A familiar, dry wind brushed against Stathis’s body, a bright and blinding light filling her eyes before slowly fading. Old and worn stone surrounded her – she was back in the other world, with the pool gleaming beneath her. Did that mean that the spell had failed? Or had she been dumped here as a sort of holding mechanism, while Hakara did whatever else she needed to do to push her spirit back into her body?

The light from above pulsed, a slow and steady beat. It hadn’t done that before, had it? There was no sign of Agon, although with how time seemed to move strangely, it might have been minutes since she had left, or days, or even longer, at least insofar as time applied to this place. She pushed her hand into the pool, hoping for a vision of the normal world, a glimpse of Hakara, or even to be transported back, but all she got was a cold, wet arm.

‘Agon? You around?’ Making a sound seemed almost disrespectful, as though she were forcing her will upon a place of rest, like making a fuss in a cathedral during a service. But there was no-one else here, at least that she could see, and the world appeared uninhabited except for Agon and a smattering of demons, somehow sent here. As long as they didn’t all suddenly regenerate and once! ‘Agon?’ She tried shouting again, but the stone and the silence simply swallowed her shout, leaving barely even an echo. Another splash of the water didn’t do anything, so she looked around, hoping that Hakara would be able to finish soon, and that she wouldn’t be waiting for years of time here!

The light above her continued to pulse, shedding a glow on the water. There was no telling how deep it was – it appeared a depthless abyss, as dark as Janaxia’s shadow, and jumping in seemed a bad idea. She found a large pebble and dropped it in, eerily perfect concentric circles rippling out, the pebble vanishing from sight without a trace. The ripples quickly faded, and soon the water was perfectly still and level again, with no sign that it had ever been disturbed. Definitely not normal!

She waited for a while, finding the same position to rest in as she had been in before, hoping that she wouldn’t be left here so long that she wore a personal crevice into the rock. The light was definitely changing in brightness, a soft movement of the air happening in the same rhythm. Was the damn thing breathing? It hadn’t responded when she’d shouted, but from what Agon had said, it hadn’t been particularly responsive. Was it a god of this world? Or maybe a wizard that had become massively powerful? Although they tended to turn shadowy and dark rather than light. Or spent all their time holed up in a library, occasionally emerging for rare materials.

She walked beneath it and shaded her eyes to look up, unable to see any detail beyond the light. She sighed, picked up a few rocks, then focused, her wings burning out from her back. Grit and dirt skittered along the ground as she launched herself upwards, taking to the air.

The shaft was easily wide enough to flu upwards – had it been horizontal, then at least thirty men could have marched abreast down it without a problem. The walls were smooth, without any carvings or painting, looking untouched by time. She could feel a change in the temperature, the air growing slightly more chill, the gentle breeze cooling her with each push. The pulsing of the light became more obvious, the pale stone walls reflective and bright. When she glanced down, her head swam for a moment, the ground fall beneath her – given the distance, it seemed unlikely the tunnel had much to do with real architecture; she almost certainly wasn’t in the middle of the giant building anymore.

She took one of the stones and flung it upwards, squinting against the light and trying to make out the arc of its passage, listening to see if it impacted against any barrier or impediment. It was hard to see against the light, a speck of darkness travelling upwards, then suddenly starting to plummet downwards. She reached out and managed to pluck it from the air, feeling it smack into her palm, hard enough to sting, and then continued upwards.

A ripple of light, mixed with a wave of cooler air, brushed over her as she continued upwards. The rock was shining more brightly, shot through with crystal veins, catching and magnifying the golden light. She kept flying upwards, tossing another stone upwards, this time shooting up towards it and catching it, just as it started to plummet downwards. The light was so bright and strong that her own wings were barely visible against it. The light was intense now, so strong that it stung to keep her eyes open, and she was just barely able to avoid the walls, trying to keep her path as direct as possible straight upwards.

Ember of the fire, is thine task done?

A voice appeared in her mind, a whisper of suppressed power, the communication leaving her unsure where the “speaker” was. It was more intermittent than when Janaxia spoke, but if that was a function of distance or some other strange effect. Were they even physically present?

‘Are you here? Or a ghost or something?’ As before, her voice was lost in overwhelming silence of the place, the tunnel not even echoing as she expected it to. She carefully opened an eyelid and hissed in pain, the light stinging and painful.

The darkness grows, a taint upon all it touches.

‘What is the darkness? Do you mean the demons?’

It must be purged, destroyed down to nothing. Only then shall I emerge, and gift my light and power unto the world.

‘Can you give me some specifics as to what’s going on? Who are you? What do you want?’

The pure serenity of a blessed world, strong and bound by light.

Were they talking to her, or was it like a ghost or something, just replaying whatever had made it or left some kind of spiritual impression, like a really big and shiny ghost? She felt a pressure against her head as she pushed against some barrier, a feathery sensation that broke apart on contact. Was that one of the defences Agon had mentioned, now faded and gone?

‘Are you actually here? What are you?’

Her voice sounded louder now, making more of an impression in the dead silence, although the light was still blindingly bright.

Do not trust those of the darkness! They seek power for themselves! There was a touch of urgency in their tone, although still no sign of any physical presence, as Stathis pushed through more of the thin, feathery auras. The wind was getting stronger now, making her strain to keep going, flapping her wings harder to keep her momentum.

A sudden weakness overcame her, and she had to force herself to flap her wings, not wanting to plummet all the way back down, and definitely not wanting to find out what would happen if she died here!

Motes of darkness swam in front of her eyes and she felt her body slow. And then she was back in the normal world again, her wings blazing out from her back, a carved ceiling above her. She felt different than before, a realness she hadn’t realised had been missing. And armour! Now she didn’t have to worry quite so much about getting stabbed.

She rose, her body feeling slightly tired, but no more than a bad night’s rest. She shook her head, trying to rouse herself fully and become fully awake, seeing Hakara looking at her with concern, magical energy still flickering around her hands, Kivata outlined by the same glow.

‘How long was I out for?’ Her legs felt a bit wobbly, and she could do with some food and water, but she felt fine otherwise. She rapped a knuckle against her armour, glad to be encased in metal again. And a new suit of the stuff, without all the dents and damage that had accumulated on her old one! Probably even magical as well, able to protect her better. No shield, but she could grab one off the walls easily enough.

‘The spell was quicker than expected. And there were no other creatures, um, resident in your body.’ Hakara was looking at her with concern.

‘Don’t worry, it’s actually me, not something else.’

Then perhaps we should quit this place? While Greganx may be entirely deserving of some time in the dungeons, I have no desire to join him and be subjected to whatever tortures may be forced upon me.

‘I’ve told you before, we don’t do that here. But yes, we should be getting the hell out of here. Is everyone still here?’ She looked around – the main illumination seemed to come from her wings, but everyone seemed to be there, with Skotadi peering at her suspiciously, half-hidden behind Janaxia. Where the light from Stathis’ wings struck her, she hissed and hid again, barely visible except as a fringe of hair.

Pajaran approached. ‘Good to have you back. Uh, properly. I’ve not heard any alarms, but that’s making me worry. There should have been a relief checkup by now, but nothing. And they’re not going to be skimping on guarding you. This place is alarms-out, not alarms-in, so if anything is going on, then we’re not going to hear it.’

‘We should be careful. OK everyone, we’re going to head out. Hakara, can you renew everyone’s invisibility?’

Hakara started to cast, and half of them than faded from sight as the spell took hold. Stathis’ wings continued to glow, even as her body faded, the light seeming to come from empty space. They made less of an attempt at stealth as they left, hoping that there were no guards heading towards them.

Stathis cracked her neck, feeling stronger already. They left, Semari and Parth scouting ahead, Pajaran staying close.

‘So where now?’

‘Out. I think if we can get to the transportation chambers, then Hakara can do something clever and get us away from here. And then I can try and write a very long letter and get all this shit sorted out without having to get anyone murdered. Hopefully.’

‘And Janaxia and her creepy student? That girl ain’t right. Even for a weird magical orphan.’

‘Yeah, I don’t know. I would make her bathe in holy water, but I think that might make her melt or something. As long as she doesn’t try to kill anyone, then we let Hakara poke her a bit. She can’t be worse than Janaxia, surely?’

The telepathic hmmmph she got indicated that Janaxia had overheard at least part of the conversation. Having everyone be invisible was a bit awkward in some ways!

As they left the secure area, they stepped over the unconscious bodies, Stathis quickly checking they were still OK before moving past. As they moved down the long passageway, they could hear clamour getting louder, echoed yells and rapid movement. Semari looked around, making an uncertain gesture. ‘Go check it out.’

She darted ahead, the others following more slowly behind. ‘We need to take a left here. Hakara, I’ll need you to use the transport chambers to get us out of here. Pretty much anywhere else, as long as it’s not dangerous.’

‘I will try. It sounds as though, um, something else is currently happening though. Does it seem entirely safe?’

There was the sudden clanging clamour of an alarm bell, the sounds of urgent cries and running footsteps.

‘I don’t know what’s happening, but we’ll have to be careful. We don’t want to hurt anyone we shouldn’t. It might just be an alarm test.’ They passed an arrow-slit, and Stathis looked out – one of the towers was aflame, casting a bright glow over everything else, a bucket chain having already formed in the courtyard beneath. ‘Shit. Scratch that, something’s going on. Hopefully just an accident? They seem to be getting it under control already though, and it might make it easier to escape.’

The alarm bells were getting louder – through the narrow slit, Stathis couldn’t see anything else, but it sounded like it was more than just a fire, or at least just the one fire. There wasn’t much for it but to carry on though.

A squad of the Guard ran past, pulling their armour on as they moved, roused from their sleep. That, at least was standard protocol, but what was happening?

They passed through a colonnaded hall, keeping to the shadows, a darker fuzz of shadow indicating the location of Skotadi. The sudden ring of steel echoed around, loud enough to be heard over the general sounds of alarm. There was a cry of pain, and more sounds of combat as a fight boiled through a passageway, blades clashing against each other.

It looked like the Guard, fighting amongst themselves? Both sides seemed uncertain, moving protectively, a few of them wounded. A jagged crown of black iron flickered into existence around the head of one of them, and they suddenly turned and lunged at another one, blade impacting heavily into chainmail, the armour absorbing some of the force of the attack but not entirely. The group devolved into a general confused melee, everyone protecting themselves and lashing out at each other.

Before she could stop them, Semari and Vrintar had charged in, attacking everyone. Their interruption came as a surprise, and several of them had been dropped before they could even react. Vrintar hefted one of the group and threw them, as the one with the crown turned to attack her. Semari lunged forward and smacked their arms, hard enough to make them drop their sword, before punching them in the gut, making them sink to the floor.

Stathis ran forward as they tried to stand, the crown still flickering on their brow.

‘Janaxia, what are you doing?’

I resent such baseless accusations! She was still invisible, her voice sounding directly into Stathis’ head.

‘You’re the only person I know that calls up that creepy crown thing. And I guess maybe Skotadi?’

I can assure you of my innocence. And I see no reason why Skotadi would do so. It seems likely some other spellcaster of great prowess is present.

A patch of darkness rippled, a small hand stretching out and touching the crown. Stathis saw Skotadi’s face, just for a moment, before she faded away again. The crown shattered, energy streaking through the air to where Skotadi had briefly appeared and the fighter sagged into a stupor.

Crashes and clatters rang out as the other fighters were rapidly defeated. Quite a few of them seemed to be injured, but none seriously – but why had they been fighting? A soothing aura washed out as Pajaran healed the worst of them.

‘Sure Janaxia’s not contagious?’

I can hear you, you know!

‘Sorry, Janaxia. Do you know of anyone else that casts that creepy crown spell? I’ve only ever seen you do it.’

Simply a result of my superlative casting prowess. Although, no, I have not, outside of assorted old and likely garbled stories. Perhaps I have imitators?

‘The madness! It burned within me, a desire to slay, to betray!’ The one that had been wearing the crown suddenly opened their eyes, gasping out words. Stathis tried to soothe them as Pajaran cast a healing spell, their wounds closing. ‘I… I’m sorry…’ They lapsed back into unconsciousness, Stathis carefully arranging them on the floor.

‘I’ve no idea what’s going on, but we should be careful. Janaxia, keep an eye out for anyone with powers like yours, or if you can get any idea what’s happening.’

I am somewhat offended that you would assume it is I behind such things!

‘Sorry. But that spell does seem pretty unique to you. Just watch out, you’re terrible at resisting that sort of thing. Now, it’s this way.’

They moved faster now, hearing the rising clamour and clanging of alarm bells. Still, everything seemed to be disciplined enough, with an organised defence and evacuation underway. As they passed by an open balcony, overlooking the central courtyard, Stathis could see that the fire had spread, another of the towers now alight. Three people had crowded onto the roof, currently trapped, the Guard trying to raise ladders up to them.

‘Shit. Everyone else, keep heading down this way, then take a left, then the third right. There’s going to be a security checkpoint, but it will be thinly manned, I would think. Pajaran, do you know where you’re going?’

‘Just about. Not exactly familiar with all the fancy bits of the castle though.’

Stathis let her wings flare up again, leaping into the air and swooping over to the other tower. As the people saw her, they raised their arms up, and she saw that they were holding up a baby, swaddled thickly in cloth. She landed, taking the baby in her hands, quickly checking it over. She didn’t recognise any of the three – from their clothing, they were clerks. ‘One of you, climb onto my back. I’ll be back as soon as I can for the others.’

The baby wriggled in her arms, stubby fingers reaching out, seemingly unperturbed by the chaos happening around it. Beneath her, the building shook, something load-bearing giving way. Hands tightened around her shoulders as someone climbed on, and then she flew again. They were gripping too tightly, throwing her balance off, but she still managed to carry them over to a nearby battlement. As she fluttered to the ground, members of the Guard rushed up. One of them held a sword and pointed it at her, until she held the baby out. Clearly uncertain of how to proceed, another stepped around one and took the baby, just as it started to cry. The pressure on her neck ceased, and she leapt into the air again.

The heat from the fire was increasing, the flames licking up the outside of the building now, enough to make her sweat. Part of the wall had fallen away, revealing the rooms inside – storerooms, filled with crates and barrels. As more and more stone fell away, Stathis swooped down again. She didn’t land this time, instead grabbing them in her arms, wincing from the shock of impact, grabbing them as tightly as she could. They were heavy, her arms almost immediately straining, but it was easy to let gravity take over, banking her wings to break her fall. She tried to arc away from the tower, hearing loud thuds and crashes as it continued to fall apart, blocks smashing downwards and making impact craters. The ground was rushing up to meet her, far faster than she liked, and she landed heavily, feeling a leg buckle under the impact.

‘You two both OK?’ There was a loud thud from behind her, as a massive stone embedded itself into the ground, sending up a splatter of mud and dirt.

One was still holding onto her, tightly enough that he needed prying off, sinking to the ground in shock.

‘Let the others help you. Is there anyone else up there?’

He couldn’t quite manage to speak, but shook his head.

‘Are you sure?’

He nodded. Soldiers started to approach, looking uncertain but very much armed. A crown suddenly burst into existence around a helmeted head, and one of the guards attacked another one, stabbing them from behind. Stathis dragged herself away from the people she had rescued, hovering over the ground and slamming her fist into his helmet as she shot past. He staggered backwards.

‘He’s under some charm affect! Pin him down and disarm him!’

Her order was followed, the soldier disappearing under a pile of bodies, unable to throw them off. She grabbed a discarded shield off the ground and then jumped into the air again, her wings shedding light over the scene, more peaceful and calming than the riotous firelight.

‘Get the wizards, try and track down whoever is casting it!’ And then she flew up, heading back towards the balcony.