Their perch atop this tower gave Ladya an excellent view of the battle. “Beautiful,” she said.

Beside her, that wretched “spider” snarled wordlessly. Often he only slathered like a beast. His mind was broken. Perhaps she could still use him. Upon thinking what she could use, Ladya could almost smell what she wanted here—sense it in the very air.

Magic.

“Several individuals.”

Her spiders would soon feast upon them. They were excellent creatures for drawing out the blood and not wasting a single drop. She needed that blood—and untainted—if she was going to harness the energy. It was worth far more to her than what Hukama was paying for her services.

The spider caught eye of something in the street below, because he moved closer to the railing to get a look. Ladya peered down her nose at the beggarly samurai and the woman he had with him.

“Kat.”

The other woman’s voice came from behind. “Yes, Mistress?”

“We have a visitor,” she said languidly. “See that he finds us.”