Aaka felt her body coming back to her. She quickly looked around but could not find anyone. The hedges seemed incredibly far away. She could transform her body into a faster spider, but catching up to Bronislaw would still be hard. Tracking, on the other hand, wouldn’t be. She always kept a safety-thread attached to the ground she was sitting on, so as Bronislaw was carrying the girl away, he trailed a long silken thread from Aaka’s behind. She followed it along the hedges and eventually came to a small trough in the ground, with thick bushes and hedges obscuring what was inside. From there she could hear the sound of struggling. She crawled inside to find Bronislaw with Nannade. He had her tied up and gagged. Aaka decided to lay low, hide herself and observe.

“Interesting. I wonder how many pactitioners are crawling among us hiding as demi-humans.” He was monologuing to her. “How did you do it? I dealt with a few werewolves and similar beings, but you got it under control, girl. Must have been something small and more timid, like a cat, wasn’t it?”

Her eyes spoke of contempt and his of enjoyment over his catch.

“I really like it though. Whoever did this for you or to you knew what they were doing. Probably took thousands of attempts to get all factors just right. You know I once met a man who was doing experiments like that. I managed to get him to invite me into his laboratory and then laid waste to it. Horrible monsters he was brewing up in there.”

Bronislaw had taken a piece of paper from his palm book and cast it.

“Now no one will be able to hear us. Please, divulge a few of the details. If you can lead me to the bastard who created you, I’ll let you off the hook.” He took her gag off and Nannade got immediately to yelling at him.

“I AM crolachan, you taffhead!”

“Then what’s that sharp-eyed little bastard struggling so hard against my wards?”

“It’s a serpent. I’m crolachan!”

Bronislaw looked to be a bit confused. Then he burst into laughter.

“Oh my, I meet my first demi-human and it turns out to be a pactitioner. What a coincidence.”

Nannade gritted her teeth. “You better kill me quick, because you will not die painlessly when I get out of these!”

Bronislaw chuckled. “Oh my, so young and already a killer. Do you really think you got what it takes?”

“I killed a werewolf on my fourteenth birthday. You don’t seem to pose much more of a thread.”

“Oooh. Girl, I’ve been through more than the average, don’t think you can intimidate me. I mean it, if you bring me to who did this for you, I’ll let you go, won’t even mention you to anyone. And you can return to whatever you claimed you were doing.”

The girl spat in his face. “Screw you!”

Amused, he wiped the spit off his nose. “Well, it won’t make your death any more meaningful. Just another whore of demons cast off this beautiful world.” He took a length of rope, tensed it between his fists and then approached her to wrap it around her neck. Again, she spat in his face. This time she hit him square in the eye. She grinned wide, revealing her fangs with a bright sparkle. This time, as he was wiping it off his face, he wasn't laughing. “Okay bitch. The first time it was funny, but it’s getting annoying. Stop it, alright?” Sreep started chirping angrily at Nannade, and as Bronislaw turned back to the girl, she spat and hit his eye another time, bursting into laughter. “I’m getting good at this!”

“STOP IT, ALRIGHT!” Bronislaw had lost his jovial tone, blowing saliva her way as he yelled at her. “This kind of hurts, you bitch.” He kicked the girl right in the face with his heavy boot, but it put only a momentary end to her laughing and wriggling in her binds. He got back to wiping his eyes. Aaka decided to get to work to do her part of the fight and transformed into a large orb weaver. As he was busy with his eyes, Nannade had managed to slither partly out of her restraints. Slowly but surely, they started to come loose.

“Why does it hurt so much?” Bronislaw had turned around, he kept blinking and looking around. “What is...am I going blind?”

Nannade had shed all of her binds and was free again. She had managed stopped her laughter and assumed a fighting stance, although very relaxed.

Bronislaw turned around. He was trying to look at her but could not find her face. In his eyes, Aaka could see the darkness that closed in on him.

Sreep flew off, possibly to get help. But he didn’t get far. Aaka’s net was already spun. Sreep flew into it and was entangled as he passed through the bushes. With her long fangs, Aaka injected a lethal dose of her own venom into the tiny bird.

“You know, it’s kind of sad that you were so stupid. I told you it was a serpent and I told you to kill me quick, and apparently, it never crossed your mind that serpents are venomous.”

At these words, Bronislaw started to panic, looking all around him. He reached for the palm book on his belt, but Nannade caught his hand, gave it a twist and forced the huge man into submission under screeches of pain.

“In a few more moments, the venom will completely paralyse your body. But you’ll stay conscious for a long while after that.”

His eyes had become bloodshot, he started to whimper. “What will you do to me?” The massive mountain of a man had assumed a cowering posture, putting his face on the level of Nannade’s. He was quivering, trying to find her in the darkness that was now his world. She stood directly in front of him, but he could not see her.

“If you would just have let me pass by like Aaka asked you to, we would both be a lot happier. Now, let’s get that blood pumping.” She punched him in the stomach. It didn’t seem to hurt him much, but it scared him. “How long does your sphere of silence last? Long enough for them to hear your cries?” She looked around. “I guess it’ll hold for a while.” Tears of blood began running down his face.

She punched and kicked him from all sides, never letting him anticipate where the pain would come from next. His breathing became heavy and he lost more and more strength. It didn’t take her very long to have him lying on the ground in the bushes, exactly where he intended to leave her dead body. He couldn’t move a muscle. His drool and tears were blood. His eyes were darting around, trying to find a single point of light. Soon, he would be unable to move at all. Then he would be unable to breathe. And then, his heart would give in.

Nannade left the trough. She looked around and Aaka made herself visible.

“Thanks for coming.”

“I wouldn’t let you die before you could even look at the forest of dreams. But you seemed to have things under control.”

“You took care of the bird, yes?”

“Yes. It’s dead, now merely the corpse of a songbird not native to these parts.”

“Good.” They walked a while, back to the wagons, hoping no one had noticed their absence. “I really didn’t want to do that. I hate that I did that. But it felt good at the moment. Really good. I wonder if Garetas would be proud.”

“You are one with the spirit now, at the subconscious level. It is good that you have regrets. It means your higher mind is still there.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Benny had been worried, but nobody seemed to know where Bronislaw had gone. Nannade had some more of the stew next to her two new friends. Slowly, a heavy burden came back onto her shoulders. That evening she started taking notes. “Maybe I can find myself in what I write down.” she had said to Aaka. “It always served Garetas well.”