MYSTIA

THE WALK BACK TO THE TAVERN was excruciating. Moving at no more than a crawl, Mystia had lost all track of time when she finally spotted Sylvan's massive trunk, silhouetted by ornate lamps in the distance.

At least her creation had made it back in one piece.

She only wished she could say the same for herself. As someone who never fussed over pain, taking their journey at a sloth's speed only worsened her discomfort. The extended time on her feet heightened the burning agony that engulfed her left side. Even when she tried to quicken her steps, she couldn't keep up the pace without growing increasingly unstable—though she was unsure if her struggle to walk was due to the weakness of her legs or whatever had happened to her sight.

Bobbi hadn't made mention of her left eye, but Mystia could only imagine its condition. While her current companion tried not to stare, Emrys hadn't been able to stop himself, and his incessant, panic-driven thought spiral told her it was more than a minor wound. Though a quick shot from one of the lesser healing tonics in her satchel had stopped the bleeding, she knew stronger assistance would be crucial.

Hellfire was not a beast to mess with, and her lack of sight was plenty enough cause for concern.

It had begun with blankness in her left eye. Over time, colorful flashes sparked across her vision and burst with chaotic fury. Nausea poured over her in waves, adding to the miserable mix of symptoms Emrys' powers had inflicted. The effect was curious. Not at all the blindness she would've expected.

"There," said Mystia, pointing to the treeline wrapped around the tavern's rear. "Go through those trees."

Bobbi wasted no time guiding her through a thin space between the trees and through the back door.

The Elysian Lily's warmth and light were more than welcome, but Mystia was unable to breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't from the pain, nor the inability to see from her left eye. It was the kitchen in all its spotless glory.

"What's wrong?" asked Bobbi.

"Vesryn had this place a dump before I left."

Bobbi looked at her as if she'd spoken another tongue. "...and?"

Mystia recalled Eva's painful attempts at organization and the tornado-like mess that plagued her quarters. "Unless your friend is a closet neat freak, something is very wrong. Tread lightly."

Mystia nudged her companion forward with a sharp elbow. They moved with an even more painstaking gait as she surveyed the space, but the constant flashing colors in her left eye made it impossible to distinguish signs of trouble.

As they approached the faux pantry door, a hollow rattle echoed in the silence. Bobbi whipped around at the noise, yanking Mystia with her. Despite the part of her that wanted to snap a threat at the startled woman, Mystia gritted her teeth and listened intently. One elongated ear twitched as it picked up clanging within the stainless-steel oven.

Ignoring Bobbi's protests, Mystia shook from her hold and reached for the nearby island with her good hand, keeping the other firmly tucked against her chest. She made her way toward the oven, where a shadowed object pounded against the door's tempered glass. Lowering herself to her knees, Mystia snatched the handle and yanked it open, only to be greeted by a decapitated elven head.

Vesryn.

Dried, silver ichor flaked from his neck, and as he strained to make noise, fresh metallic blood dribbled from serrated veins. Mystia rubbed at her already-throbbing temples.

"What... the hell... is that?" Bobbi's voice carried from the other side of the kitchen, heightened with alarm.

Mystia let out a humorless laugh. "It's like you've never seen a severed head before."

"Pretty sure most people haven't."

With a quick mutterance about how boring Earth must have been, Mystia bent down to inspect her undead employee. She rolled his head so that his eyes no longer stared directly into the floor and instead faced hers with widened relief.

"Tsk, tsk. Can't talk with shredded vocal chords now, can you?"

Mystia plucked a white hair from the top of his head. The young boy flinched, narrowing his eyes in a death glare that she ignored as she reached inside her half-open satchel.

Though it was near impossible to see the bag's contents on her left side, she felt around the well-organized interior until she retrieved a small vial of milky liquid. Popping the cork with her thumb, she dropped the hair inside, where it disintegrated on impact. She braced herself while she threw back the shot and overwhelming bitterness coated her tongue.

Mystia bore her eyes into the elf's as the swirling whispers of his thoughts filtered into her mind. "Care to explain, Vesryn?"

While still a bit echoey and not completely clear, his internal voice became easier to understand with every word.

I took a trip to the sauna. Vesryn narrowed his eyes. What do you think happened? That she-devil cut me to pieces!

"Eva dismembered you?" She tried to ignore the way Bobbi tensed at her words.

Not Eva. The freaky one! Blue hair, lots of lightning... too much lightning...

"Blue hair?" asked Mystia.

Finally, Bobbi stepped forward, eyes plagued with a mess of emotion. An aura of distrust and concern radiated from her so strongly that Mystia passed her a questioning glance.

"Kali," said Bobbi. "It has to be."

Mystia recalled the name from Emrys' thoughts. Witnessing his countless guilt spirals made it difficult to pinpoint much in the blurred memories that flashed across his brain, but the blue-haired girl stood out in many of them—not only for the monsoon she had created, but also a burning building he'd attempted to trap her within.

The coffee shop.

Sympathy panged in her chest. Nothing had stopped Kali's war path, and Mystia wasn't sure what could have, even from the brief glimpses she'd gotten.

"I've never seen powers like hers before," she muttered. "Whatever she is, she isn't a standard magic user. Much more dangerous."

Dangerous enough to slice me apart with cheese knives!

Mystia whacked Vesryn across the head, splattering ichor across the tiled floor.

While Bobbi took a step back, her stare remained less disgusted and more... intrigued. Curious. It brought a smile to Mystia's lips to see a woman much smarter than the average Other —and, as she recalled from Emrys' thoughts, Bobbi was well versed in non-Earthly practices thanks to a fancy board game he seemed overly eager to learn.

Flashes of green and black fired in Mystia's injured eye, overtaking Bobbi's face with painful bursts. She winced, nearly dropping Vesryn's head. They needed to move. While her wound had stopped bleeding, she had to get downstairs and run further trials before her condition worsened.

Rolling Vesryn's head between her palms, she sighed. "We'll put you back together once I find the rest of your body."

My left ear is on the coffee table, the right is with the cabbages, and my thyroid is—

His rambling ceased as Mystia placed him back in the open oven.

Hey! Wait! What are you—

Mystia slammed the oven door shut, though his panicked thoughts refused to be muffled. Ignoring his protests, she looked up at Bobbi. "Never have undead children."

She stood, wiping her hands across her pants and leaving streaks of silver across the black material. As she staggered toward the kitchen island, Bobbi offered her arm for support.

Arm in arm, Mystia guided them back to the pantry door, wasting no time in muttering her incantation. Only a quick flash of green lit up the runes across the doorframe. Bobbi watched with an impressed smile as the door creaked open to reveal the Sanctum stairs within. Her expression followed through even as they descended into the common room, moving at the quickest pace Mystia could muster.

They hardly stepped into the cozy space when skittering nails sounded from the kitchen. Skell burst into the room at full speed, eyes lit bright enough to cast a green glow while he scampered along, practically nipping at Mystia's heels.

"Down, Skell!" She nudged him away with the side of her foot. "Mummy is fine. Just a few scratches."

He scampered away from her field of view, and Bobbi's sudden yelp made her crane her neck for a better glimpse at her pet. Skell snarled, pulling away from a gnarly bite below the cuff of the woman's denim capris. Blood seeped from the wound, though Bobbi tried to remain stone-faced.

Just as Skell went in for a second chomp, Mystia whistled sharply. The small fox hesitated, but stopped with bared teeth.

"Bobbi is a friend," Mystia snapped. "We save our bites for intruders and unruly fire children."

Skell cocked his head. His lip quivered and he closed his mouth, prepared to flash his teeth at a moment's notice.

"Shoo!"

After a hesitant pause, Skell plodded off, but not without more than a few glances back in their direction.

Bobbi shook out her ankle, dripping with fresh blood. "Unruly fire children?"

"Emrys has a reputation."

Mystia looked to the kitchen to ensure Skell had returned to his bed. Shaking her head, she tried to force his odd behavior out of her mind. He never acted out in such a way. She had trained him much better than to attack Sanctum dwellers.

Perhaps Kali's appearance had them all on edge.

With one final sigh, Mystia nodded to the nearby corridor. "Down that hall, all the way to the end, and make a right."

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