Stathis stared at the patch of shadow in the corner of the room. Sen gave her a strange look but continued to clean around her, wiping a cloth against the walls, cleaning off a speck of dust. Had the shadows just moved? There was a footrest there, the cushion looking slightly depressed, as though some weight was pressing down on it. Stathis stared harder, feeling her eyes start to burn, seeing the faintest shimmer of something. She grabbed forward, hand grabbing at air, feeling silk beneath her fingers.

She grabbed at it, hearing an annoyed hiss, bringing her other arm around to grapple whatever it was. The shadow rippled and faded away, Skotadi appearing, spiked teeth bared.

‘Have you just been hiding here?’

‘I take solace in rest and darkness!’ She tried to pull away, but was too weak to achieve much.

‘That sounds like an excuse to sit around all day. I wondered where all that food was going. And the wine!’

Skotadi looked back at her, entirely unashamed. Her form wavered in the air, shadows wrapping around her as she turned invisible. Stathis kept her grip and twisted, Skotadi flickering back into sight.

‘We need to talk.’

Skotadi stared at her, dark eyes shifting into deep pools of night, speckled with stars. A force tried to intrude onto Stathis, trying to wrap her in a mental trance. She shook her head, breaking whatever the effect was, Skotadi’s eyes snapping back to normal, and she hissed in annoyance.

‘I don’t think that works on me. I don’t remember saving you back on that island, either, and I remember you falling into the water.’ This close, she could see stubby horns through the tangle of Skotadi’s hair, coming upwards from her forward rather than spiralling outwards like Janaxia’s. ‘At some point, we need to have a long talk about what the hell you are and what you’re doing here. Preferably before you try and do anything stupid that gets us all in trouble!’

Skotadi growled at her, a surprisingly deep sound, rumbling out through her slender body, sharp teeth flashing. ‘I am the child of the ancient darkness! I bear the greatest of all powers, borne by myself and my siblings!’

‘Good for you. I don’t think you would actually make a very good ruler.’

Skotadi tensed and tried to throw her off, but was too weak to do anything, before settling down and hissing at Stathis again, eyes narrowed. ‘The world shall fall to my rule.’

‘Can we sort out this first of all? I suspect if Janaxia’s mother finds out about you, you’ll probably end up getting dissected or magically pulled apart, or your soul ripped out or something..’

‘That woman! She torments Janaxia. She seeks ancient secrets that are not hers to have.’

‘Good, so you agree we should both try and do something about her?’

A tongue flicked out over the sharp teeth. ‘Yes! Consign her soul to the darkest of oblivions, to drift for an eternity of suffering!’

‘Normally I’d disagree, but she does sort of deserve it. Can you actually do anything like that? I guess not.’

‘My powers, foolish mortal, are great and terrible! But I am… weaker than I have been in the past. Are you not Janaxia’s sworn protector? Should you not be willing to strike her down, in blood and darkness?’

‘She’s going to be warded behind all sorts of spells, and I have a strong suspicion that killing her probably won’t take, at least the first few times. Can you tell anything about the protection spells on her, or are you like Janaxia, and don’t know any actual magic?’

She said something in the same non-words that Janaxia sometimes used, her face showing irritation. Then she launched into a longer speech, faint word-sensations rippling through Stathis’ head, making her feel dizzy. When she finished, she gave Stathis a smug look.

‘I have no idea what any of that was. What is that language?’

‘Hmph. The primordial tongue. As anyone should know!’ Her pose and look was pure Janaxia, smugness and pride mixed together as she shook her head, hair-beads clacking together.

‘I’m pretty sure that the only other person that speaks it is Janaxia. And even she barely seems to know what she’s doing half the time. Can you do that mind-speech thing Janaxia does?’

‘I do not sully myself by using such a blessing on the likes of you.’

‘It’s pretty handy, but a bit unnerving. And you can go invisible in the shadows?’ Skotadi started to fade again before Stathis gave her a shake. ‘Not when I’m talking to you! You’re as bad as Parth for fading away. Although at least you’re still here, you just go invisible. So, you want to help Janaxia, don’t you?’

‘She is the vessel of my hopes. Although that woman is an impediment! Had I the power, I would devour her utterly.’

‘You’re scared of her, aren’t you? Although that makes sense, if you are some weird magical orphan. She’d probably use you for spare parts.’

Cold air started to flow from around Skotadi as she growled again, Stathis twisting to try and get as much of it as possible on her face and across her armour, glad for any relief from the unrelenting heat. ‘Can you keep doing that?’ The temperature dropped even further as Skotadi glared at her. ‘Yeah, that feels good. Anyway, we need to do something with Poratia. Do you know anything about what she’s doing?’

The chill on her armour felt fantastic, the first relief she’d had from the permeating, oppressive warmth since she’d gotten here.

‘Power, broken and scattered. She is meddling in things she shouldn’t do!’

‘Right, can you tell me what that means? What’s actually going on, what’s she doing?’

‘Hmph.’ Skotadi glared at her, still issuing forth that delicious cold aura. ‘Matters far beyond your puny comprehension!’ She made an attempt at breaking free again, without any more success than before.

‘Can you give me some actual specifics! Is it to do with those shapeshifters? And those shards of black metal?’

‘They are matters of grand arcane significance, beyond the understanding of such as you.’ Stathis gave her a shake, feeling more energetic with the cold chilling through her. ‘Shards of something greater, weakened and broken. Although not entirely underserved. But with potent effects when implanted into mortals.’

‘Can you absorb power from the shards like Janaxia does?’

Skotadi cackled. ‘Power flows to power! I may consume power from such fragments, becoming even more potent myself. I will make better use of the power! And not allow myself to be captured, now I have awoken.’

‘So, what would happen if you were to absorb Rath?’

‘Their soul shall be mine!’ She licked her lips again.

‘OK, let’s not do that. No soul-devouring!’

‘You do not command me, mortal! Unhand me. Why does the chill of the void not afflict you?’

‘It’s actually quite comfortable. Armour is not built for this sort of heat, especially not full-time. So no soul-eating without permission! And be careful about trying that on Poratia, she might be protected against it, or try to eat your soul back or something.’

The mention of her name made Skotadi hiss again. ‘Hmph! What an obnoxious woman she is. If I did not have to hide myself…’ She suddenly glared at Stathis again, before shutting her mouth.

‘You have to hide? Why?’

Flickers of darkness shimmered around Skotadi, the cold intensifying. ‘Foolish mortal! I hide from no-one.’ She paused before looking away. ‘But she has powers beyond what anyone should have. I have no wish to be bound again, or reduced to such a state as when I needed to be rescued.’

‘Is that what had happened? Why you were down in that basement?’

Skotadi growled again. ‘This is why lesser beings should not interfere with their betters! He is was fortunate to escape so easily. I should have devoured him, body and soul!’

‘No soul-eating!’ The cold was starting to bite now, a rime of frost forming on her armour. ‘Actually, do you know anything about this?’ She took out the book she had found in the basement. ‘I’m guessing you can read it?’

Skotadi took it, opening it at random and flicking through. As she did so, the text on the page seemed to crawl and move, flowing towards Skotadi’s fingers, ink flowing onto her finger and then vanishing. The pages of the book started to disintegrate as well, parchment turning brittle and then fading entirely.

‘Tis better that such rituals be forgotten, lest another seek to bind me or my siblings.’

‘So it was a book of magical binding stuff? So why was that guy trying to summon you?’

‘Some fools are drawn to seek power, no matter the cost. He was lucky not to have died a thousand, thousand deaths for his impertinence.’ As she spoke, Skotadi’s clothing rippled, changing from her slightly ragged impersonation of Janaxia’s dress to something grander, flashing into existence for just a moment before vanishing. ‘My siblings and I used to play with such, letting them grow inflated with a sense of self-importance, before devouring them!’

‘Your siblings – any idea what happened to them? If they’re anything like you, it doesn’t seem as though they could stay hidden for long. The only reason you’re staying hidden is because you’re scared of Poratia.’

‘That is not fear! I am merely biding my time, so that when I destroy her, it shall be all the sweeter.’

‘Well, if you’ve got any way to defeat her, let me know, it would be helpful. And then we could get the hell out of here. This seems like the sort of place your siblings might have ended up though.’

Skotadi chucked. ‘Oh, I know where one is. Full of bluster and bravado, and I shall aid him in due time. But he is a long way away, and there are more pressing concerns. And the other… I know not. But we shall meet, all in good time. And then we shall rule again!’

‘Do you even remember ruling? You’re pretty young still.’

Skotadi gave her a look of pure venom, the temperature dropping another few blessed degrees. ‘I am of the ancient powers! Even if I may be diminished, even if my recollections may be… fragmented, then I am of the oldest blood and shall rise to my full power once more.’

‘OK, I think you might need to adjust your expectations. Unless you’ve got an army, then you’re not likely to rule anywhere. And even then, you’ll have to spend most of your time conquering and not actually ruling, nevermind getting to relax and have some fun. When things are quieter and she doesn’t think I’m a mind-controlled zombie, I can introduce you to my mother, she has quite strong opinions on the subject. If you just want to be pampered and looked after, you’d do better finding a rich partner, or getting cash from somewhere.’

‘I was born to the oldest of powers, and to that height I will ascend once more!’

The shadows in the room seemed to flicker, the place as dark as evening for a moment, before sunlight surged back in to banish the darkness.

‘I think you’ve got quite a long way to go before that. For starters, why don’t you settle for having Sen look after you? And then once we’ve sorted this out, maybe we can take you to one of the magical academies, you can learn more there, then maybe become an adventurer, or you might find something else you want to do. You don’t need to conquer anywhere, and it’s a lot of work.’

‘Feh!’ She stared at Stathis, then clicked her fingers, nodding her head at a bowl of grapes and opening her mouth. Stathis looked back and shrugged her shoulders, as Skotadi snapped her fingers again. Sen bustled over, picking up a grape and dropping it into Skotadi’s mouth. She chewed in an inexplicably smug fashion. ‘Sen is of the true blood, albeit heavily watered down, and knows her place.’ She purred as Sen patted her on the head, tidying up a few stray hair-strands. ‘You would do well to follow her example, mortal. Then, when I return to my true power, perhaps a place can be found for you in the new world? Janaxia appears fond of you, although I cannot see why.’

‘Well, I’m quite fond of her as well, despite everything going on with her. But we need to think about this – there’s this fighting tournament coming up, and I’m pretty sure Poratia is using us for something. Zarazonnia’s easy to work out – she wants someone in actual armour to win to try and encourage people to use it and fight properly, rather than mucking about with duelling styles. Rath’s here to keep an eye on us, Vissa’s obedient enough she can be ordered to wear armour, but is probably someone else’s patsy. So what happens when we win?’

Sen continued to tend to Skotadi’s hair, the girl now making happy purrs as a long braid was untied, the strands getting rewoven.

‘If I may speak?’

Stathis gestured at her to continue.

‘The arena bouts are one of the biggest festivals in Setha. Each of the rulers submits a group to fight for them, to demonstrate their power. How the fights go are said to portend how well the city itself will fare in the time to come. If they are bloody and brutal…’

‘Then it’ll be a shitty year? And if there’s a clear victor, then their backer will gain influence?’

‘Indeed, Stath…’ She covered her mouth, looking around suspiciously. ‘Yes.’

‘Right. So what would Poratia gain from this? I suppose she might just be helping Zarazonnia, but that seems a stretch. She’s been sending Janaxia to look up old artefacts and stuff, seeking after ancient powers. So maybe Zarazonnia has something she won’t let Poratia have, without winning first?’

‘That is possible. Or perhaps Queen Zarazonnia wishes greater influence? As you have noticed, many of the fighters are prone to more personal fighting styles. If Zarazonnia wishes to forge an army, then such tendencies will need to be reduced.’

‘Gah! There’s just too much we don’t know.’ Stathis flicked Skotadi in the forehead, jerking her out of her happy daze, as Sen kept working on her hairstyle. ‘You could try and help out yourself. You can turn invisible – you must be able to sneak around and try and find anything useful.’

‘I am not yours to command, fool!’ She flashed her fangs again.

‘This is to help Janaxia though. Whatever Poratia wants, it’s almost certainly not good for us, and probably not good for Janaxia either. So if we can stop that happening, then that’s good for everyone. Even better if we can arrange for someone else to deal with her. So, are you actually going to be able to help?’

Sen started to massage Skotadi’s shoulders, digging her fingers into tense muscles, making Skotadi sigh happily. ‘Hmph. I may deign to aid you, impertinent though you are! This is not for you though, this is for Janaxia.’ Skotadi started to fade from view, as Sen continued to massage the seemingly-empty air.

‘Sure. Just don’t do anything stupid, and let me know what you find out. At least you fit in here, so if you are seen, no-one will think you’re that unusual. Sen, can you make sure she’s dressed appropriately? I think she can do the same fake-clothing thing as Janaxia, so she can use that to make sure she doesn’t stand out too much.’

Sen was using her elbows now, grinding them against an invisible body. ‘Yes, of course. She has the speech and attitude of those of high blood, and may find the upper gardens pleasurable.’

A hiss of pleasure came from empty air, Sen’s other hand moving uncertainly through empty air until patting down against probably where Skotadi’s head was. ‘Yes! Show me all the pleasure that this world can afford me! And I shall destroy the wretched fools that dare deny me!’

Stathis poked her fingers forward, feeling the jabbing into Skotadi’s stomach. ‘No destroying! Just go find out information if you can. And don’t get into any trouble. I need to go train some more – Sen, try and keep her out of trouble, and if Janaxia does comes back, then look after her, she needs it right now.’

‘Yes, of course.’

Stathis poked Skotadi in the stomach again, hearing a mumbled non-word curse rumble through the air as she left, heading back towards the training arena.