—

"A bit underwhelming, " Maya said as she took in the tiny jail room she sat in. They'd bundled and bagged her after her confession, dragged her halfway across the city, and stuffed her in this tiny room. The balding man made sure to shackle her nice and tight in iron manacles before he began wringing her for the information she'd been all too happy to give. It was all made up anyway.

What stayed on her mind through the entire ordeal was how plain the runes were. The manacles had a bit of shadow script for reversing mana flow and would hold any mage but a properly trained shadow enchanter. The same went for the green-metal door that burned like the sun to her mage sight.

The longer she sat in the room, the more she questioned if this General Roko was as frightening as her master made him out to be.

Slayer of vampire Lords, bane of Vampire kind-- Maya huffed. From what she'd seen, he was just another Knight, nothing like the boy that'd nearly outed her.

He was a half-blood with a light rune. How the rest of her squad would kill to rip him apart. Maya bit her lip in thought.

How did Roko manage to get his hands on him?

The door creaked open, interrupting her thoughts, and a tower of a man draped in the royal greens and brown walked in. His eyes were sharp and clear and waves of power rolled off him. Despite Maya's concealment artefact hiding her magic, she still felt the prod of his spirit. He settled down in the seat in front of her, finger steppled.

“Why did you come here?” He asked.

“To...help," she stammered, tugging on her manacle in her best approximation of fear. Roko did not blink.

Most blood mages knew of his power to catch lies, and she'd long prepared her answers and her performance. Her heart drummed against her chest like a frightened doe; the tempo he’d expect of a village girl out of her depth.

"Why wait until now if you only cared about helping. Turning your boss in would've fetched you quite the reward from me or any of the other Generals."

“I was afraid,” she said, looking away. “Hector could be so cruel. I also knew it was smarter to talk to you if I could. It was your soldier he planned to poison.”

"Did you lie to Captain Grundy?”

“I wouldn’t dare lie to the captain of the guard! I care for–

“You worked as an escort, yes?” General Roko cut her off “How does one make it in your profession never lying to nobles and women of power? How is this any different?”

“I-” she hesitated, “I have no reason to lie to you.” Her eyes swiveled up and met his, fishing for sympathy. It found none.

“What do you know of his Employer?" he asked again in his rumbly, simmering voice. "The ones who hired him to kill one of my soldiers.”

“Captain Grundy already questioned me, I told him all I knew.”

“Indulge me,” the General said, drumming his finger on the table. His tone grew sharper than before and she could feel a swell of earth divination magic. It nearly choked the air, prodding, and shifting. She feared he’d discover the first of her spells if he pressed any harder.

“He called them “His employer” and he took all sorts of jobs from them before he received the one to dispatch Seth Ryall. They promised him some magical treasure upon completion of the request. That was all he told me.”

“Where did the poison come from?”

“What…” she blinked. I don’t…he never said.”

“Allow me to rephrase then. Given everything you know about his organization, do you think he was capable of finding and concocting such a poison?”

She let out a breath as if to calm herself. “I think that is unlikely, General.”

“This employer helped him then, and they are likely his source of Acernium?”

“I…don’t-”

“But you can find out?”

Maya cringed at the idea, but he dismissed all protests with a half-hearted wave.

“A woman of your talents will no doubt have your sources on the grapevine. You will tap those sources dry for me until I’ve found everything I need.”

She wanted to protest, at least for show but she struggled to muster a word. She was done pretending; his presence overpowered her.

“I heard of your past. The family you’ve lost,” he said after a long moment, his voice softer now. “Your contributions will help stop that from happening to someone else. I do not know who these rogue elements are, but I know they are dangerous. I would like for you to help me stop them before they hurt anyone else.”

Maya gave a forceful nod, and the General stood up to leave, seemingly satisfied.

General Roko did not disappoint, —

Maybe I judged him too quick, Maya grudgingly admitted as she watched him leave the room. She could begin to see why they feared him. A little harder and she might've had to switch tactics and use one of her many contingencies.

Her lips curled to reveal a full mouth of teeth.

Maya couldn't wait to watch the humans squirm. For now, she comforted herself with the knowledge that her plans had worked, even if it'd almost gone tits up several times over. Now, she could begin her search for the grimoire in earnest.

She would need to lay down several spells over months and relay what'd she'd learn to her squad, but before she began to work, she indulged herself for a moment. She wanted to see him-- the half-blood who'd ruined all her plans.

Maya scoped a heap of mana from her core and wove a complex spell around it. With a slow exhale, she let lt flow out of her, wafting out in smoky clouds that nearly swallowed all the light in the room. With a precise shove of her will, the cloud rushed into her shadow, and her eyes turned white and dead as her mind and Shadow met.

Maya zipped out into the hall once the spell work settled, tracing a dark faint trail only the most attentive guards would've caught and slipped into the dark hole she'd carted her down through. She raced up several floors until she sensed him and melted through stone to the dull emerald glow of the healing ward.

She found him on the fifth door to the right, guarded by a group of steadfast guards with hawks-like gazes. Their gauntleted hands wrapped tight around their swords and shields, but they could not hear or sense her. No one could when she was in this form, not if she didn’t want them to. With a flex of her will, she slipped through the crack of his door, and nearly hissed out loud when she saw them. A small gathering of priests, fussing and working on just one man. Their devotion did not alarm her, the sheer quantity of light magic did. It was enough to dissuade any child of the shadow but her.

With the limited perception in her shadow form, she plotted her route.

Up a rack in the corner; past the dozens of bowls and jars; down the stretch of the wall; by the shadow of the chanting mage; and up the folds of his bed.

Maya sprung when she was sure no one was looking. She’d made it halfway down the wall when the mage finished his chant and stretched his hand over Seth's sleeping form. It changed his shadow, but she twisted along and tucked into the folds of the bed before anyone noticed.

“I sense something darker, hidden deep within him,” the mage said with a grave voice. He was tall and spritely with straw hair and a dire look about him. “I’ve never felt anything like it before. It feels like darkness magic, but more raw, untamed.”

Of course, it is, Maya mentally snorted. It’s blood magic. It was as potent a magic as any, yet none of them could sense it. Why?

She hadn’t sensed it either until she touched him at the brothel. It was another mystery she would have to extract from him in time, for now, she wove her second spell. An illusion spell that bridged the space between minds. It only worked if the victim was subdued or receptive to the caster. It was exceptional for interrogation work.

The words of the mages seeped into her ears as she worked.

“Whatever it is. It’s more dangerous than the poison. The light aura in him is trying to purge it.”

“We should leave it then,” an older man said "We don't know what might happen if you try to alter it.”

“I suppose that's the smarter option,” the mage said with some hesitation.

—

With a sudden lurch, Maya felt her mind bend and stretch before it resettled in an endless plane with water ankle-high. Maya’s eyes soaked around the environment with a single thought running through her mind. This is not supposed to happen.

She had full control with the Mind bridge spell, and she’d intended their meeting place to be her prison cell, not this strange space. She found the man that had foiled her devious plans fidgeting in the dark, yelling and poking at something she couldn’t perceive.

Did he choose this place then? How had he managed that? She thought as she focused on the hidden structure, but her magic slipped off. It wriggled through per grasp like a greased eel, and it alerted him of her presence.

“Is someone there?” he asked, wading closer. He squinted as he struggled to place her face. “Maya?”

“In the flesh,” she drawled with a smile, but then paused to tap her chin. “I suppose that is inaccurate since only our minds are here.”

“I remember you. You did something to me when you touched my chest.” His hand drifted up to his network of scars. “Whatever it is, it fucked my core. Threw me out of balance. I feel like I'm wrestling an eel each time I try to control my mana.”

“Don’t get fussy,” she snorted. “It was just a bit of poison.” She’d funneled in the poison into his slack jaw when he’d tripped, rolled down the stairs, and landed on his face, but he didn’t need to know that. “I didn’t touch your core. Whatever is happening to you is probably because you are unstable. Human rune magic mixed blood and darkness,” she said, as she leisurely perused the space. “Whoever sired you should have known better.”

It was a wonder he breathed, and a miracle that’d been able to touch light magic at all. She wondered who among the Night council sired him and sent him to invade the knight order.

“What are you talking about? Nobody made me. I’m human.” His voice was desperate.

“Don’t lie to me,” she said. “There’s little use for it. You’re trapped in my spell. I could flay your mind if I so wished.”

He took a big step back, his face struck with terror. “You’re not human, are you?” Maya rolled her eyes and appeared in front of him. She grabbed his shoulder and with a flex of will, superimposed the vision of the cell she was sitting in on the dark space. Walls formed, orb light flickered from nothing, and a table appeared between them, followed by chairs to keep them comfortable, but the dark waters still lingered.

“My patience for your act has run out. We will speak properly and plainly or things will get unpleasant.”

She stared deep into his eyes and saw as his front of fear and confusion slowly harden into confidence. She felt the walls of the prison shudder slightly as he tested them, but he stopped after the third shove.

“Is this how you treat a fellow vampire?’

She snorted and settled down in the chair opposite him.“Is that what your sire taught you? That we are vermin like vampires.”

His eyes narrowed.“You thread a dangerous line, Maya.”

Her eyes took him in, swallowing all his features, pouring over his mannerisms she'd noticed and demanded, “who is it?”

He quirked a brow, “what do you mean?”

“Whichever of the six lords made you hid you from the clergy and managed to ally themselves with one of the most feared Generals of Brightmont, or maybe even hide you from him. Whatever happened, I have to say, “I’m impressed.”

“I wouldn’t be much of a spy If I told you everything the first time you asked.”

Her lips cracked into a predatory grin, and she ate him up with her eyes. “I don’t mind peeling the answers off your skin?”

“You would risk upsetting my sire?” he said, voice only a little bit shaky. “They would find out it was you, sooner or later.”

“That still gives me plenty of time to hide behind my sire, Wolfnir.” She used a false name, an obvious feint, to test him. She had a hunch he was grasping at straws. One of the unfortunate negatives of questioning someone in the space in between, you had no idea if they were lying--mind-breaking torture kept honest enough.

“What do you want from me, Maya?” he said, side-stepping the trap entirely.

“I’d like to know what you’re doing here…Seth? Why has your sire sent you here? I need to know you won’t get in our way?”

“I am here for the human runes," he said. "They gain power startlingly fast. I want to learn how it works and see if we could bring some of that power to our side.”

“Why? Nothing the human can scrounge up in a decade or two can beat a competent blood mage. I would argue your master is wasting your time.”

“It was human knights that killed Tamir? By your logic, that should’ve been impossible.”

She hissed at his words but said no more.

“My work is important," he said. "It could win us the war.”

Looking across from her seat, Maya viewed her adversary with grudging respect. He’d been deep undercover for Malleck knows how long, mucking with the humans, all for the cause. He was as dedicated as any Blood mage she’d met.

“What do you know of Tamir's grimoire?”

“Roko was in desperate search of it a while back. He might have found it, but he keeps these things from his knights.”

“The council wants it back for obvious reasons and gaining access to the tower cost us the better part of the month. Poisoning you was an inconvenience, but it was necessary.” Rage flashed across his features, and Maya saw he was barely withholding himself, but she cared very little for his anger. "Could you locate the book, help us coordinate its acquisition?"

"'Us?'"

"You didn't think I invaded this city by myself did you?"

His eyes glazed over in thought for a moment before he looked up at her. "It is not my mission, nor my fight. I cannot risk being discovered, not when I am this close."

She laughed. "You will be discovered by your General after we're done with this city. Call your master and they will explain. The book comes first before anything else."

Emotions warred across his face for a moment before he stiffly nodded. "I shall contact my sire, but I suspect they will ask me to work with you."

A crooked smile stitched across her face. "Excellent."

"It would seem we are allies now, but I have conditions." She could hear the distaste in his voice, but she didn't care. She had another pawn to play with. An unwitting ally.

"I thought you said you needed permission?”

"That's just a formality."

"What do you want then?"

"Information."

She raised a brow.

"I assure you it's not what you think," he quickly said. "I was sent away fairly young. As you might’ve deduced, it takes a fair bit of time to earn the humans’ trust."

"I recall."

She felt a twinge of irritation as she recalled her time with the humans. They were difficult to sway for beings so fragile. She could've invaded their minds and bent them with this spell, but it left scars. Scars experiences mages could track. Her only other option has been the liberal use of illusion magic, but even she had her limits. She had to steal Maya's form and leverage the clout the wench had established with Hector, but even then, it'd taken up too much time. She loved her spell-craft, but mucking it with the humans had been tedious.

"I have some questions about social etiquette and…blood magic?"

She fixed him with a puzzled look. "I would think you'd be more concerned about your state of imbalance, your hunger, or most importantly, the composition of my team?"

She could smell the hunger wafting off him. More than blood, he hungered for power. Every creature of the night was like that, but she grew wearier of him nonetheless.

"I would have come to ask those questions, eventually," he said.

Maya considered forcing her will on the strange blood mage that sat across from her and crack open his mind like an egg, but she was afraid of what she’d find. He was able to keep secrets from her in this space, and even now shallow water sloshed around her ankle with every micro-movement. He was better protected than he let on and yet so woefully misinformed. His early assignment was not excuse enough.

She tended to the most obvious questions first. "Whatever poison I stuck you can’t kill you. You’re a blood mage. You’ll wake up on your own eventually, though I suspect the General will have an antidote before then. As for your power problem, you've suffered a backlash. It is what happens when you try to mix two power streams better left separate," she said one word at a time. "You will be weak for a while, but you will recover, eventually.”

Seth sagged in his chair, visibly distraught by the news. "How long?"

She shrugged. "It could be days or months." Quite frankly, she was surprised he did not know what a magical backlash felt like. He was a blood mage, wasn't he? Trained to mix and use powers of conflicting paths with ease and confidence. Light magic was entirely different, but he should have been better informed, better prepared. He was keeping so much, and she would peel back the layer, but that would happen in time. There was no rush.

"Don't look so glum," she smiled. "We will have many more meetings like these while you recover. It will give us plenty of time to strategize and search for the grimoire."

The first mission she put him on was finding the General’s vault and drawing out all the runescripts he saw on the way. She would need it if she was to easily navigate the towers unnoticed.

Seth was convinced the grimoire was in his office. First hand, he'd seen the General's treasure hoard, tucked away in his personal office, but she waved off the possibility, insisting that the old knight knew better than to leave it anywhere but a safe. Even the fool she worked for had the foresight to make one, she thought it was ridiculous a General wouldn’t have bothered to build a secret vault in his austere Tower, hidden from the church’s seers.

They traded more mundane questions, and with each question, he became less reserved. Properly primed, she finally asked the question she’d been itching to since she first laid eyes on him.

“How do you hide your aura from the humans?” She knew how she managed to conceal herself from the humans.--a powerful concealment artefact from Lord Orn buried deep under her skin, but she was certain that even that artefact couldn’t escape prolonged scrutiny from the church and the General.

He went before the gods for Malleck’s sakes! The question burned her the longer she pondered it.

“How did you manage to invade my mind?”

“Why would you–” she paused to grind her teeth. She saw what he was doing. “A spell bestowed upon me by my lord, Ala--Wolfnir," she amended. "You understand if I cannot share the secrets.”

“Then I am afraid I am bound by the same oath,” he shrugged. “My secrets are not mine to tell.”

She glared at him for an infuriating moment.

“If that is all,” he said. “ I must get back to my friends, they’re surely expecting me.”

“I will approach you in a few days to hear your progress. Find out where that vault is,” she said brusquely and flexed her will. The walls of her construct collapsed and she woke in the same shadowy fold she’d nestled when she began weaving her spell.

Fewer mages bustled around the room now. She zipped past the straw hair mage that looked lost in thought, passed the guards, and melted through stone and dark corners until she rejoined her body.