Diana sat at the dining table dressed in her crimson red robes. Her gemstone encrusted gold tiara glistened in the firelight as she turned her head to catch a glimpse of the Duke’s servants as they entered the room. They carried forth plates of steaming roast, garnished with baked potatoes and diced vegetables, and served them to the three people seated at the table.

The last servant to enter carried in his hands a silver pitcher of red wine that he proceeded to pour for his master, Lord Steinfeld, and his guest, who were seated at the opposite ends of the table. Lastly, he offered to pour a cup for the white haired Temple priest at the Duke’s side, but the man refused.

The Devil snuck a brief glance at the rough and blistered hands of the Duke’s servant. The man was well groomed and his posture seemed fitting for someone in his position, but the fingers told a different story. He was a tall, skinny and grim person with stark facial features that even the many layers of makeup could not hide.

His task complete, the wine bearer stepped away from the table. He remained standing by the entrance, ready to replenish their drinks on a moment’s notice. Meanwhile the other servants left though the lone doorway behind Diana’s back.

Red flames danced in the fireplace to Diana’s left. They toyed with the shadows throughout the room. There were candles on the table and in the candle holders on the walls, but the presence of the fireplace was overwhelming. Its red firelight carved deep lines into the facial expressions of all the people attending the feast in this late hour of the evening.

Diana acknowledged the Duke's hospitality with a reserved nod and a lukewarm expression of joy. “I thank you for receiving us upon such a short notice, Lord Steinfeld,” she said. “I apologize for the inconvenience, but I am afraid that time is something that neither one of us has in ample supply.”

“Think nothing of it, Lady Albrecht,” Ferdinand replied. “On my part, I must apologize for requesting that you wear gloves during our meeting. I am sure that you can understand my concern…”

Diana examined the silken white mageweave gloves on her hands. They were held in place by a series of knots around her wrists that made the gloves exceedingly cumbersome to remove on her own.

“You are afraid of my power,” she said. “I understand. Trust can be difficult among strangers, least of all when one is a mage.”

Mageweave was a material that, if properly woven and layered, suppressed the element of arcanite in one’s blood. It was often used for restraining magic casters and in polite society was viewed as a sign of willingness to cooperate. Otherwise, a mage could, if he or she desired, lash out with their powers unhindered, as magic, unlike physical weapons, could not easily be removed.

“I am a stranger to these lands,” Diana said, “So your customs and temper – I do try my best to not offend anyone. Least of all the honorable Leidemari nobility.”

The Duke looked tired, but his face was warped in a shrewd smile. “I am more than happy to receive you,” he assured her. “Your fated arrival was, after all, a pleasant surprise, given our grim predicament.”

“That is good to hear,” Diana said.

“A warm place by the fire and a good meal is the least of what I owe you, My Lady,” Ferdinand said. “The gods themselves held witness to a miracle yesterday. If not for your knights, the dead might have had the upper hand. Truly, you have delivered us all from a situation most dire.”

Diana nodded in acknowledgment of his praise. “It is my duty as the servant of life, My Lord, to come to the aid of the living. I am no more worthy of your praise for the act, as are you for tending to your burdens of governance.”

Diana looked to Talbot. “Someone has to bring light to these dark corners of the earth, after all.”

“Indeed,” Talbot agreed. “And I was most pleased to see a fellow student of the path of the righteous.”

The priest looked to be wearing the same kind of magic dampening gloves as Diana, but, of course, there was no way of knowing if they were the real thing or not.

“I was most impressed by your bravery when you delved into the graveyard,” Talbot said. “I will always remember how you banished the source of the calamity befalling us. The gods will surely reward you greatly for what you did yesterday.”

“I was only doing my duty,” Diana said.

“And we thank you for it, My Lady.” The Duke raised his silver goblet in a toast, “For the gods!”

“For the gods,” Talbot echoed the words of his liege.

“Yes, the gods…” Diana mumbled and took a sip from her goblet. Upon it was engraved a hunting scene depicting in fine detail a knight impaling a ferocious wolf through the neck with his spear. The scene was set on the background of a lush redwood forest.

“You know, the funny thing is…” Diana gleaned at the Duke from underneath her brow as she licked her lips. “The gods really had nothing to do with it.”

“Meaning…” Ferdinand led her on.

“Our encounter is all about you, My Lord,” Diana said. “Namely, your relationship with the Rotwald House.”

Talbot gave the Duke a worried look.

Ferdinand drunk deeply from his goblet before answering, “I must admit that I was surprised to hear that Victorian was still alive. I had a trusted man tell me of how he disappeared in that old ruin. I thought him lost to the swamp. For good…”

“That was where we found him,” Diana confirmed. “Along with the mauled remains of the mercenaries that you had sent after him...”

“Perhaps they were mine,” Ferdinand said. “I was also told of a demon lurking deep within that accursed place.”

The Devil placed Victorian’s mangled knights’ medallion on the table for the Duke to see. “This artifact saved his life,” she explained. “The same demon that slaughtered your men could not overcome its power. Sure enough, if not for the interference of that creature, Victorian would have been killed by them.”

“How noble of you,” the Duke said, “To risk your life like that for a lone man. Then again, I suppose the demon was no worse than the undead we faced yesterday. You did kill it, right?”

“I have the demon’s head as proof,” Diana said. “Would you like me to send for it? It was the rest of the beast’s body that I was going to use in my experiments.

Of course, I trust that your kingdom can afford me some small measure of recompense for its death. I lost two of my knights to its claws. I think that I have your mercenaries to thank for wounding it, though. It could have been worse.

Oh, and I am afraid that the demon’s horns have already been spoken for.”

“So you have rid me of two unholy infestations already,” Ferdinand said. “Can I hope to come to an agreement on a third issue as well?

Your ‘messenger’ did not speak in plain words, My Lady, but I gander that you are here today to represent Victorian. Am I correct?”

“You are not mistaken,” Diana said. “Given the grave threat to his life and wellbeing, he has been placed under my protection. I have decided to negotiate an end to this most unfortunate conflict on his behalf. Anything that you would wish to discuss with him can be leveled at me.”

The Duke tightened his grip around the goblet. “There is nothing to discuss, My Lady. That boy and his family are guilty of treason and must be punished accordingly!”

“Do you have any proof of that?” Diana asked.

“I do,” the Duke answered.

Talbot brought before her a stack of letters, marked with both the Rotwald and Moriveran seals. Diana skimmed through them all to make light of the Duke’s claims.

“These are just letters or correspondence,” she pointed out. “The most you could accuse them of is conspiring to commit treason. There is no definite proof of their guilt. There was no treason committed.”

“We are at war with Morivera,” Ferdinand said. “These are just some of the messages that we intercepted over the past year between their noble houses and the Rotwalds. We found even more proof in the archives once we took the castle.

Yes, they never declared for the Moriveran’ cause, but I have no doubt that, given time and opportunity, the Rotwalds would have rebelled.”

“Why are you so certain of it?” Diana asked.

“Because I would have done the same,” Ferdinand answered, “Were I in their position...

We are losing the war. The minor houses have never been loyal to the king, but once the Moriveran troops start raiding the Marsh Counties, they won’t take long to turn against him. Their power lies in the land, not their liege. They don’t care for who rules over them.”

The Devil smiled in recognition of his reasoning.

“As you can see, My Lady, the Rotwalds have clearly conspired against the crown,” Talbot said. “They are guilty of consorting with the Moriveran’s. Given the current state of the kingdom, this can only be viewed as high treason! And high treason is grounds for death.”

“But Victorian knew nothing of this,” Diana said as she playfully twirled around the half empty wine goblet in her hand. “His father’s seal is the only one I can see on these letters. Furthermore, he only just returned home from campaigning with the Templars in the Old World. He did not have the time or presence to be involved in any such conspiracies.”

The Devil raised her finger to keep the two from interfering. “Now, while I can understand killing his father, I cannot condone the murder of an innocent child. Yet you killed the eldest son already – the only legitimate heir – along with the father. That makes Victorian the last of his line. The Temple allows for breaking the vows of servitude on such grounds. By all accounts, he is now the rightful ruler of this land. And he is innocent of his father’s crimes.

What are you trying to achieve by purging the Rotwald bloodline, Lord Steinfeld? What were you hoping to gain by this blatant act of murder?”

“All the Rotwalds were traitors!” Talbot objected. “It was within the rights of my liege, to–”

Ferdinand raised his hand to silence the priest. “Lady Albrecht clearly knows a great deal more than she is willing to let on. We should not waste her time with excuses.”

He took a deep breath before continuing, “Fine, I confess to the plot. But I do, in fact, have a valid cause for usurping their domain. And in light of their treason, as the liege of the Marsh Counties, I have the necessary claim to do so.”

“I am willing to listen,” Diana said. “Make your case and I will consider it.”

“Am I to hope that you could be persuaded to change sides?” the Duke inquired.

“Nothing is out of the question,” Diana said. “Our future relationship will very much depend on how persuasive you can be.”

Ferdinand smiled. “Very well...

It is no secret that the Kingdom of Leidemar is crumbling, My Lady. The nobility has known of its growing weakness for some time now, yet they have been slow to counter it.

To that end, I am trying to consolidate the Marsh Counties under my rule. Not for the sake of power or wealth – I am not a man of vanity, I assure you – but rather to better oppose our enemies. As it stands, the Kingdom has the resources and manpower to spare, yet the way it is governed leads to the majority of that potential being squandered.

Our bloated ranks of lesser nobility are just one of the obstacles that Leidemar must overcome in order to survive in these hard times. I would urge you to view the Rotwalds as a necessary sacrifice on the road to a better tomorrow. The Kingdom must be protected above all else.”

“So it is your intention to bring the rest of the Marsh Counties under your personal rule as well?” Diana asked. “You are an ambitious man – I like that.”

“I have so much more to offer, My Lady.” The Duke gave her an expectant look. “I could use a priestess of your impressive ability. The king would reward you handsomely for your services, of course.

That is a promise Victorian could never make. He has nothing left. The fragmented rule of these lesser nobles has run its course, I am afraid. If not I, then someone else will see to their ultimate ruin.

So, what do you say? Will you join me?” He waved his hand in a lazy dismissal. “You have seen their domain. The Rotwalds are a noble house in name only. You could help me put an end to their tortured existence.”

Diana considered the Duke’s offer.

“You are a man as loyal to your king as you are wise,” she told the Duke. “Yet, I fear that I must decline you offer of servitude. I cannot be bound to more than one master at a time. And I already have a greater path to follow.

Besides, you are not what I am looking for. You are cruel – I can respect that – but I already have all the cruelty in the world to serve me. And I don’t think that I could ever shape you into something more than a pawn.

Victorian, on the other hand, is still young and malleable. There is just so much more that I could do with him. And, unlike you, he is a leader the masses could support.

The Duke frowned in disgust at her insolence. “Have it your way then,” he said. “I will not extend the same offer twice, My Lady.”

He took a sip from his goblet to try and wash away the bitter taste left by her refusal. “Then what is it that you would like to discuss?” he asked. “What does the Rotwald boy want in exchange for my pardon?”

“It’s not so much about what he wants,” Diana said. “Rather, it is all about me and my designs for this land.”

The Duke smirked. “This is a swamp,” he declared. “What could you possibly want with it? What can Victorian give you, but an enemy in me and the king?

And where are you even from? What is a Temple priestess of your ability doing in a place like this?”

“I never said that I was with your Temple,” Diana pointed out. She gave Talbot a knowing look, “Call me the ‘red bitch’, if you wish, but I am not the one whoring myself out to false gods. Highfather can go hang, for all that I care.”

Her words quickly drew the ire of the Temple priest. “Blasphemy!” Talbot roared. “How dare you invoke such horrendous insults against the Gods! This– this is unbelievable!”

“Talbot!” the Duke interrupted him. “We are here to discuss the fate of the Rotwald County. The gods can sit this one out.”

“But she is a blasphemer!” Talbot protested.

“And I will not repeat myself,” the Duke answered. “Leave it. For now…”

Though clearly burning with furious anger, the priest refrained from challenging his lord’s decision. Talbot trembled as he tried to restrain himself from further lashing out at Diana.

“That’s right,” she said. “Keep your mouth shut, little priest. It has already spread far too much falsehood over the years as it is.”

Diana then addressed the Duke with the same challenging look in her eyes. “I assume that you won't consider settling this peacefully then?” she asked. “All that I demand of you is that you give up your foolish little conquest and return the Rotwald County back to its rightful ruler.

That would be the most prudent course of action for you, Lord Steinfeld.”

“You don’t get to demand anything of me,” Ferdinand said.

The Duke rubbed his tired eyes. “But to be entirely honest with you, I am half tempted to do just that,” he said. “Demons, undead hordes and crazy wandering priests in service to false gods – If this farce continued, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a flock of dragons banging at the city gates on the morrow.”

“Now that would be a sight to behold,” Diana remarked. “Still, I take it that you will not agree to a peaceful resolution of this conflict? Do I need to bring this issue before the king’s own court, then?”

The Duke downed the last of his wine and placed his goblet on the table. “Bring us more wine,” he told his servant standing by the door. “But not this Rotwald swill. Find something better, would you?”

The man bowed his head and left through the doorway.

“I will consider your advice, My Lady,” Ferdinand said. “There is no reason why we should bother the king with this. I am willing to negotiate a compromise.

But for now we should enjoy the meal while it is still warm. I, for one, am famished after yesterday’s events. We can decide on Victorian’s fate later.”

The Duke was about to begin his meal when Diana’s curious gaze gave him pause.

Talbot had taken a bite already, but stopped his chewing as he noted his lord’s confused expression.

“Was that the signal?” Diana asked looking at the Duke’s goblet.

“I’m sorry, what?” Ferdinand inquired.

“You know,” Diana continued, “The signal. The signal for launching the ambush – the trap you had prepared for me and my escorts. Was that it?

I can sense your emotions, Lord Steinfeld,” she said. “You are very angry now. Very tense… And very much afraid.”

The Duke and his priest exchanged guilty looks.

“Oh, if that wasn’t it then I am sorry,” Diana apologized. “I didn’t mean to ruin the surprise…”

She slowly pushed herself away from the table and was about to rise, when the Duke pulled out a loaded flintlock pistol. It was one of Kaleb’s guns and Ferdinand pointed it at the red priestess with a trembling hand, finger on the trigger.

Diana slowly raised her hands in surrender, but her smug expression did not fade.

“Oh no,” she said in a mocking tone and glanced at the mageweave gloves covering her hands, “Whatever will I do now?”

To the sound of shifting armor, a soldier marched into the room and took up a position at Diana’s back. He placed his sword at her throat and pushed the woman back down into her chair. With one hand on her forehead, he was poised to cut her throat in a single stroke.

“Arms on the table, please,” Ferdinand said. “Cooperate and you could still walk away from this alive.”

A second soldier entered the room. He carried with him a loaded siege crossbow and took up position over on the Duke’s side of the table. The crossbowman braced his heavy weapon against a chair, aiming it squarely at Diana’s chest.

The Duke slumped back into his seat and sighed in relief. He placed the pistol on table next to his plate and rubbed his hands together to try and stop them from shaking.

Talbot swallowed his food and wiped his mouth on a cloth napkin, mumbling to himself, “I am going to have your flayed for what you said, bitch.”

A short while passed in silence as the Duke weighed his options.

Talbot took the opportunity to remove his magewave gloves and pulled up Victorian’s knight’s medallion to examine it. The gemstone pulsed with faint light as the priest channeled a small amount of his magic into it.

“This is the real thing,” he told the Duke. “This belonged to the Rotwalds.”

The Duke furrowed his brows. “So Victorian could really be alive…”

“He absolutely is,” Diana said. “I actually brought him with me, in case you were reasonable enough to accept a truce. Anyway, you will find him in the great hall with the others.”

Hasty footsteps echoed from the hallway beyond the doorway. Soon, the man posing as a wine bearer came rushing into the room. He was covered in sweat and panting, but brought good news for his lord.

“We got em!” the servant announced.

The man had a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, but neither looked to have been use.

“Oh, hello, Kaleb,” Diana addressed the man in a calm tone. “I am glad to see that you are still alive.”

“How do you know my name?” Kaleb asked. The rogue looked to the soldier holding Diana in place and the blade was pushed a little deeper into her neck.

“Oh, I know of great many things,” Diana said. “No need to be so frightened. I am not going to hurt you. Yet…”

The Duke leaned forward in his chair and waved for the soldier to ease up a bit. “You seem well informed about me and my subordinates, Lady Albrecht.

Such foresight, and yet… What did you think you were going to accomplish by coming here?”

“Honestly, not much,” Diana replied.

The Duke furrowed his brow. “Still, if you would humor me…”

“Oh, you know,” Diana said. “I am a servant of the light… and you are all a little unenlightened. So I figured that I would come by and sort out a few issues.

Namely, I promised Victorian that I would kill you–”

The swordsman pushed his blade up against her throat with renewed vigor.

Diana wagged her finger. “Easy there.”

“You?” the Duke smirked. “Kill me?”

“Insolent whore,” Talbot mumbled.

The Duke disregarded his priest’s comment and continued, “Well, it would seem that you are at my mercy now.”

“Yes, you got me– gosh darn it!” Diana mocked him. She glanced up at the man holding her by the neck. “I would applaud you, but I fear that twitchy over here might get a little too excited and do something rather stupid.”

The soldier was indeed breathing heavily. Unnerved or still exhausted from yesterday’s fighting, he was struggling to keep his hand steady.

The Duke looked to Kaleb. “Relieve him,” he ordered.

The rogue took over and placed his knife against Diana’s throat. His hand was steady.

“I like your confidence,” Diana told him, “But this won’t change anything. You can’t harm me.”

“Oh, you don’t know how tempted I am right now to cut that pretty swan’s neck of yours, bitch,” Kaleb hissed in her ear. “Don’t think that I would hesitate either. I’ve killed plenty of women.”

“You liar,” Diana grinned.

“Can I?” Kaleb looked to the Duke.

“Patience, my friend,” the Duke answered. “She is at our mercy now. Moreover, I think that Lady Albrecht could shed a lot of light on this whole Rotwald conspiracy. She seems to know too much to have just wondered by randomly at the time for our attack…”

“Oh, I do!” Diana said. “Not that I am necessarily going to share that information with you.”

“You will, if you value your life,” the Duke reassured her.

“Why did you come here?” he asked. “How are you involved in the Rotwald conspiracy? Were you hired by them? To what end?”

“Whatever she will say, do not trust her, My Lord,” Talbot advised him.

“Why would I lie?” Diana answered. “Unlike you, my plans require little secrecy at this point.

But, seeing as how I have a little time to waste, I will entertain your curiosity, Lord Steinfeld. I owe you at least that much for creating this absolutely wonderful mess with the Rotwalds. I would not have gained such a stable foothold in the kingdom without you. Well, not so quickly anyway.

Your actions against his house has have given fertile ground to a rebellion – one that I can support and make use of. Thank you for that.

Victorian will be much easier to control once I will have avenged his family. I am looking forward to seeing just what sort of a ruler he will make.”

“The blasphemer speaks in riddles, My Lord. Be wary of her intent,” Talbot advised.

“Gaining a foothold in the kingdom?” Ferdinand asked. “Are you involved with the Moriverans? Are you an agent of theirs?”

“Oh, this is much larger than your petty squabbles over lands and titles,” Diana said. “This is about me forging a new nation out of the ashes of your little war. From north to south, from east to west, I will conquer this land in the name of my god and create a worthy devotion to him. It will be a glorious nation of war and industry. And one day I will see it ascend into the stars …

But all things have humble beginnings. So, thank you, Lord Steinfeld. Thank you for placing the Rotwald County so firmly into my hands. Victorian would have been worth nothing to me without you. How fortunate it is that you killed all of his people. Now he belongs to me.”

The Duke gritted his teeth. “We are getting nowhere with this,” he said. “Either you tell me something useful right now or I will start killing off your followers. The choice is yours to make.”

“My followers?” Diana asked. “How presumptuous of you…”

The Duke appeared almost triumphant as he spoke, “My men have already taken them hostage. It was foolish of you to come here with such a small escort.”

“We took them in the great hall,” Kaleb said. “They surrendered without resistance.”

“You see?” the Duke said. “It is all over, Lady Albrecht. If you do not wish to see your followers harmed, I suggest you answer my questions.”

Diana smiled in the face of the Duke’s threats. “I think that you will find those men dead when you return.” She whispered, “Not that you will return to them… ”

“What do you mean?” the Duke asked.

“And I will have to end our conversation right here, I’m afraid,” Diana said and raised her finger. “You see, my servant, Leonard, has just arrived and–”

Heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway beyond.

Kaleb looked to the lone swordsman and gestured for him to check it out.

As the man disappeared into the hallway the room became deadly silent. The Duke and his men listened in on what was happening outside.

The soldier screamed out in pain before he could call out the identity of the intruder. There was a brief struggled before the man was silenced for good.

Ferdinand picked up the pistol once more. He tried to narrow his aim on the door, but his eyes went wide once he sighted the intruder.

A giant of a man appeared in the doorway behind Lady Albrecht. Leonard Grey peered into the room. At first confused, his expression quickly changed to anger as he realized the situation that his Master was in.

The crossbowman turned his weapon on the hulking man in the doorway.

“They are fighting in the great hall, Master,” Leonard announced. “Can I kill these people now?”

Kaleb looked back over his shoulder at Leonard. “Stay back,” he said, “Or the bitch gets it!” The knife in his hand was poised firmly to cut the throat of the priestess.

Undeterred by the rogue’s warning, Leonard stepped into the room.

“Can I kill them, Master?” Leonard asked. His gravelly voice had a deathly sincerity to it.

Ultimately, it was not Kaleb, who spilled the first blood. The crossbowman, having lost his nerve at the sight of the giant man, fired his weapon at Lemmy.

There was a loud thud as the bolt struck the man-demon in the shoulder. But Lemmy didn’t even flinch as the projectile buried itself into his flesh.

Diana looked at her minion and gave her answer. “Yes, but only the servants.”

The giant man pulled the bolt from his shoulder and marched towards the crossbowman. Judging from the reactions of the people in the room, it seemed to them like the walls themselves were closing in.

Ferdinand raised his pistol and pulled the trigger on Lemmy. Smoke and fire bloomed forth from the gun as the powder was struck. The bullet, a lead ball, slammed into the hulking man and tore into his arm. It left a nasty gnash that would have all but incapacitated a lesser man, yet Lemmy continued his advance on the terrified crossbowman unperturbed.

The soldier backed himself into the corner of the room, rendered mad by the overwhelming presence of the angry giant.

Lemmy grabbed hold of the human and pushed him up against the wall. Holding him in place with one hand, the giant repeatedly slammed his fist into the poor soldier’s torso. Neither the chain mail hauberk, nor the cotton padded gambeson beneath could shield the man from the sheer strength with which the violence was delivered. His blood and life was beaten out of him. The armor clad human soon resembled a leaking wineskin, stained and dripping with the red of his blood.

The assault had been so quick and brutal that not even Kaleb had had a chance to react to it. The experienced killer had been reduced to a mere onlooker at the sight of Leonard’s cruelty in dispatching with the unlucky sod who had first fired upon him.

But the slaughter had only just begun.

The priest, Talbot, arose from his seat and reached for his staff when he was backhanded by Leonard. The slam sent the white haired man tumbling across the floor, blood gushing forth from his mouth and nose. There he remained, gasping for air as a pool of red gathered beneath his head.

Having held witness to the irrepressible nature of Leonard’s strength, Ferdinand had frozen in fear.

The man-demon threw his angry gaze around the room in search of more enemies. His attention finally fell upon Kaleb, who still held his Master in his grasp.

“Stay away from me!” Kaleb demanded. “Or she dies!”

The rogue raised the gun in his left hand and pointed it at the giant, but there was no confidence left in his mortal heart. Having held witness to the monster’s endurance, he held no illusions of finishing him off with a single shot. Even if he aimed for the head, which was hard to do since his hand was shaking. The seasoned assassin was afraid.

Leonard, seeking to even the odds, took hold of the Duke by his neck and raised him up into the air. The giant gripped Ferdinand’s head in his massive fingers and looked to Kaleb with an expression most sincere.

“Release her,” Lemmy said, “Or I will make this man’s eyes go pop.”

Ferdinand wailed and kicked at Lemmy in despair. He struggled in vain to rid himself of the giant’s grasp, but could no more pry open a single finger than he could move a mountain.

“Ferdinand was useful to me – we shouldn’t make him suffer,” Diana told Lemmy. “Kill him quickly.”

“As you wish, Master,” Lemmy answered. With a quick twist of the demon’s hands, the Duke’s neck was snapped. Lemmy released Ferdinand and watched as the dead body hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Talbot was killed next as the towering man crushed his head beneath the sole of his boot. A single strike was enough.

Now only three remained: the Devil, her servant and the poor bastard holding a knife to her throat.

“What kind of death would you prefer?” Diana asked Kaleb.

The rogue did not answer. His frantic gaze jumped from the giant, to the woman at his mercy and the threshold of the lone doorway at his back.

The knife’s edge pressed hard against Diana’s neck as Kaleb tried to force her up from the chair. But she did not comply.

“Come, you dumb bitch!” Kaleb roared as he struggled to pull her up. “You’re getting me out of here.”

“No,” Diana answered.

To the sound of tearing fabric the mageweave gloves on the Devil’s hands were ripped apart. Ash gray talons burst forth from the ruined cloth and the Devil slowly reached for the knife at her throat.

Kaleb pulled the blade as hard as he could. From ear to ear he dragged the edge of the knife, but as he raised the weapon up before him the rogue found it to be clean.

Diana rose from her seat and turned to face the surprised man. Her neck and face, much like her arms, were covered in a stone like material. There was a white thin line drawn across her neck where the blade had touched her – no more than a scratch.

She pushed Kaleb and the man fell down next to the doorway. With his back up against the wall, he raised his gun to her, but once more hesitated to pull the trigger.

The Devil smiled as she looked down upon the terrified rogue. “You escaped your fate once already,” she said and gestured towards Lemmy. “I think that you owe him a proper hunt.

Kaleb looked to the giant and found the monster grinning with excitement.

“We need to finish what we started,” Lemmy said and licked his teeth. “Time to fight, little man. Time to die...”

“Run, Kaleb,” Diana said. “Run for your life.”

Heeding her advice, the rogue jumped to his feet and dashed out of the room.

Diana stepped out of the way of her servant and watched as Lemmy chased after the poor bastard.

Once she was all alone, the Devil pulled out a small soul stone and held it up in her talons. At her whim, the souls of her victims sallied forth from the recently deceased corpses and into the gemstone. From beyond the doorway, the soul of the lone swordsman flowed into the room in the form of a wisp of white light and joined the others.

“Four more souls taken,” Diana said, “Eight more lives saved.

Thank you for your sacrifice, Lord Steinfeld.”