“Count. Folly. Lime. Dolly. Day. Sharp. Packed. Harp.”

Even with portals opening all over the place, gunshots going off left and right, and the Astral Authority flying through the air, Irulon continued chanting random words. She hadn’t said that being interrupted would ruin anything, but the fact that she was still going instead of stopping to help defend against the Astral Authority said something about how easily she could stop. Alyssa definitely was not willing to take the chance that her stopping would do anything.

A Kindness hit the ground hard, splattering a few of its endlessly boiling eyes. It wasn’t quite dead, but Fela pounced on it and quickly took care of that little problem.

Another Kindness emerged from the same portal. A bullet through its mask and a fireball from Kasita turned its wings to ash and brought it down to the earth, well withing range of the sharp teeth of Dasca.

It was strange. There were only two Patiences among the group of Astral Authority littering the ground and none of the higher level fake-angels either. The vast majority of the beings that had come through the portals had been Kindnesses. Alyssa wasn’t complaining. Far from it. The two Patiences had been quite troublesome to put down. If not for Brakkt and his enchanted sword, Alyssa wasn’t sure that she would have been able to manage taking them out without resorting to Annihilators.

Alyssa could only come up with two real reason why they were teleporting so few actual combatants here. For one, they might just be too tied up with the demons. Alyssa didn’t have a way of spying on the pit or the battle that was surely still raging around Owlcroft, but she had seen the true demon somewhat recently. They were definitely still fighting it out. Even if that wasn’t the main reason why they weren’t sending more than Kindnesses to Illuna, it was probably a contributor.

One of the other big reasons might just be that they didn’t know what to do. Kindnesses were observers and scouts. They had probably first shown up after detecting a big prayer to Tenebrael, expecting to find either Tenebrael or Alyssa connected to her. Finding neither might have confused them. It was just a bunch of mortals standing around a bunch of Tenebrael’s magic, nothing particularly special about either. At least, nothing more special than most regular spell cards.

Alyssa was glad that she didn’t have to flee because of her connection, but she was somewhat nervous about not being able to see Izsha’s soul. She couldn’t watch the effects of the ritual on it or check to make sure that nothing was going wrong. Iosefael hadn’t shown up yet, so Izsha probably wasn’t dying again. Still, even if she didn’t fully understand what it looked like, watching the soul would have given her at least some peace of mind.

Of course, Alyssa mentally groaned as a much larger than average portal sprouted up just beside the stables, I probably wouldn’t have time to watch the soul.

As the car-sized paw of the largest fake-angel emerged, Alyssa shouted a warning. “Equanimity!”

The second it fully emerged, Ensou jumped. The largest of the draken landed directly on its back and immediately snapped its jaws around the thing’s snake-like neck. Dasca and Musca were on it only slightly slower, both clamping their teeth around its scorpion tail to keep it from harming Ensou. Brakkt strode forward. He wasn’t wearing his full armor, probably not having expected a fight during this ritual, but his ever-present sword was at his side.

Alyssa wasn’t quite sure what she could do. An Annihilator would take care of it, but it would also take care of a lot of the land and probably the monster camp as well. Every other time she had seen one, she had either fled, used Tenebrael’s magic, or both.

A bullet didn’t seem like it would do much. Brakkt’s sword didn’t glide through it like it did with nearly everything else. There was a resistance there that Alyssa had only seen on the Taker in his fully infected form.

Spectral Chains lashed around its legs. Alyssa really didn’t know what she thought she was doing. It was big enough that, even with her unbreakable chains, it would just throw her around if it moved.

It didn’t have a soul, so her scythe wouldn’t do anything. Draw Water might do something. Activating the spell and pulling as hard as she could…

Nothing.

Which didn’t surprise Alyssa much. The thing wasn’t mortal. She had seen them cut before. They didn’t bleed or have much inside them aside from light. There was no water to draw out.

A narrow beam of pure fire lanced from Alyssa’s outstretched hand, striking the Equanimity in the side. Although they didn’t have much internals, the scent of cooked flesh filled the air. All Shall Burn. Like Annihilator, it was a spell that she had first seen Lumen use. Lower ranked, but that might be just what she needed at the moment. It was a focused stream of white-hot fire.

The Equanimity reared up in silent pain. The motion just about dragged Alyssa long with it. If she hadn’t already been prepared to cancel the Spectral Chains, she would have ended up flung over the stables. Even still, she was glad Fela was nearby to steady her.

“What do we do?” the hellhound asked. “I don’t think my claws are going to tear apart that thing.”

Although her fire spell had done some damage, it wasn’t anywhere close to what the draken and Brakkt were doing to it. They might be able to take it down eventually, but…

Alyssa glanced to Irulon. The princess’ spell tome, still chained to her side, was not in use. At least, not obviously in use. Stepping away from Fela, Alyssa walked right up to the edge of the ritual circle where Irulon was chanting.

Without even stopping her repeated words, Irulon unchained the tome and held it out for Alyssa to take.

A shard of glass formed at the binding of the tome. Split Reality. The Astral Authority were definitely a part of reality. The glass shot out like a dart, burrowing into the hide already burned away.

The effect was almost instantaneous. It wasn’t a bloody mess, but the Equanimity began peeling apart into shards of glass. Both Dasca and Musca had to jump off quickly before the effect started eating at them. Ensou held onto its neck for a few seconds longer as its body started falling apart. When it finally unclamped its jaws, the Equanimity was already beyond saving. There was hardly anything recognizable left of it. Just a pile of vaguely glowing strips of hide.

“I wish these weren’t literally carpal tunnel to draw,” Alyssa said, keeping the spell tome ready to fire off another one, just in case something else showed up.

But for the moment, the air was clear of the golden portals.

“I don’t know what that means,” Kasita said after letting out a small sigh. “But it looks like it’s over?”

“For now. Keep an eye out.”

“No, I mean the whole ritual. Look at Irulon. And the glowing isn’t so glowy anymore.”

Looking around, Kasita was right. Izsha, still painted, was lying on her side in the middle of the ritual circle. All the lines, both on Izsha and the circle, were dim. Not quite back to how they had been when Alyssa first painted them. There was a soft glow there. But it was a subtle kind of glow.

For the first time since its creation, someone was stepping onto the ritual circle. Irulon strode across, not caring at all that her feet were tracking paint through the carefully prepared dirt. Or that her shoes were getting paint on them.

Alyssa, equally uncaring of the paint, rushed up with her, barely managing to breathe as she looked over Izsha. “Did… Did it work?”

“There was no error in the ritual itself,” Irulon said, leaning down and resting a hand on Izsha’s side. “Not even with all the… unexpected excitement.”

“Izsha?” Alyssa said softly. She stretched out a hand, but stopped, hovering just a few inches above the onyx scales. Irulon was rubbing her hands all over the place, squeezing and prodding. But Irulon knew what she was doing… probably. Alyssa was just… worried.

“Izsha,” Irulon said in a concerned tone. “If you can hear me, could you try opening your eyes and looking around? It might be tough so soon after this ritual, but it would go a long way toward letting us know that everything went well. So please try.”

At first, nothing happened. Alyssa glanced between Izsha’s face and Irulon, watching both for any sign that something was good or bad. Brakkt moved closer. Alyssa could see him from the corner of her eye, moving with obvious guard. The draken moved about like predators around him, watching and waiting for any sign of more trouble. Fela was slightly more relaxed, but still poised to launch herself at any portals that might open up.

Movement from Izsha closed off Alyssa’s awareness of the outside world. It was just a small thing, but the lid of its eye twitched just a bit. Slowly, as if the lid weighed ten tons, Izsha opened its eye all on its own. Unlike when Alyssa was massaging Izsha’s soul back at Owlcroft, its eye actually looked around. The slit contracted, focusing in on its surroundings.

“Izsha?” Alyssa said again, this time with a bit more energy. “Are you… Oh what am I saying? Of course you aren’t alright. But… Are you…”

As slowly as it opened, the eye gently closed.

Alyssa sucked in a slight breath, worried.

Only to get a blast of hot air in her face as Izsha let out a long snort.

The somewhat moist air made her start coughing.

“Promising,” Irulon said, completely ignoring Alyssa’s sudden fit. “At least we have some response from it. I expect that you’ll need a good deal of rest before you’re feeling normal again… So, I have a few questions. Just open your eyes for yes and keep them closed them for no. Now then, what was it like? Were you aware of your surroundings?”

“Wait,” Alyssa said, holding up a hand. “Are these questions necessary for Izsha’s wellbeing? Or for your own curiosity?”

“Who says they can’t be for both?”

“Why don’t we wait at least an hour or few. Get Izsha back in the stables on a—”

“The stables have a big hole in them,” Kasita said from over Alyssa’s shoulder.

That made Alyssa stop for a moment. She hadn’t noticed. Had it been her spells? Or, more likely, the Equanimity had smacked into it while it had been around. Its presence would explain why she hadn’t noticed too. The stupid things were awfully large. But that didn’t mean that her point wasn’t valid. “Then somewhere else comfortable for a bit. How would you like to be bombarded with questions after coming back from the brink of death?”

Approaching a little closer, Brakkt slowly sheathed his sword. “Alyssa’s right. I appreciate what you’ve done, Irulon, but let’s take it easy for now. You’ll have time for your questions later. Especially if Izsha is truly alright.”

Irulon pressed her lips together. Alyssa could almost see the argument on her lips. But, perhaps because it was her brother asking, Irulon let it go. She just sighed as she pushed herself back to her feet. “It is quite important to me, brother. I…” She slowly looked from Izsha to Brakkt, Alyssa to the other draken, Kasita to Fela. “But I suppose I’ve lived this long with my companion. We won’t keel over dead anytime soon. There’s just something that’s been bothering me. Something that I dreamed about that night, but can’t quite make sense of. I’m not sure it’s related to souls at all… or maybe it is related to just me.”

“I care about you just as much as I care about Izsha,” Alyssa said softly. “I’ll anger the entirety of the Astral Authority if need be to help you. But you yourself said that the danger isn’t anything immediate. Let Izsha rest. At least for a little while.”

Giving a hesitant nod, Irulon turned. “I’ll be in my room. Alert me should anything happen to Izsha in the interim.” With that said, she started walking up the path that led back to the city proper.

Alyssa watched her go, feeling… guilty? It was hard to empathize with exactly what she was going through. Although she felt bad, Izsha deserved some respect as well.

“Don’t worry,” Kasita said, starting to walk after her. “I’ll keep an eye on our princess.”

“Try not to bother her. It might be best to let her have some time alone.”

“Ufu~ She’ll never know I’m there.”

Not feeling at all better at Kasita’s reassurance, Alyssa watched the mimic stride off. Kasita would probably not do anything too untoward. Hopefully.

Turning back to Izsha, Alyssa knelt again and gently rested her hand on Izsha’s side. There was a difference there. It was so subtle at first that Alyssa thought it might have been her imagination. But Izsha actually moved. Just a slight shifting and bristling of its scales, but that was more of a reaction than anything Alyssa had seen over the past few weeks.

Brakkt was at her side a moment after. He knelt down right beside Alyssa and put a hand on Izsha’s side. He moved his hand around, not quite prodding like what Irulon had done, but not just resting it there as Alyssa was. Leaning down, he pressed his ear right up against Izsha’s side, closing his eyes in the process. For a long while, he didn’t say a word.

The other draken moved in close, but not quite to the point of crowding out Izsha. Ensou and Dasca kept at a respectful distance. Musca, on the other hand, came right up to Izsha and nudged its snout hard enough to lift Izsha a few inches off the ground.

Brakkt, just about thrown off Izsha because of that, promptly snapped at the draken.

Chuckling, Alyssa shook her head.

“Let’s get you somewhere comfortable. Are—” Alyssa turned, only to realize that Kasita was not behind her anymore. “Are the stables structurally sound?” she said, looking to Brakkt. “It isn’t going to collapse on us if we move in there, is it? We can find a more permanent place later, but I’d like to get Izsha on some straw and with a roof overhead. It looks like it might rain soon.”

His eyes, which had been glaring at the tiger-striped draken, flicked over to Alyssa. There was a hesitation in his response, but he nodded after a moment. “Give me a moment to inspect it.” It took a few more moments before he stood, but Alyssa didn’t try to rush him.

When he did finally start toward the stables, Alyssa looked back to Izsha. She let her hand stroke across its scales a few times before she started talking. “I don’t know if you could hear me while you were… well, whatever you were. But, I want you to know that I’m sorry. Sorry for dragging you into that mess, sorry for not being able to protect you, and sorry for not being able to fix you up sooner. Or… at all, really. I stopped Iosefael from taking your soul, but that was about it. Irulon did the rest.”

Alyssa let out a long sigh. Izsha opened its eye again and stared at her, but nothing else. Not that Alyssa really expected the draken to start talking. They had fixed the soul’s resonance, not made a way to communicate properly. And Izsha had to be exhausted still.

That said, Izsha started to move, almost like it was trying to get to its feet… or at least raise its head.

Gently, Alyssa pushed Izsha back to the ground. “You just rest for now. There will be plenty of time to get up and moving when you actually feel up to moving. Don’t worry. I’ve gotten plenty experience levitating you around. I probably won’t even smack you into the ceiling or any walls!”

Izsha gave a glare! Seeing that just made Alyssa smile. It was a joke, of course. She had taken great pains to avoid smacking Izsha into anything when she had to use her levitation spells. It had happened less than ten times. Probably.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Brakkt said, approaching from behind. “The stables do not look like anywhere good to stay. I kept my distance and I was still worried it might come down on me.”

“Can we go up to the guild then?”

“There’s a lot less space up there, but… it might be our only real option. I doubt they’ll like it.”

“Tough for them. Alright.” Looking back to Izsha, Alyssa got to her feet. “You ready to move?”

A set of heavy footsteps stopped Alyssa from actually casting the spell. Brakkt drew his sword as he turned, but quickly sheathed it again upon seeing who was approaching.

Fezzik, along with two of Illuna’s guards trailing behind him, was quickly rushing up. He had his large stone club out, but it didn’t look like he was about to use it. Rather, he slowed his charge, staring at the slowly disintegrating pile of Equanimity… flesh? It wasn’t quite flesh, but it was close enough.

“Saw some lights and flashes from the camp. Something happen?”

“You could say that,” Alyssa said, glancing around between Izsha, the draken, Fela, and Brakkt. “But I think it is over with for now. You came to help?”

“We’ve been given at least a temporary home here. Of course we would defend it.”

“Sorry for disturbing you. If we had thought anything like this was going to happen,” Alyssa said, waving at the corpse of one of the Patiences, “we would definitely have let you know. And the city too,” she said with a glance to the guard who seemed the least out of breath. Running after a giant was probably hard work. Fezzik’s legs were almost as long as the humans were tall.

“Does that little one need help?” Fezzik said, pointing his club toward Izsha.

Alyssa was about to answer that Izsha was probably feeling far better than it had in a long time, but stopped part way.

With how Izsha had tried to get onto its feet earlier, they probably wouldn’t be able to keep it down for long, even if it was for the best. A day, two at the most. And the monster camp should be a safe spot. There hadn’t been any incidents down there since their arrival. They had food from the city. The guild wouldn’t complain about their stable space being taken up or the horses being frightened.

“Actually,” Alyssa started before explaining just what they needed.