Evergreen POV

Feeling a tug on my hair, I opened my eyes and sat up. Rubbing my face, I found Mave smiling at me and offering a mug of warm tea. Shaking my head to chase away the sleep, I accepted her gesture and leaned back in my chair. There truly was far too much work to be done. I don’t recall the last time I had the time to go home and relax. Chuckling to myself, I knew the Colosseum was more of a home to me than my actual residence.

Glancing down at the paperwork I was in the middle of before I fell asleep, I sighed and stood to stretch, “How is the situation in Harlheim?” I asked Mave who was in charge of keeping an eye on my niece and Atkozott. The fact we were observing was on a need-to-know basis between me and Mave. Her brow furrowed in worry, “Well, it’s not good. The whole thing was bigger than we thought. Apparently, the Earl has some really ambitious plans, wishing to separate the Harlheim territory as his own personal kingdom. Our plant has managed to discover he had recently given orders to mobilize his little army of misfits. That, though, is not the issue. I believe Thalia might be in some real trouble, despite the fact the stupid crossbreed is protecting her.”

Fluttering her wings, she brought me the bowl that had a unique mixture of ingredients that included fairy tears. She used this to scry on Atkozott and Thalia. The liquid was reddish in hue, showing she used a bit of his blood to strengthen the connection. Needless to say, he knew nothing of the fact we’ve been observing for a long while. I remember when I saw him rummaging through Thalia’s bag, I even gave him a hint. Too bad he didn’t catch on, I might have played around too much. Sensing inwardly, I could tell the favor was nearing the end. There was a mental gauge one could sense if they focused in a correct manner. It was a part of every Deal. Though it would be great if he continued protecting Thalia, I knew it was impossible without using another favor.

Luckily the circumstances were in my favor. Were it not for that storm, Atkozott might not have gotten so caught up in all the events. All things considered, the favor should have been completed a while ago, however, the magic takes itself quite literally. In a way, it can act as a sort of precognition at certain times. The fact that Thalia’s life is in constant danger is preventing it from concluding. Calculating in the fact that the Earl seemed to have gotten his hands on a Doppelganger made things just that much more complicated.

Sighing, I sipped my tea and glanced into the bowl. I’ve got to hand it to her, the fairy will go to dire lengths if it meant securing the future we’ve envisioned. If only everyone was like her. Seeing the silhouettes in the crystalline surface, I could see Atkozott and Thalia standing in the empty tavern. Glancing at Mave, I saw her chant and her eyes glowed. Her mouth opened and the sounds of the two people we were watching came out of her in a distorted tremor.

Seeing Atkozott falter and his change in complexion, I frowned. Was he poisoned? Listening to Thalia’s exclamations, I tensed and saw someone attack them. Though they dealt with it, my concerns only grew. The more I watched the events unfold, the more I understood something was very wrong with him. I could recognized the look in his eyes when he stared at that corpse. It was the same look Mave had when I found her roughly 100 years ago. It was starvation and hunger.

The poor thing was abused and used to the point she lost any and all will to live. A species that rare and precious, ruined beyond their usual cheerful and playful nature. That noble was one of the first I’d ever put under the ground. Shaking my head, I focused back on the bowl.

Thalia was too sheltered to recognize she was occasionally being stared at like food. Seeing him break through a wall and get surrounded, I could tell he was struggling to keep himself in check. I nudged Mave to cut the sound link, not wishing to hear the screams and shouts coming from the infiltrators, “What is wrong with him? At this rate, he will end up killing not only Thalia, but everyone else.”

Scowling, I stared unblinkingly at the brutal violence he unleashed on the enemies, coming dangerously close to taking a bite out of them. It was clear he himself was quite aware of the consequences. If he killed Thalia, he would die as well. The favor he owed was keeping him there. Gritting my teeth, I watched as he sat down with closed eyes, “Zael... I think this was in the report. Last time he acted this way, he grew and changed. It must be his bloodline, not the poison. It might be best if you accepted the favor as returned...” Mave muttered, concern clear in her eyes.

Cursing, I watched as he clawed his skin to the bone. It even seemed like he was unaware he was doing it, “I’ve tried Mave, however, you and I both know the Deal’s risks and power. It updates with his new findings and if it has deemed the doppelganger as a core source of information, it will continue until the creature is dealt with and interrogated. You know as well as I, the power of ancient spells. Though, it was my mistake to have abused my leverage too much, this has now gone beyond me. All we can do now is observe and hope this does not end in more of a bloodbath than it has to.”

She gave a wry smile, her eyes clearly showing how exhausted she was from the magic being used. Supplementing her, I leaned back and watched. I needed to contact camp Warmonger, it was time to deal with the Earl.

Thalia POV

Something wasn’t right, I could see Atkozott was clearly affected by the poison at first. But I wasn’t so sure anymore. The way he kept mutilating himself, the animalistic sounds he made and the way he twitched every now and then showed there was a clear problem. He wouldn’t tell me though. Every inquiry was met with him ignoring me. Recalling the vile scene in the cell block and all the corpses in the rooms made me shiver with unease. I was scared.

Even though my anger and frustrations were at their peaks, there was not much I could do on my own. The bastard was constantly dragging me around, forcing me to watch unspeakable things and not caring about anything but himself. I already suspected he had lied. There is no way he would be so concerned with my safety if his life didn’t depend on it. It was likely there was something in that favor he mentioned that forced him to protect me. Grimacing, I followed him upstairs with a brisk pace.

As we passed by my room. Hesitating for only a moment, I went inside and took the liberty of grabbing my pack, slinging it over my shoulder. Glancing up, I saw Atkozott didn’t even notice my detour. He was too focused on checking the rooms, the tension in his expression was almost tangible. Taking this chance, I stood aside and rummaged around my bag. I found the Communication crystal that was linked to my uncle’s. Sighing in relief, I attempted to establish a connection. Uncle Evergreen surely knew far more about all this than he let on. However, the crystal gave no reaction. Confused, I used my mana to sense the tool and gasped. How was this possible!? I had charged it a few weeks ago and haven’t used it since!

The crystal was empty. This could only mean something was either wrong with it or someone used it. Smiling bitterly, I could only guess the culprit. If the infiltrators did it, they would not have put it back. Clary clearly wouldn’t have done it. The bastard went through my things! There was no way I could charge it enough in this situation. I needed my mana to fight. Though, I wanted to give him a piece of my mind, I saw the look on his face as those mean claws dug into his own chest in a disturbing manner. As I was once again about to ask him to stop that, I saw him halt and gesture to lay low.

Freezing in place, I put the empty crystal back into my bag and paid attention, my crossbow ready. I might not have been all that adept with it, but I could compensate with a little wind magic. We stood on the sides in silence. I could hear mutters but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Chanting under my breath, I infused mana into my ears and listened in.

As we were forced to hide in the room next door, I felt the tension in my shoulders increase. Seeing nothing was happening, I glanced at Atkozott. Seeing a corpse on the bed, I gaged and took a step back. Her throat was slit in a brutal way, the pool of blood making my hairs stand on end. He was staring at it in a trance, walking closer until he opened his mouth and nearly bit into the corpse. Much to my horror. Trying to keep calm, I lightly cleared my throat, “Atkozott...”

He seemed to snap out of it, the pained look in his eyes confused me. He shook his head and walked to the other end before instructing me to seal off their exits. As much as I did not want to be an accomplice to this, I had little to no choice. He burst through the wall...

Chanting one of my stronger barrier spells, I did as he asked, closing off their exits. Not wanting to listen to the happenings inside the room, I leaned against the wall in the hall and let myself glide down. Sitting on the floor with the crossbow on my lap, I kept my focus on the barrier, shutting out all the unnecessary distractions. I held it for a couple of minutes before releasing the magic.

I stared at the door blankly. I did not want to go inside. I was so sick and tired of all this. Of all the possibilities, why did I have to incarnate as a member of the Evergreen family. Despite the care they showed for their own, they were all monsters deep down. I could see it in the way my mother treated the humans and beastfolk as lesser, as fodder. The way my uncle acted like he owned me and everyone else. All those times I was kidnapped for the sake of blackmailing and extortion. I was miserable, I was alone.

Standing up, I decided I’d had enough. Rummaging through my bag, I took out the crystal and tossed it on the ground. Using my heel, I crushed it into shards. Not even giving the room another look, I went downstairs and into the kitchen. Stopping in front of the food storage, I sent a prayer to the two poor innocents that got caught up in all this. Once again, my uncle and his secret conflicts caused more devastation and carnage. How many more innocents must die to further his ambitions?

Gritting my teeth, I knocked on the cellar door and saw Mortier when he opened it. He lifted a brow and lowered his spear, “What are you doing here?” He asked with a clear frown. The disgust he viewed me with was not even attempted to be hidden. Ignoring his looks, I lowered myself down, “I need to talk to Clary.” I said calmly, keeping my anger under the surface.

He glanced up and back at me, “Where’s Atko?”

I shrugged, “He diched me so I came back here.”

The look in his eyes seemed like he didn’t believe me, but just as he was about to do something about it, Ha’Luk called him over. One of the poisoned men was having a bad reaction, the violent seizure needed to be controlled and he was busy with someone else. Mortier nodded before giving me one last look, “Stay put, I’ll be right back.” He grumbled with a severe look in his eyes. Seeing him rush over to help out, I quickly went to find Clary.

Seeing her sitting in the corner with clear annoyance plastered on her face, I sneaked over and crouched next to her, “Let’s go!” I whispered. Startled, she jumped slightly before relaxing, “Thalia? What happened? Did you find the moles?” She asked hurriedly. I nodded, “Yeah, Atkozott killed them all, I think.” There was an odd look in her eyes as she sighed, “Why are you alone?”

I frowned, “Because I am done associating with both of those fucking psychopaths. If I use my magic, we should be able to make our way to the Black Blade guild, it’s just three buildings down. They don’t have many members and are just small time freelancers. We should be safe there until the storm passes then leave this godforsaken city.” Clary seemed confused as she glanced around at the guild members, “What about everyone else?”

I grimaced, “I- I don’t know... There is nothing I can do to help here...” I muttered in dejection. Clary stood up and patted me on the shoulder, “It’s okay. You’re right. Let’s go.” She agreed quicker than I expected but I was glad she was onboard. As my only real friend, I was happy to have someone to lean on in this dark time. Smiling, I held her hand and we carefully sneaked to the hatch. Seeing everyone was busy, we managed to get out unnoticed. Closing the hatch, we shared a look and nodded, “Which way?” Clary asked in confusion, “I’m pretty sure everything is sealed.”

“The window in our room, we can avoid the flood if we go across the rooftops. I will shield us from the wind and hail but we’ll have to make it quick. I don’t know when Atkozott will realize I’m not there anymore, I’m surprised he already hasn’t.” I muttered, keeping my voice down. Clary snorted, “Screw him! That asshole is dead to me!” She hissed with some venom. The animosity in her eyes caught me off guard. It really wasn’t like her to act this way. I stared at her for a while until the thought of her being the doppelganger crossed my mind.

No. I refuse to believe it. If that were true that would mean that Clary was dead... Seeing her tail sway in a familiar manner and her ears twitch in the usual way, I shook my head. Inwardly laughing at the stupid thought, I cleared my throat. She’s clearly alive and well. She’s not dead. Making our way up, I carefully checked the hall to see if the coast was clear. I heard nothing and saw it was empty. Nodding, I pulled Clary along and entered our room. At this point, it was totally drenched. The strong wind was blowing my hair everywhere, making me gasp at how freezing it was.

Pulling Clary near, I chanted a spell. As the magic took place, the powerful wind seemed to go around us, “Let’s go!” I shouted and rushed with her. Jumping over the windowsill, we lowered ourselves on expanded part of the roof. It was very slippery but thankfully, I always wore scout equipment, my boots enchanted to handle all kinds of terrain. Clary wasn’t having such an easy time but I held her up. I was forced to drop my crossbow. The storm was horrifying, it was almost pitch black, the thundering sky our only source of light.

Just as we began making our way over, the flash of lightning revealed a scene I would never forget. My crossbow had caught on something, the roof ledge, and next to it, also caught in the roof tiles, were bones with some meat still clinging to them. Halting, I felt myself shiver as pain laced my chest once the realization set in. A disgusting mass of flesh and skin was strung out across the roof, its sticky substance preventing the rain from fully washing it away. My concentration slipped.

I suddenly felt a knife press against my back as the monster neared my ear, “Too bad you saw that. We should continue, no?” It spoke with Clary’s voice. It was no longer slipping or clumsy and instead held me up. Looking into those pitch black eyes, I felt myself short on breath. The thing wearing Clary’s face held an unnaturally wide grin, nearly tearing the skin of the cheeks. She was dead... I felt my rage and sorrow clash, the two equally strong emotions fighting for dominance. Somehow, anger won.

Screaming from the top of my lungs, the sound was swallowed by the storm as I furiously sent a wave of powerful wind at the disgusting monster. Its eyes widened as the force of it pushed the dagger into my back but also made it lose its footing. I almost fell with it, but managed to grab on to a small statue on the corner of the building. The monster screeched and went on all fours to try and keep its balance. Pointed, dagger-like claws bust through its humanoid hands, making the flesh peel off sickeningly. They latched onto the tiles, crawling against the wind with the intent to catch me.

I watched in pure horror as Clary’s face loosened and hung of its skull like a warped doll of melted wax. Soon, all the flesh came off the monstrosity, splattering on the roof as the rain attempted to erase its traces. What was coming at me would haunt me in my sleep. The creature had wrinkled, dark skin, tiny black eyes glaring at me while its flat face contorted with mockery. Its bony limbs and skinny figure cracked as they dislodged and connected, the way it moved making my bile rise in disgust. It moved faster.

It was the moment that changed everything. The way it was looking at me like weak prey. How Atkozott and Mortier treated me like a pathetic weakling. All the shit I had to go through just because of my uncle. It killed Clary...

All the fear and hesitation seemed to vanish as pure adrenaline coursed through my veins. I snapped, “YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME! COME AND GET ME THEN!” Releasing the statue, I jumped aside and let myself slip down to the ledge of the slanted roof. Stunned by my seemingly suicidal actions, the monster halted before dashing after me, “Crazy bitch!” A distorted voice came from its throat. Its claws dug into the tiles, the power unnatural for something so thin and fragile looking.

Focusing on my movement, I took out the dagger that was still in my back. Ignoring the pain, I stabbed it down to stop my fall and used my heels absorb the impact with the shallow ledge. Tossing myself on my back, I reached up and grabbed my crossbow while rain splashed everywhere. I was so fucking done with being a damsel in distress. All my fury and frustration poured out with a crazed war cry as that single bolt flew at the pouncing creature. At least it was supposed to fly.

All I saw as the lightning flashed was a vicious maw of sharp, needle-like teeth approaching. The bolt didn’t fire. The crossbow was broken and too wet. Screw it. Taking the bolt into my hand directly, I gritted my teeth and kicked up. The monster was carried by its momentum, meeting my outstretched legs with its belly. Its claws dug into my cheek as it tried to butcher me. Maneuvering its trajectory, I used my wind magic to give it a boost. I pushed back with my hips and sent it flying over me. It screeched as it tumbled off the roof and into the flood below. Feeling my lower back flash with pain from the stab wound, I knew I needed to quickly get inside before the blood loss got me killed.

Using the dagger and bolt, I pulled myself up to the windows again. I could barely make out scraping against the wall. It was coming back. Cursing, I hurriedly grabbed the windowsill and pulled myself inside. I couldn’t even feel the cold as I limped out of the room just to be met with a rabid, blood-soaked demon.

Atkozott POV

I was focusing on calming my urges when I thought I heard a scream. Snapping out of my meditation, I had no idea how much time had passed but I knew it was too long. The familiar pain spread through my body, the ravaging hunger making me gasp for breath as I clawed at my own stomach. The itch was unbearable, my body bleeding everywhere. The meditation didn’t help.

A sudden feeling of danger settled over my chest, it wasn’t as strong as before but it was enough to push my instincts over the edge. The feeling of being threatened by something infuriated me, making my vision cloud with red as I finally broke. Reaching over to the nearest corpse, I bit down. The sweet taste of blood in my mouth made me groan. The familiar feeling of starvation took me back to the times when I had nearly died of hunger. I hated it. Tearing the meat of the bones and crunching them afterwards brought deep, twisted satisfaction.

As the pangs gradually grew worse, I heard another scream. The sense of danger grew again. Frowning, I stopped eating as I tried to recall why. I was alone in the room. It suddenly came to me. My life was in danger because an elf was in danger. With a snarl, I stood up and rammed against the closed door, making it fall down with a crash. Feeling my instincts flare dangerously, I gave a regretful glance at my delicious feast. I’d only managed to eat one or two.

Where was the elf? Sniffing the air, I could feel my senses were in overdrive. Down the hall. The elf didn’t listen and left on her own. Stupid. With a growl, I stopped in my tracks as I was met with a drenched female. Her face was disfigured and bleeding on the side as she panted for breath. The scent of her blood teased my nose, inviting me to take a bite. She stared with wide eyes as her mouth moved, “What the fuck!? The monster!” She shouted and pointed at the room.

As I made a move to attack her, a sense of dread fell over me. Right. I can’t eat her. I’ll die. Grimacing, I saw something ugly and gray in the corner of my vision where the female had pointed. With a snarl, I pushed her away, making her almost fly to the stairs and stood in the doorway.

I had no idea what that thing was, but it smelled disgusting. The creature halted as it climbed in, those black, beady eyes glaring at me, “You interfere again! Just give me the girl and I will remove myself from Evergreens guild.” It hissed with a raspy voice. Tilting my head in confusion, I tried to remember what the hell it was talking about. The red in my vision slightly receded as my head throbbed. Right. The doppelganger. Shit. With a groan, I gave it a hateful glare, “How about you drop dead instead and let me be on my way.” I hissed and rushed at it. With a high-pitched squeal, the doppelganger moved with disturbing flexibility, jumping to the ceiling and crawling along to get past me. Snorting, I swung my tail up to catch it.

Its spine suddenly dislodged as it bent with a crack, tossing itself to the right and gripping the wall horizontally while its torso returned to normal. We stared at each other as my vision flared red again, the pain and hunger making my reason slip. This thing was too much of a threat, it needed to die. Its jaw clicked and it pushed off with a sudden attack. Reacting purely on instinct, I stepped aside and swung my arms out to catch the offensive thing. However, its weight caught me off guard, making me stumble back as its jaw unhinged.

Despite the fact my claws were deeply lodged into its sides, the thing continued to grapple me. Pain laced my body as its claws dug into my shoulders but I ignored it and continued ripping into it. My vision suddenly went black as the creature bit my head, those sharp teeth attempting to pierce my skull. The underside of my jaw was impaled, I could feel its teeth in my mouth while its tongue slobbered all over my face, trying to poke at my eyes.

Needless to say, I was pissed off. Letting go of its mangled torso, I reached up and gripped its jaw, pulling it apart. It wasn’t that hard considering the thing had a taste of my blood. With a squeal of pain, I finally separated myself from its filthy mouth. Watching my blood corrode away its teeth and tounge, I grinned maliciously and spit more of it down its throat. Its claws unlatched from my shoulders while it quaked on the floor and squealed like a pig.

I pulled its jaw further apart, curious to see how far it would go while sitting on its chest. I had already ripped out its arms and watched with some wonder as its mouth was pulled open until it made a circle. Once it began to crack, I completely dislodged it then ripped off its head. The scent of its blood made me gag. Not finding the creature appetizing in the least, my hunger was too much to ignore now.

Pulling away, I felt like a weight was lifted of my shoulders as the creature died. Not caring enough to think about it, I went back to my feast. After finishing most of the corpses, they started to lose flavor and turned disgusting. Coughing, I scowled but knew they weren’t fresh enough. Turning to leave, I knew there was fresh food on the lower floors.