“Oh good. The palace isn’t on fire,” Kasita said as she emerged from the portal.

Alyssa and Irulon, the only other two through the portal at the moment, stopped and stared. They certainly were in the palace. It certainly wasn’t on fire. As soon as everyone else was through the portal, a full three days of travel time would have been sliced off their journey.

That wasn’t the best part, in Alyssa’s opinion. The best part of the portal was that she didn’t have to go past Teneville again. The only reason she could think of to return would be for the tomatoes if she wanted to open a pizza parlor. And for that, she could probably send some merchant to gather them up. If the tomatoes were growing at all. With everything that had happened and her avoiding the brothers, she hadn’t actually found out how they were doing.

But that was an aside. “I’m glad that the palace isn’t on fire, but is there a reason you mention it?”

“Ufu! You were gone, I was gone, Irulon was gone, Brakkt was gone, all the draken and Fela too. I figured we would come back to find the city in ruins.”

Irulon huffed a scoff. “Please. Lyria has stood for hundreds of years. Well before you were born or Alyssa came to this world—”

“It would be before I was born too.”

“—And it will be standing long after we are gone. Just because we’ve been involved in a few incidents, don’t get it into your head that we are overly special. Well,” Irulon paused with a glance to Alyssa before focusing on Kasita again. “You and I aren’t special, at least.”

Alyssa wanted to protest the treatment, but couldn’t. Her eyes were glowing with Tenebrael’s power. Even in a world of monsters and magic, that was still extremely unique. She didn’t feel special, but it was quite obvious even to her that, from anyone else’s perspective, something was strange about her.

“Or maybe,” Kasita said with a hand half covering her smile. “Maybe since we got back a few days early, the destruction just hasn’t started yet.”

“Please don’t jinx it,” Alyssa said with a mild groan.

“You could just put the palace back together.”

“I’d rather not test such things.” Especially because the last thing had wound up turning into a giant statue of Tenebrael. Doing the same to the palace would not be appreciated.

Probably.

Before she could say as much, a splash of water came from the portal. Not actual water. Just the sound. Lisa stepped through with a shudder. Once fully clear of the portal’s shimmering liquid surface, she shuddered again, running her hands over her face and hair.

“That… is somewhat disorienting. And I feel like I’m all wet, but I’m not.”

“Yeah… Like belly-flopping into a cold pool.”

“While standing up.”

“But we’re here,” Alyssa said with a slight sigh. “We’re back. It worked.”

“Ufu~ And the palace isn’t even on fire!”

Alyssa mouthed a silent ‘ignore her’ to her mother, who promptly nodded. Despite having had her back turned to Alyssa, Kasita shot a pout in her direction.

Tess came through next, moving immediately to stand at her master’s side. Then the draken came, one by one. There was a long break between each. At least a minute. Although Alyssa didn’t think that Tenebrael would do something to harm everyone, she had thought it would be prudent to avoid going through the portal too closely together. She hadn’t known if they would simply step through, or if it would spit them out on the other end, leading to a large pile up, or even if it was a Fly situation.

Although… at further consideration, winding up half-draken or half-hellhound didn’t sound terrible as they were a lot stronger and tougher than humans, but she would probably wind up the wrong half. Assuming they didn’t get spliced together and die instantly.

It probably wasn’t a worry that she should have, but she had watched plenty of science fiction and fantasy movies. Watching a few dozen movies at her house with everyone else had just reminded her of all the troubles that might lurk around every corner. If even a fraction of them wound up true, she would have a lot to worry over.

That was besides the actual things she had to watch out for, like hostile monsters, religious wars, and demons.

And angels, of course.

Although, lately at least, she wished that she actually had to worry about angels a little more than she was at the moment.

As Irulon headed over and stuck her arm into the portal—examining it and the effect with her eyes all dark—Alyssa closed her eyes. She quickly scanned around the city, looking for souls that might be… near departure. The trip to Teneville had turned out useful for discovering more about her connection to Tenebrael, but it had not produced any actual encounters with an angel, hers or otherwise.

Immediately after creating the portal to the palace stables, before even walking through it, she had tried to create a portal directly to Tenebrael. That hadn’t worked. Same with a portal to Earth, though she hadn’t been expecting that one to go through at all. Perhaps there was something else she could do with Tenebrael’s power to get into proper contact with the stupid angel, but nothing had come to mind. Finding someone on death’s doorstep was still the most likely avenue to get into contact with any angel.

If Tenebrael allowed, she could create a portal directly to a dying person. That was a far better option compared to trying to rush halfway across the city with only a moment of notice.

Lyria was a large city. It had a large population. It was far from New York, but there were enough people around that Alyssa couldn’t count them. A stark contrast to Teneville. In that vast mass of souls, Alyssa saw one person. One person showing signs of imminent death.

Without thinking, Alyssa extended her arm.

Nothing. No welling of power. No warmth flooding through her arm. The nails on her fingers stayed their… usual… whatever color unpainted nails were. The room didn’t light up with Tenebrael’s signature color.

Why? Did Tenebrael know what Alyssa was trying to do? Angels were not omniscient. They didn’t know everything. If they weren’t paying attention, even mismatched souls could slip under their noses. Just how closely was Tenebrael paying attention to Alyssa? Was it that she didn’t want Alyssa to meet with whoever was currently collecting souls, Tenebrael or otherwise? Or did she not know at all and was simply blocking the spell because she didn’t want her magic used for frivolous tasks? Alyssa could easily make a case for either. She could possibly test it by creating portals to various other locations. If the portal went through, it would almost guarantee that Tenebrael was trying to block her from this specific situation. If the portal creation failed… it really wouldn’t prove anything one way or the other.

In fact, there could be plenty of other reasons why the portal creation wasn’t working at this very moment. Tenebrael could be exhausted or a single portal might be all that she could maintain. That dumb angel was not the god she pretended to be, even if she was close. She definitely had limitations. And that could be another reason. If her programming restricted her to only allowing miracles under specific situations, this could be failing for some esoteric reason that only another angel would understand.

She was wasting time. She could think all she wanted later. She could test all the portal destinations she wanted later. But this person was dying now. He wasn’t dead yet. Ten minutes, perhaps. It was an old-age death. Illness or heart failure caused by advanced age. One she had seen a handful of since she connected with Tenebrael. If she hurried, perhaps…

“Izsha!”

Her draken had been one of the first through the portal. With the time between each draken, only about half had emerged so far. Brakkt would be last through. Alyssa could have popped through to mention something, but every second wasted increased the chance that this guy died before Alyssa could get to him.

“I need you to take me somewhere as fast as you can, can you do that?” Alyssa had one foot on the stirrup, but she waited for Izsha to bob its head before fully hopping into the saddle. “Thanks. Irulon, can I borrow a Empty Vessel? I haven’t had a chance to successfully draw—”

“Where are you going?”

“To get some answers,” Alyssa said with narrowed eyes. “Time is of the essence.”

“Hm. I see,” she said, pulling her hand from the portal just in time for another draken to pop through. Flipping through her tome, she produced a single page. “I wish you luck.”

“Thanks.” Alyssa snatched the card from her hand as Izsha rushed past, heading toward the closed doors of the palace stable. Shoving its nose against the doors took a few seconds to open the massive doors. As soon as a wide enough crack had opened, Izsha took off.

The shroud around them had clearly not been designed with such fast movement in mind. Alyssa could see the shards of glass struggling to keep up. Around her level, the shards were thickest. Izsha’s feet? Someone might possibly see through the shroud if they stood at the right angle, but the holes in the shards likely wouldn’t allow more than a glimpse. Alyssa had to hope they were moving fast enough that a few scaly legs appearing every now and again would hopefully not cause too big of a commotion.

As they tore through the crowded streets, Alyssa found it hard to care. If she could just reach this old man before he passed away, all the trouble would be worth it.

Hopefully.

If it wasn’t, she would probably be in a lot of trouble with Brakkt.

Izsha jumped from one side of the street to the other, going straight over the heads of a gaggle of merchants. Most people didn’t tend to look up, but at least one or two people had seen them flying overhead. Their shouts chased after Alyssa as she directed Izsha down another street. The man wasn’t dead yet. And they were so close.

Just a little bit further.

Just a little bit.

The house was larger than most. As expected of someone living so near the palace. She didn’t think it was a nobleman’s house. They were more of mansions and were generally situated right around the palace on the edges of large circular courtyards. Cul-de-sacs really. This was large without being a full blown mansion. The home of a wealthy merchant, perhaps. It even had a small gate.

A gate that provided no defense against Izsha hopping over it.

“Find somewhere to hide.” Alyssa felt a bit bad about putting that kind of pressure on Izsha, but there wasn’t time to figure out a hiding spot. As soon as Alyssa moved too far away, the Empty Vessel would stop protecting the draken. And it wasn’t like Izsha could follow her inside.

The door was locked. A great many of the houses within and outside Lyria didn’t have locks on their doors, but she should have expected that the wealthier homes did. Just as she started worrying over which of her spells might get her inside without destroying the entire rest of the house, a scaly tail whipped out and snapped the door in two.

Blinking, stunned at the splinters that were wafting through the air, Alyssa stood where she was until a pressure against her back nudged her forward.

“Thanks!” she said as she rushed inside. “But you really need to hide!”

She didn’t stop to see if Izsha actually followed her directions. The draken were as smart as people, which sounded disingenuous, but it was true. It would figure something out.

Closing her eyes, Alyssa noted only two other people in the house. Both were rushing toward her, startled at the noise. Dismissing her Empty Vessel, Alyssa immediately cast the much smaller Empty Mirror. The shards of glass locked into place around her just in time to shield her from the two women rushing down the stairs. The second they were out of the way, Alyssa slipped behind them, climbing the stairs as quietly as she possibly could. There were only four rooms, so even without her ability to locate souls, it wouldn’t have taken long.

The door to the room was wide open, probably left open by the other two as they rushed away. A pang of guilt struck Alyssa’s chest. Because of her and her selfishness, she had taken away their final moments with a loved one. Though, as soon as she saw the withered man lying on his bed, she knew well that, from his perspective, any final moments were long past. With his sagging skin, sunken eyes, and scrawny wrists, he looked like he had passed days ago.

Ignoring the shouting going on downstairs—I sure hope Izsha got out of sight—Alyssa gently closed the door. Those other two could return at any moment, so she wasn’t dismissing her shroud, but she would like to speak to whatever angel showed up without interruption if at all possible.

Now… all she had to do was wait.

Alyssa quickly found that to be the most awkward part of this whole affair. Every other time she had met an angel in the process of collecting souls, it had been in the middle of a fight. Or immediately after one. She had been high on adrenaline each of those times, panting and sweating more often than not. Plenty of things to worry over.

Here and now, although she was a little hopped up on adrenaline from the race over, she was really just waiting for this old man she didn’t even know to kick the bucket.

Definitely awkward.

She supposed it was a good thing that creating a portal hadn’t worked out. She couldn’t even imagine the look on the faces of those other two women. A wife and a daughter, perhaps? They surely wouldn’t have taken kindly to someone popping up out of nowhere.

Alyssa, somewhat exhausted from the rush over, took a seat in a chair that had been set up next to the bed. A small basin with water and a rag hanging over the edge were on the floor nearby. Between its position and the way some drips of water led to the old man’s head, it was clear that someone had been wiping him down just recently.

Left with time to think, Alyssa couldn’t help but wonder what kind of people they all were. Was he a murderer, a slaver? Or a kind and loving father or even grandfather? Were those two women vultures, waiting for an inheritance? Or would they be mourning for years? Something in between?

Tenebrael had healed Alyssa several times in the past. Each of those times, she hadn’t said a word. No magical circle had popped up before her flesh mended. It just happened with nothing more than a touch. Alyssa doubted that the same would be true for her. She had touched Irulon, Brakkt, Lisa, Kasita, Fela, and half the draken. None had been injured, at least not obviously. Irulon, at the very least, would have mentioned a bruise healing far faster than normal after being touched. Because of that, Alyssa didn’t think that she could simply reach out and touch the old man.

But if she beseeched Tenebrael? Formed a proper request? What then?

Alyssa deliberately tore her thoughts away from that trail of breadcrumbs. She did not want to feel the warmth welling inside her. If she did, how could she possibly not try to heal the man. He was old, with his wispy white hair and wrinkled skin. Far older than most people that Alyssa happened across. She couldn’t say what the average lifespan for humans was here, but she imagined it was younger than on Earth. He had probably lived far more than most got to, so she shouldn’t feel guilty about doing nothing.

Right?

Alyssa clenched her teeth and closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the weakening breaths from the man next to her. The raised voices from the people downstairs helped. More people had come. Guards, perhaps. Alyssa could see their souls snapping back and forth with the two women a bit more rapidly than normal. Izsha had almost certainly not known what Alyssa had come here for. Still, she would have to thank the draken later. Destroying that door had definitely caused enough commotion to buy at least a short while of solitude.

Now, all she had to do was wait.

It wouldn’t be long. In just the few minutes Alyssa had been here, she could distinctly tell how shallow the breaths had become.

In fact…

Alyssa leaned in just a little closer. Straining her ears, she heard nothing. No breathing. No movement of cloth from even the most subtle movements.

Nothing but the thunder of her own heartbeat.

He was dead. Though, she supposed that she already knew that. Her sight of souls had informed her well before she leaned in closer.

The angel, whoever it was, would arrive soon. Alyssa got to her feet, moving a short distance away from the body so that she could see the entire room. This man’s death was not going to be in vain. This angel wasn’t going to get away without answering a few questions.

Any moment now.

Tenebrael often took well over a minute to arrive. Alyssa really didn’t have the experience to know if that was average or if Tenebrael was just a lazy angel, but she was leaning toward the latter option. A few golden feathers popping into the air around her almost confirmed that suspicion.

Twin white-gold wings appeared first along with an angel wearing rather scanty golden armor. With the way Alyssa had moved across the room, the angel’s back faced Alyssa. Even still, Alyssa immediately recognized the second angel she had ever met. The one who had said that she would kill Alyssa at her earliest convenience if she ever went back to Earth.

“Iosefael.”

The angel, whose eyes had been locked onto the corpse, squeaked. She spun, hovering slightly as her wings flapped in the air. “Tenebrael. I—” Those glowing green eyes with their cross-shaped pupils blinked twice as she focused her gaze. “A-Alyssa?”

Spectral Chains lashed out, wrapping around the angel. With her wings bound, she dropped to the floor, grunting. But Alyssa wasn’t done. More chains formed around the angel, wrapping up her head, her legs, her arms. Chains formed on top of chains. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten full Spectral Chains cards vanished from Alyssa’s deck. The faint whimpering from inside the mass of ghostly chains was about the only reason anyone would be able to tell that there was something inside it all. Well, the only reason Alyssa could tell. No one else would be able to hear the whimpers.

“You and I are going to have a nice, long chat. Maybe I’ll even let you go if you answer my questions.”

“Bu-But!”

“No buts. I am in no mood for buts, angel.” Even with the mass of chains piled on Iosefael, Alyssa could see her flinch back. Alyssa hadn’t liked Tenebrael on principle more than anything else. The possibility that she had wanted her to kill her own mother had irked Alyssa, but it was true that nothing had happened in the end. At the moment, Alyssa was more worried about Tenebrael than angry with her—though finding out that Tenebrael had been intentionally avoiding her would change that rather quickly.

Iosefael was another matter entirely. She had threatened to kill Alyssa when they first met. She was supposed to have been their ally against Adrael, but Alyssa had to wonder how much she had actually tried to stop the Archangel. And now… she was almost certainly the cause for Tenebrael’s extended absence. After all, she had been the one to find out about Tenebrael swapping the souls on Earth.

“But the soul. You have to let me go so that I can collect the soul.”

That… was actually a good point. She had watched the man die. Making him suffer inside his own rotting body was too much.

But she didn’t have to let go of Iosefael.

Extending a hand, Alyssa cast a Spectral Axe. The long tip of the scythe was well within range of the body. A quick swipe that had none of the resistance of demonic infected pulled out the vaguely luminescent mist. Dismissing the scythe, she reached out and dipped her hand into the fog. The crystal that formed at her fingertips was not as smooth and perfect as those she had seen in angels’ hands, but it was an improvement over the misshapen lumps that were Alyssa’s first attempts at soul crystallization.

All she could do was hope that it wasn’t hurting the old man. Tenebrael hadn’t said anything upon seeing Alyssa’s other crystals, but she probably didn’t care.

“There. Now we can go.”

“Y-You can’t do that?”

Alyssa didn’t bother responding. She had just done that, after all. Instead she raised an arm. This time, she did feel something. Why Tenebrael hadn’t wanted her to quickly arrive but was allowing her a speedy exit wasn’t a question that Alyssa could answer. But she was grateful. Even if she was invisible and even if nobody could perceive Iosefael, the chains were visible. Getting out the front door with all the commotion going on down there wasn’t possible.

“Tenebrael, please grant me passage to somewhere a private conversation can take place.”

Her fingernails turned black. The mystic circle formed and expanded, encompassing a person-sized space in the room. Compared to the massive portal between her home and the palace, this was just a tiny little doorway. But it worked well enough.

“What are you… You can’t do that!”

Shaking her head, Alyssa grabbed the chains with both hands and started dragging the squirming angel through the magical door.