Selene shook the offered hand and laughed when Alexia gasped.

“If you can help me,” I said, “then I’m definitely interested in working with you. But what exactly do you have to offer?”

Selene nodded and leaned back in her chair. “Before the King employed me, I was a traveling warlock. The kind that removes curses, performs exorcisms, and brokers the occasional deal between the creatures of the Hells and mortals.”

“Longhorn Martyn is a demon?” Alexia asked.

“Well, not quite. He’s a Shadowborn. A demon in mortal flesh. They’re powerful creatures with access to the Infernal schools of magic and a rather hardy physical constitution.” Selene glanced at one of the corpses slumped on the table. “But they’re still vulnerable to the maladies of the flesh.”

“It won’t be as easy as poison in his food,” I mused. “Longhorn has too many enemies that have doubtless already tried that route. It’ll need to be something more violent.”

“A knife in the throat or a spear in the gut?” Alexia suggested.

“I’d drop a building on him if it got the job done,” I told her with a grin.

“That’s just the start,” Selene explained. “I’d need to set up a ritual to tear a Shadowborn’s spirit from its body. Once I have Martyn’s spiritual form trapped, we have several options. We could send it back to the Hells where it came from. We could enslave it and store the damned creature inside a magical artifact. Or we could utterly destroy him.”

I considered the options carefully. “So enslavement would require a special vessel.”

“I happen to know a few practitioners in the area,” Selene offered. “They’d be happy enough to part with a soul-vessel if we pay them enough coin. A demon at your command is a powerful ally to have. But you’ll need to find a way to hurt Martyn badly enough that my ritual can proceed smoothly.”

“We’ll find a way,” I said. I had plenty of Essence now, but I’d need to find more recipes for stronger homunculi. Unless I wanted to risk creating something without a recipe. I wasn’t feeling foolhardy enough for that just yet.

“It’s clear you have the ability to hurt a Shadow Lord,” Selene said. “You’re the owner of an unwarded Replicator.”

“Unwarded Replicator?” I repeated.

Selene laughed. “I take it that Jamin didn’t tell you. Every Kingdom-built Replicator carries certain magical wards. They limit what a companion farmer can build. Yours, however, has no such limit.”

“What does it take to lower the wards around a Replicator?” I asked.

“Sacrifices and some truly unpleasant rituals. I’m afraid I don’t know the particular magic needed.”

Memories of Jamin’s long-staying visitors and their sudden disappearances came to my mind. My uncle had often invited beautiful women to help him on the farm while I tended to deliveries and gathered ingredients. But they’d never stayed long and I’d never seen them leave. Every time I’d asked after them, Jamin had avoided the question.

I put it out of my mind. My uncle had his secrets and unless he decided to return, I couldn’t ask him about it.

For now, there were other tasks at hand to complete. I stood up and reached out to the Slammers with my mind. The homunculi stumbled through the door a moment later and stood to attention while I looked over chaotic mess of the banquet table.

The stench of viscera and spilled alcohol permeated the space like a thick cloud.

Gather the weapons from the dead, I ordered, then drag the corpses and pile them beside the door of the shack. Move quickly.

“So, you’ll take my offer of working with you, Master?” Selene purred.

I smiled at her use of the word. “If I’m to remove Longhorn as an obstacle, I’ll need your services. You’ll be well-compensated for your trouble once I have the farm running as it should.”

Alexia turned to Selene. “Can you teach me more about magic?”

“It’d be a pleasure. You have serious power, but there’s finer details I’d be glad to show you. If your master doesn’t have any objections, of course.”

“Our master,” Alexia corrected with a laugh.

“Of course.” Selene smirked.

“You should know something,” I said. “I don’t have any reason to trust you. Coin changes hands all the time, but it doesn’t buy loyalty that lasts. So what happens if you decide that you can benefit from working against me, Alexia, or the farm?”

I gestured to the Slammers as they dragged the two halves of Brigmann out of the room to drive my threat home. Selene met my eyes and nodded once. There wasn’t the slightest hint of guile in her gaze. She took a moment to carefully form her words.

“I’d expect nothing less,” she said softly. “But I have no intention of betraying you, Master Caleb. Our arrangement aligns our goals perfectly. This is the closest I’ve ever been to destroying Martyn’s empire, and I’m not about to give it up for simple profit.”

I nodded, satisfied. “Just so long as we’re clear.”

“Perfectly clear. So, our next move?”

I slung a corpse over my shoulder. “What you’d expect after a dinner party, of course. Cleaning up, and some evening entertainment.”

I took the corpse outside and half-dragged it out to the shack. The Slammers worked slowly, but their stout strength enabled them to drag two bodies at a time. I left the corpse lying beside the shack and paused to think.

I needed to strip the corpses of their gear, stockpile as many weapons as I could, and clean out the dining hall. Once I had the pieces I needed, I could start building a fighting force to secure the borders of the farm and protect the manor house from any pre-emptive attacks. I also needed to acquire a soul-vessel and perhaps a few new recipes for more powerful homunculi. Longhorn Martyn’s meeting could wait until then. I figured he wasn’t the kind of man—demon. . . Shadowborn—who waited for anyone, but I wouldn’t go to him unprepared.

I watched the Slammers drag their grisly cargo past the Swordsman.

The Zweihander fighting unit was the best homunculus I’d managed to build so far. It had the close-quarters combat ability of Rikard and performed spectacularly against lesser-trained mercenaries. I sent a brief mental message for him to follow me as I strode toward the stable. Rikard’s horse nickered softly at my presence. I took a few minutes to saddle the animal and lead it outside to the Swordsman.

Climb onto its back, I told the homunculus.

The Swordsman eyed the horse for a moment before he sheathed his weapon and put a foot into the horse’s stirrup. The horse shied away, and I laughed as the homunculus desperately tried to hold on. The Swordsman grabbed the mount’s mane, and Rikard’s horse bucked. He lost his grip in a whoosh of breath and landed on his ass with a nonplussed look.

So, Swordsmen homunculi couldn’t ride a horse.

It was a pity, but nothing I couldn’t plan around later. If I could find a recipe for a mounted cavalry unit somewhere, then I could add an extra layer to my defenses around the farm. For now, I had to settle with patrols on foot. Selene’s revelation about the Replicator echoed through my head. The possibilities were endless. I just needed the right tools.

I stationed the Swordsman on watch outside the manor house and put the horse back in the stable.

I returned to the manor, and the Slammers stomped past me with the last of the corpses. I commanded one of them to drag Kilcoy’s corpse out to join the bodies of the spearmen.

Laughter echoed from the dining hall, and I went to investigate. The blood from the fight in the dining hall was almost gone and the smell of viscera had vanished. Alexia smiled and gestured at a red stain on the wall. The dried blood peeled off the wall and swirled around Alexia’s hand in a small whirl of broiling power.

“That’s it!” Selene encouraged. “Now concentrate on dispersing it.”

Alexia’s brow furrowed as she clenched her fingers into a fist. The flakes of dried blood vaporized into a soft mist and diffused into the air. Selene grinned as she pushed in a chair and straightened another.

“She’s a natural,” Selene informed me. “I’ve never seen a blood mage with such promise.”

“It’s only because you’re such a good teacher,” Alexia blushed.

“Nonsense, I barely have to tell you anything.”

“You’re using magic to clean my house?” I laughed.

“Why not?” Alexia giggled. “It’s not like you have a butler or housemaids.”

“That’s actually a great idea,” I said. “Come on, the fun’s about to begin.”

“We’re building more homunculi?” the elf asked excitedly.

“Harvesting first, but yes. Care to join us?” I asked Selene.

She inclined her head. “It would be a pleasure.”

A mound of corpses awaited our attention outside the shack. I sent the three Slammers out to join the Swordsman and directed them to take a short patrol route through the gardens.

Inside the shack, we quickly established a process for harvesting from the corpses. I stripped the bodies of their armor, cut the limbs down to usable sizes, and handed them over to Alexia. Her dagger flashed in efficient strokes as she claimed fingers, arms, and anything else useful from the heaps of dead flesh. Then I stacked the recently-delivered crates of Essence inside the shack while Alexia finished her role. Selene was responsible for filling the pickling jars and arranging them neatly on the shelf.

I took the arm off the ninth soldier just as Selene asked a question.

“Why not use your older ingredients first? Jamin obviously hasn’t used the Replicator an awful lot lately, and before today, you were low on resources.”

“Most of those fingers are from old corpses.” I tossed the severed arm to Alexia’s workbench. “Freshly-preserved organic ingredients create better homunculi that last longer. If you use an ancient corpse to create a homunculi, it becomes much harder to maintain and it breaks down faster.”

“I remember Jamin mentioning he used the freshest possible for me,” Alexia said.

“That’s why you barely have to eat or sleep.” I turned over the corpse and found its other arm. “But combat homunculi are illegal for a farmer to own. Basic units to draw the attention of a simple dungeon monster? Dumb muscle, servants, whores? All relatively simple to make and legal besides. Mostly because the Commission makes sure that farmers don’t get their hands on fresh ingredients.”

Selene snorted, amused. “The Commission is a joke.”

“Did you ever work for them?” Alexia asked.

Selene glanced at the stacks of Essence. “On the magic side, yes. Refining and guarding Essence was my main role. I was contracted out to merchants like Kilcoy.” She shook her head. “I don’t think they trusted me with much else.”

I examined the unusable portions of the corpses. Mostly livers since I couldn’t trust them to make decent homunculi. I tossed the remains into the enchanted incinerator in the far corner of the shack. The boiling magic sizzled as it consumed them and left me soaking with sweat.

I’d lost count of the hours we’d spent here, but my excitement prevented me from getting tired. It wouldn’t be long before I had my homunculi army.

Daylight was spilling through the cracks of the door when Alexia finished the last set of fingers. She stretched with an adorable yawn as Selene placed the last of the jars onto the shelf labeled for fresh ingredients.

“Will you come to bed with me, Caleb?” Alexia asked.

Selene laughed. “Yes, Caleb, will you take her on the bed or perhaps the floor?”

I glared at her with mock anger. “What’s it to you, witch?”

She covered her mouth to choke back another laugh. “Oh, it’s fine. I’m just worried you’re stealing away the poor girl’s innocent years, is all.”

Alexia crossed her arms. “I’m hardly innocent. And I had to drag him to me.”

Selene lifted an eyebrow and traced her lips with her tongue. “So that’s how you do it.”

Alexia dropped her irritated facade and tugged playfully at my sleeve. “Come, Master, and I will bring you to heights no human woman could manage.”

“Speak for yourself,” Selene said flirtatiously.

I ignored the sudden and insistent pressure in my trousers as I pulled Jamin’s recipe for the other homunculi from my pocket. Alexia trailed over to stand beside Selene as I gathered the ingredients I needed for a Pikeman Piercer.

“Is it a common thing, making love with a homunculus?” Alexia asked me.

“You’re barely a homunculus.”

Selene couldn’t wipe the smirk off her face. “You’re certainly the best I’ve ever seen. It’s common for rich folk to buy or build their own limited-uses homunculus and kill them to satisfy their depravity. But it’s not exactly commonplace, no.”

“Neither is a warlock in the King’s employ,” I pointed out.

Selene nodded. “That’s true. Fate seems to have a sense of humor, bringing us together.”

“I’m grateful for that,” Alexia said. “Caleb, are we going to bed or not?”

“I’ll sleep better knowing that the farm will be prepared for an attack.” I plugged a new cartridge of Essence into the back of the Replicator.

“And this is your idea of post-dinner entertainment?” Selene raised an eyebrow. “It’s morning. You’ve had us here carving up corpses all night.”

“The results will be worth it,” I said.

I double-checked the recipe. The Piercers required five cacti thorns, a human finger, and a polearm for their construction. I didn’t have anything close to a well-crafted polearm, but the spears the mercenaries had used would suffice. The recipe wasn’t complex, which meant that the homunculi themselves would be almost as dull as the Shield Slammers. Still, more numbers to guard the farm couldn’t be a bad thing.

I cranked the lever and gathered ingredients for the next Piercer as the first one materialized within the Replicator.

“Why didn’t you create more homunculi for the dinner party?” Selene asked.

“I didn’t have time,” I answered. “The guests were hungry.”

The Replicator hissed as excess ether whirled out of its ventilation system. I opened the chamber and watched my first Pike Piercer limp out of the machine. A warm slip of parchment poked out of it a moment later. I took a moment to read and memorize the statistics.

Garmont Companion Farm has created a Pike Piercer (Human)!

Attack Power: 8

Toughness: 5

Accuracy: 5

Vitality: 4

Intelligence: 4

Skill: Penetrating Rush

The Piercer differed from the Slammer in that he was taller and had less hair. He moved with a marching step that set him apart from the Swordsman.

I sent him outside and started building fourteen more of them. I could have continued through the day, but I wanted to preserve my Essence in case I stumbled upon some better recipes.

When I ran out of cacti thorns, I asked Alexia to retrieve more of them from the garden. Selene seemed all too pleased to be alone with me, but I didn’t let her talk because I was busy working.

The Replicator buzzed as it continued to churn out homunculi. Soon, they were all complete and standing to attention outside.

Empty out the armory in the manor, I ordered.

Their strict, focused minds accepted my suggestion instantly, and the naked army of homunculi set off at a decent pace. Selene and Alexia chatted quietly as I read through the recipe again.

“You’re making more?” Selene asked. “How many do you need?”

I shrugged and motioned to the shelf behind her. “Hand me that jar of Silver Yew leaves.”

A Yeomen Archer required one cup of Silver Yew leaves, along with a fletched arrow, and a human finger. I only had about five cups worth of leaves in the jar, and there wasn’t a Silver Yew tree in the garden. They were rare plants, but I could replenish my stock with little difficulty by venturing into the forest neighboring the farm’s western border.

I placed down the three items that represented the archer’s mind, body, and soul. After I cranked the lever, flesh knitted itself together into yet another shape within the Replicator. My first Yeoman was smaller than the Shield Slammers and bristled with wiry muscle. Skin slid over the muscles in its face and formed into weasel-like features. Alexia handed me the parchment after I released the Yeoman Archer from the Replicator’s chamber.

Garmont Companion Farm has created a Yeoman Archer (Human)!

Attack Power: 4

Toughness: 3

Accuracy: 11

Vitality: 3

Intelligence: 5

Skill: Eye of the Hawk

The Piercers returned a minute later with everything they could carry from the armory. I directed them to stack it all outside and smiled at my first ranged homunculus.

Alexia peered over my shoulder at the parchment. “What’s Eye of the Hawk mean?”

“My best guess is a very accurate shot. Homunculi are creatures born of magic, and as such, they’re all designed with a single skill. It’s not always exactly clear what that is from the report, but I think it’s obvious in this case.”

“Do you know where my report is?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I think Jamin would’ve destroyed any evidence that you existed. But I’d be interested to know myself. You’re not as simple as these homunculi, though. You can adapt, learn, and think for yourself. That’s leagues ahead of anything I’ve ever heard of.”

I used the remaining Silver Yew leaves, four more fingers, and four arrows to create another four Yeomen. They joined the Piercers outside.

Selene sat down on a half-empty crate of Essence. “I can see from your aura that you’re not done yet. What exactly is your end goal here?”

“Patrol teams of five that watch the perimeter of the farm.” I loaded up a recipe for a Shield Slammer. “Two Slammers and three Piercers in each. They can follow basic instructions. That’s all I need for the moment.”

“And the Archers?” Alexia asked.

“They’ll cover the house from the upper windows,” I explained. “Their vision is better, and their ability to fire accurately makes them perfect for stopping any threats that could slip through the perimeter.”

“Layers within layers,” Selene said approvingly. “I like it.”

“You don’t look very busy,” I said. “Why don’t you direct the homunculi to arm themselves and strap on some gear? I had them bring the whole armory out here.”

She nodded and slipped out of the shack. I sent the crowd of naked homunculi orders to listen to her and follow her directions.

When I was done, the area outside the shack was a hive of activity. Thirty homunculi stood in a loose line. Spears, helmets, and the steel studs set into leather armor shone in the afternoon sun.

“Good job, Selene,” I said. “They look incredible.”

She shrugged. “All I had to do was point at a piece of equipment and they grabbed it. Except for those big brutes. I had to actually bend down, pick up a shield, and hand it to them before they got the idea.”

“They might be a little stupid, but they dealt with your mercenaries easily enough.”

“They weren’t my—”

“Enough.” I raised my hands. “It’s time I greeted the farm’s new protectors.”

I reached out to the homunculi as a whole. They stiffened as my thoughts brushed against theirs, and I experimented a little with my mental commands. Each class of homunculus had their own particular feel. The Slammers were thick and slow in comparison while the Piercers had a kind of regimented discipline. The Archers had whiplike minds that crackled with energy. But all of them shared the same single-minded preference toward violent action.

If Jamin were here, he definitely wouldn’t have approved of what I’d done, but then he’d have shown himself a hypocrite. I had a strange concoction of emotions whenever I thought of my uncle. The old snake had left me here with a hungry Shadow Ruler to deal with.

I sent a quick mental command to the homunculi and they moved as one. They created a wide circle and stood to attention about three yards away from each other.

Selene shivered. “It’s uncanny. I’ve never seen a farmer be able to communicate with a homunculi like that. Even adventurers struggle with simple commands and have to spend months cultivating a relationship with their companions.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s about to get weirder.” I scooped up a spare spear from the pile beside the shack and drew a large circle thirty feet wide in the dirt outside the shack.

Selene frowned. “What’s this?”

I tossed the spear to her. “You’re going to fight the homunculi.”

She snatched the weapon out of the air. “All of them?”

“Just a few. I need to see how the Piercers operate.”

Alexia giggled. “This should be fun.”

I handed her a pair of matched daggers. “You’re helping her.”

The elf’s eyes widened. “What?”

I kissed Alexia’s forehead. “I haven’t seen you fight with weapons yet. Just remember your instincts, and you’ll be fine.”

Three of the Piercers stepped into the center of the ring at my direction. Selene twirled the spear in her hands as she passed through a gap in the wall of homunculi. I grinned as she gestured for Alexia to join her.

“The master is right,” Selene said. “It’s good practice for your magic.”

“No magic,” I replied cheerily. “Just weapons. That goes for the both of you.”

“I’ve never done this before!” Alexia protested. “And isn’t this a waste of resources?”

“Piercers are cheap,” Selene said with a fierce glint in her eye. “Come on, Lexie, it’ll be fun.”

Alexia blushed fiercely at the nickname and nodded. She stood beside the other woman and fought off a shiver as she looked over the Piercers. I gave her an encouraging smile, then focused on the three minds of the spear-wielding homunculi.

My plan was simple. Test how the Piercers operated in simulated combat.

And to see the extent of Selene and Alexia’s skills without magic.