soul. I only woke up after everything had gone to shit. Carissia was all set to burn everything and anything, your Mother had to hold her back! Or, well, send her off. She’s been pretty much all-in on the “fire and flames” for a while. Managed to try and keep her focused away from areas with people in, and took out quite a few monsters and stuff, but she’s been pushing herself hard.’

‘Where is she now? She’s generally pretty hard to convince. Actually, where are we?’

‘Boat, getting away from Belazaan, too damn slowly for my liking. That snake-woman said that Carissia would be under for a while, but I’m hoping we didn’t leave any trail to find us. It’s going to be a long swim back to shore if that happens! Hakara’s doing something clever to try and mask us, although she’s pretty much tapped out. Keeping up with Carissia is exhausting, she was teleporting us directly between fights, pretty much. So, where the hell were you?’

Stathis tried to explain the other world, with its huge and dust-filled plains and the massive city, with the strange and vast building in the centre, the glowing light and the deep, black pool. And Agon, the survivor from however long ago it had been. Of how she been called back to the real world.

Pajaran sighed. ‘You always seem to get mixed up in weird shit like this. Hakara wants to talk to you about your body at some point as well. It’s still at Per Tolith. Had a lot of healing magic dumped into it, no response.’ She poked Stathis’ arm. ‘Quite what this is, I don’t really know. Hakara used a lot of very long words. Guess it makes up for Parth never speaking. So, what’s the deal with this one?’ She gestured at Janaxia. ‘She’s looks pretty, y’know, demonic, her family are bad news and I thought you didn’t like other nobles.’

‘Yeah, I guess. Never met them, but they sound pretty nasty. And it’s not like that. Well, yet. Anyway, have you tried to sense Janaxia?’

‘No, it’s not really worth it for people, don’t get anything. Only really picks up undead and demons.’ Pajaran flicked her wrist, an amulet smacking against her palm, already glowing with a grey light. She inhaled and closed her eyes, then recoiled and shuddered. ‘What the fuck?’ She staggered backwards, gulping in a deep breath.

‘Like an icestorm, right? First few times, I thought it was the dungeon or something. Freaked me the hell out when I realised it was her.’ She scritched Janaxia’s horn-ridges again.

‘Why didn’t you do anything about her?’

‘Like what? She’s not actually that bad. She’s not killed anyone, or at least anyone that didn’t deserve it. Yeah, she’s a bit strange, and she did absorb part of a demon’s soul, and there was that time she went into a fever on holy ground, but she’s not particularly destructive or anything.’

‘Didn’t she try and kill you?’

‘I think that was an accident? If she wanted me dead, she’s had plenty of chances to do that. So I don’t think she’s secretly doing her family’s bidding or anything like that.’ She craned her neck – as usual, Janaxia’s book was strapped to her waist, but looked even more fancy and ornate than before. Was that golden filigree lacework? Pajaran followed her line of sight.

‘Hakara’s been wanting to have a poke at that as well. Said even more words I didn’t understand, but she was too busy trying to veil the boat.’ Pajaran reached down and poked the book, and there was a sharp snap and a flash of darkness. ‘Ow! Did it just bite me?’ There was a trickle of blood on her finger, droplets of blood flowing down. One fell onto the book, the blood staining the pages for a moment before vanishing, getting absorbed by the tome.

‘Yeah, it does that. And the insides are covered with the Unreadable Tongue. At least back when I last looked, it’s seemed meaner for a while. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories, but she has pretty weird magic.’

‘And horns.’

‘Yes. She got those from Galondwyn. Who’s properly dead now? I think? She was in the other world but I defeated her, I think permanently.’ She moved to the edge of the bed and tried standing, feeling aching pain suddenly sprout in her legs.

‘You’re still pretty beaten up. And your armour was knackered, although you’ve still got your sword. I’m trying not to think of quite how that works, as I know your sword is also with your body.’

‘Magic, I guess. Not going to complain, but I’d like armour at least! Who else is with us? And where actually are we?’

‘Janaxia came along, she was pretty dramatic about it all. Although summoning up widow’s weeds seemed slightly distasteful. Semari’s been clambering about the rigging, Hakara’s been busy with magic stuff. There’s the snake-woman that bit Carissia. Apparently she’s Janaxia’s maid?’

‘That sounds very… Janaxia.’ Stathis could feel the ship rolling beneath her feet, although not strongly. ‘And Vrintar?’

‘She tagged along as well. Said it seemed safer. Seems surprisingly relaxed, although the crew are afraid of her.’

‘How are you doing? You were frozen for quite a while.’

Pajaran shivered. ‘Don’t remind me! It was all a blur, but… cold, and dark. I think I heard you a few times?’

‘Yeah, I came to see you a few times. Felt right, you know? When we get back to Per Tolith, there’s quite a few drinks embedded in the ice, Janaxia might be able to get them out.’ She leaned on Pajaran, her whole body aching. It looked a decent enough ship, at least from her limited experience, even if everything was quite small and cramped. She glanced behind herself – Janaxia was still asleep on the bed, hair spilling out over the sheets. Well, she probably couldn’t get up to too much mischief from there. ‘What have you been told about what happened after you got pulled out? I guess that Janaxia tried to kill me, and then you were with Carissia trying to hunt her down?’

‘Pretty much. It seemed like a sensible idea, and Carissia thought that she might be able to beat your soul out of Janaxia. She did sort of go all-in on killing her though. There’s some shit coming down the pipe from the Uth Tremari though – you should ask Janaxia about that when she wakes up. Your Mother wants to just obliterate them, but was using Carissia to knock out their possible allies first.’

‘Sounds sensible. I guess a few more demons and vampires and stuff being dead won’t hurt anybody.’

They made it up onto the deck, Stathis glad of the fresher air, the sea breeze strong and invigorating. Sailors bustled around, tending to ropes and sails. When she looked up, she could see Semari hanging from the rigging, one leg hooked around a rope, apparently dozing. A thin haze of magic hung in the air near the back, with Hakara stood in the centre of an impressively large pattern chalked onto the ground, several different runic circles inter-woven. The crew were all staying sensibly clear, carefully stepping around the edge rather than risk getting close.

Several crystals were orbiting her, catching the sunlight, unaffected by the strong winds, as Hakara’s robes fluttered. She turned to see them, the crystals moving behind her as she walked to the edge of the circle.

Stathis kept a safe distance, an arm’s length from whatever the spell was doing, not wanting to risk interfering with it. ‘You look tired. Managing to rest enough? Sounds like you managed to bring me back, and then did something to stop Carissia blowing us away.’

‘I think I have managed to obscure us, at least partially. But bringing your form into a largely material state was surprisingly simple, although I would have appreciated more time to do it properly.’

‘Properly? Uh, what’s going to happen?’

‘Oh, you should be stable. Mostly. Just try to avoid any effects that might dispel or hamper magic, as I’m not sure how long or how stable your body would be. You may end up returning to that other place.’ Her head drooped for a moment, the bags of tiredness obvious under her eyes. ‘Sorry, Miss Stathis, I haven’t had much chance to rest.’

‘Can you sleep without letting the magic fade? You look like shit. Can Janaxia do anything? Even if she’s rubbish at normal magic, she might be able to help, and it doesn’t look like she’s doing anything useful. Or would she break it, or corrupt it?’

A crystal hovered away from her, doing an orbit of the largest circle. ‘I was hoping to study Miss Janaxia as well. And her book. It’s definitely grown and changed, hasn’t it?’

‘Yeah, it has. Just try not to make her blow up or anything. And get some damn sleep! You’re no good to anyone if you pass out on us.’ A crystal bobbed in the air and then rubbed against Hakara, like an overly affectionate puppy, before she waved it away and it sketched a design in the air, glinting with light. ‘And make sure to eat and drink.’

Pajaran laughed. ‘Still looking after everyone? It’s mostly ship’s biscuits and stuff, the food’s not great. But they seem to know what they’re doing. The sailors have been staying out of your way?’

‘Oh yes, I’ve left enough room for them to get around, and we leave each other alone. I don’t know what they’re afraid of!’

Stathis looked at the intricate swirling patterns of runes and symbols, several different circles overlapping, each beating with a different pulse, lights slightly different shades of blue. ‘It looks like a lot of magic! Is it worth explaining what it all does, or is it easier if I just leave you to it?’

‘Ah, well, it was initially a simple compounding effect, but then I added a synergistic focus.’ She gestured at one of the crystals. ‘And then…’ She kept talking, Stathis trying to look as though she understood any of it. The scant understanding she managed was that it was some form of effect that would help hide their passage, albeit with a lot of extra effects that had been overlaid on top of the underlying spell. By the time Hakara stopped talking, Stathis’ head was swimming, her mind aching as well as her body. She smiled and nodded at Hakara.

‘Make sure to get enough rest, OK? And remember to eat!’

She heard a sound behind herself, turning around in time to see Semari land, having jumped down from the rigging. She poked Stathis in the arm.

‘Hey, you’re physical and stuff! And not, like, all glowing. No wings either. Hakara says you’re mostly human, but not entirely? That’s pretty weird.’

‘Aren’t you part-deity or something? You’re in no position to talk! Anyway, it sounds like you kept Janaxia company? Thanks for that, I hope it wasn’t too bad.’

‘Eh, you know the drill. As long as she’s fed and boozed, she’s not that bad. Even got some fun with that prince guy! She’s been super-weird lately though, keeps spacing out. Might need you to knock some sense into her one way or another. She even had shitty clothing on a few times! That’s suspicious, right? And she managed to summon you, or something? At least out here, if she gets weird, we can just dump her overboard. Doubt she’s a good swimmer.’

‘Let’s not do that. At least without a very good reason.’

‘You sure? She seems pretty suspicious, and that’s even before taking her family into account! What if they can puppet her or something? Or they’ve stuck a ghost or something into her.’

‘We can dump her in a sacred circle or something if we need to keep her under control. Or you can dump holy water onto her? See what happens, at least.’

Semari poked her again. ‘You could just tie her up. Lots of rope around here!’

‘Let’s just see how things go. Can you see anything from up there?’

‘Lots of sea. Parth’s up there as well, says she gets queasy down on deck.’

Stathis glanced up but couldn’t see Parth amongst the rigging. She might be in the crow’s nest? Well, her senses were sharp and she didn’t need much sleep, so having her keep watch seemed convenient. ‘If we’re far from shore, we’re hopefully safe from Carissia flying in! Especially if she’s following a fire god now.’

Pajaran nodded. ‘Yeah, she’s pretty all-in on burning stuff. Blasted her way through most of a mountain! Without bloody warning me first. So, what’s the plan?’

‘Yeah, Stathis, what’s the plan? What are we doing?’

Stathis batted away another poking finger from Semari. ‘Apparently I need to get back to my body? Although this one feels functional, whatever it is. But Carissia will be trying to hunt us down. And it sounds like shit’s starting with the Uth Tremari’s? Janaxia excepted, I guess?’

‘There was that glowy dude that tried to kill Janaxia as well. Had, like, a glowy thingie on his chest, managed to stick Janaxia.’ Semari made a stabbing motion along with a sickening sound. ‘She got better, he didn’t. He was shiny though, kinda like you.’

Pajaran groaned. ‘Are there still some of those creeps around? I thought your Mother had them disbanded. Rather forcibly, as I remember! After that thing with the diplomats.’

‘Yeah, so did I. But religious nutjobs tend to go to ground, I guess. Shit, so they probably want to kill Janaxia. Which makes sense, but I’ve no idea how many of them there might be now. I can probably tell them to stop if I’m around, but that’s going to be awkward. Anything else I need to know about?’

‘Shape-shifting murder people? They were a bit weird. And tough! Whenever I punched them, they just splatted, and then healed. Got splatted people-bits everywhere, made my fists hurt. Even Vrintar couldn’t keep them down! Not quite sure what they wanted, but they’re tough buggers.’

‘I really can’t leave you alone for five minutes, can I? So Janaxia’s family are probably after her, she’s going through some stuff, there’s the’, she sighed, ‘Order of the Illuminated, there’s these people that were attacking in Belazaan, there’s Carissia, anything else? You’ve not managed to piss anyone off, Semari? Parth’s not being hunted by her people for failure in her queenly duties or anything?’

‘Hey, this is mostly your fault! Being all glowy and weird and then letting Janaxia kiss you. That was never going to end well. Least I got some gold from it though. Can’t you just, like, tell Carissia not to attack us? Or get your mother to call her off?’

‘I’ve not got any way to get in touch with them. And Carissia will probably think I’m being mind-controlled, and it would probably help her know where we are. We’re going to have to try and get to Per Tolith the long way. Unless you know anyone that can teleport us?’ Semari shook her head. ‘Then it’s going to be a long trip. You realise I can’t pay you for this, right?’

‘Eh, you can give me a load of gold once you’re, like, a real person again. Or if Janaxia makes you into her evil minion, then she can pay me. I reckon you could make black armour look good. If Janaxia starts getting weird again, I can give her a good thump though, she’s still really squishy.’

‘Only if she starts acting strangely again. Strange even for her! Pajaran, do you want to start making some holy water? Might be best to have some on-hand, just in case. I’ll keep an eye on Janaxia. At least out here, we should be fairly safe.’