Olivia took several breaths to steady herself—what she’d just gone through shouldn’t have been possible. Not according to everything she’d learned in her Spellcrafting or Artificing classes. A Yovashi text had just interfaced with her . . . brain? No, more than that, with her Core as well. Not only had it interfaced with her, but it had altered some fundamental aspects of her nature. As the boots clicking on stone drew nearer, she steeled herself and looked at the System messages:

***Warning! Non-System interface detected!***

***Warning! Non-System Core alteration detected!***

***Warning! You have lost your affinity with non-attuned Energy!***

***Warning! You have lost the spell: Energy Burst - Basic.***

***Warning! Non-System Core Alteration detected!***

***Congratulations! You’ve gained an affinity with mind-attuned Energy!***

***Warning! Non-System knowledge impartment detected!***

***Congratulations! You’ve gained familiarity with @#%@#!***

***Warning! Non-System knowledge impartment detected!***

***Congratulations! You’ve learned the spell: Suggestion - Improved.***

***Suggestion - Improved: Prerequisite: Mind Affinity. Using your mind-attuned Energy and the force of your will, you are able to plant suggestions in the minds of those with whom you speak. Success is determined by the strength of your will versus theirs. The more complex the suggestion, the more Energy intensive the spell, and the easier it will be for others to resist. Energy cost: Varied, Cooldown: Short.***

***Warning! Non-System knowledge impartment detected!***

***Congratulations! You’ve learned the spell: Thought Spike - Improved.***

***Thought Spike - Improved: Prerequisite: Mind Affinity. Using your mind-attuned Energy and the force of your will, you manifest a physical attack in the mind of your target. Though your spell will not physically harm your target(s), if they do not resist your will, they will believe they’ve been harmed and suffer as though the attack were real. Energy cost: Varied, Cooldown: Short.***

“What the . . .” Olivia hissed, quickly pulling up her status screen:

Status

Name:

Olivia Bennet

Race:

Human - Improved 8

Class:

Elemental Paragon - Legendary

Level:

25

Core:

Mental Prisma Class - Improved 2

Energy Affinity:

Mind 9.2, Fire 9.6, Earth 9.6, Water 9.6, Air 9.6

Energy:

11070/11070

Strength:

20

Vitality:

72

Dexterity:

50

Agility:

20

Intelligence:

206

Will:

192

Points Available:

0

Titles & Feats:

Elemental Heritage, First Elemental Archon

Skills:

System Language Integration - Not Upgradeable

Animal Taming - Basic

Stealthy Maneuvers - Basic

Prisma Core Cultivation Drill - Basic

Mind Cultivation Drill - Improved

Spells - Basic:

Icy Shards, Stunning Ice Shards, Fiery Burst, Wind Gust, Frost Blast, Arcfrost Cascade, Pyrosteam Drill, Magma Ray, Surveying Breeze, Hunt Energy

Spells - Improved:

Elemental Bomb, Plasma Wave, Suggestion, Thought Spike

Spells - Advanced:

Elemental Form, Chromatic Personal Barrier

Spells - Epic:

Orb Manipulation

“God,” she breathed, reading over the information as quickly as possible. When she’d finished, she turned her mind’s eye inward toward her Core, and there, as always, pulsed her beautiful, prismatic Core. Her four thick bands of elemental Energy swirled around her central Core; however, before, her Core’s center had been the brilliant yellow-gold of pure Energy, and now it pulsed with a pink-white glow. The Yovashi tome had altered her Core, just as her status sheet indicated—she no longer had a pure Energy affinity, but she’d gained this strange mind-affinity.

“Have you given up? Staring into space, hoping for some sort of reprieve? Begging one of your human gods for a rescue, perhaps?”

Olivia’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice, and her lips curled down in a frown. “Of course it’s you,” she said. “And you know about human gods? More familiar with Earth than you let on, hmm?”

“Ahh, yes. A necessary subterfuge. As you’ve no doubt guessed, I’m not bound by the truth as my purer brethren are,” Professor Somhairle said, squatting at the edge of the ward ring on which Olivia knelt.

“So you aren’t a pure Fae? That much was true?”

“No, several generations separate me from my Fae grandmother, but that’s not why I’m here, Olivia.” As he spoke, Olivia became aware of more footsteps approaching. She allowed hope to blossom for a moment, thinking it might be someone coming to look for her, but then she brought herself down to earth, realizing it was probably just Carlu.

“Well? What’s the point of all this?” Olivia asked. “Did you really need to go to these lengths? Did so many have to die so you could contain me?”

“Oh, no. I’m sure I could have thought of a different scheme, but this one was so delicious, and I’ve always been a fan of serial murders. I did need to get you into a certain emotional state, and this seemed to work just fine, don’t you think?” He paused, and when Olivia opened her mouth to answer or cuss or something, he held up his hand and continued, “Tut, let’s not get into a debate, shall we? Your wish for divine intervention may have been answered.”

“What do you mean?” Olivia asked, watching Carlu saunter into view, leaning against the wall and grinning lazily at her.

“Well, some silly Fae-human has managed to make a deal. My betters are offering me a bit of a promotion to leave things be here on Fanwath, including you.”

“What?” Carlu and Olivia asked at the same time.

“Oh, yes,” Somhairle looked over at Carlu, his smile becoming even more predatory, “Sorry, partner mine. It looks like I’ll need to pull up stakes, and I’ll need to take this ward circle with me. Duchess Rime would be angered if I left it behind.”

“You can’t! What about my reward? You promised me you’d deal with her!” Carlu nodded to Olivia, who couldn’t help the smile spreading on her face.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but part of my orders was to harm her no further.” He paused and looked at Olivia kneeling in his ward circle, gently stroking his chin with his thumb. “Well, how would anyone know how much she tried to cast spells in there? I’m sure no one would mind if I activated the wards once before I collected the circle. It’ll be best for everyone’s safety, in fact.”

“Yes! Why, if you hobble her, I can deal with her myself, and then it will be trivial to pin your murders on her. You’ll be able to return freely!”

“Don’t ingratiate yourself further, Inspector,” Somhairle laughed. “I’ll not be back in your lifetime, if ever.”

“You killed them all?” Olivia asked, mind spinning, trying to think of a way to keep Somhairle from leaving. Before he could answer, she added, “What do you mean a Fae-human made a deal?”

“Oh? Are you intrigued? It seems the Summer Court is willing to part with much in order to keep my hands off you. Something to do with your little lover, perhaps? The one you were sobbing about in the garden?” He chuckled, and it was a cold, cruel sound. “Was it confusing, dear Olivia?”

“What?”

“The poem. Did it keep your mind whirling? Did you wonder who the “obedient love” was? I found it rather clever, and to think, I came up with it at the spur of the moment! I hadn’t even meant to write a poem when I toyed with young Alyss.”

“You fucking asshole!” Olivia snarled, her despair, self-loathing, and regrets all channeled into anger at the man before her.

“Well, that’s enough of that,” he said with a smile, chuckling that cold, brittle laugh. He leaned down and touched a finger to the edge of the ward circle, appearing to concentrate for a moment. Olivia started to stand, but then she was brought to her knees as the runes on the circle burst into bright blue light. She felt her Core being drained, all of her elementally attuned Energy being sucked from her and into the ward circle.

“Oh, lovely,” Carlu said, watching Olivia writhe on her hands and knees.

“Yes, that should do it,” Somhairle said as the runes began to fade and Olivia was left gasping on all fours. “Now, I’ll just tap this here,” he said, holding a small black, egg-shaped stone out to the ward circle. As the stone clicked against the metal three times, the ward circle grew warm and then burst into blue smoke, flowing into the stone egg.

Olivia, still on her hands and knees, her eyes on the stone between her hands, took a deep breath and, with a crooked smile, stood up, glaring at the two men. “Thank you,” she said, her voice perfectly clear and strong.

“What?” Carlu said. “Professor, did your ward fail?”

“That’s your concern, Inspector,” Somhairle said, turning his back to Olivia and holding out another small object. Olivia felt a surge of cold, slippery Energy, and then a swirling blue portal began to open.

“Wait!” Olvia commanded, casting Suggestion for the first time. Somhairle had drained her elemental Energies, but the heart of her Core still pulsed with the pink-white glow of her mind Energy, and though she was unfamiliar with it, she could feel its power as she drove her will into the simple command.

Somhairle paused, midstride, holding his foot in the air as he seemed to do battle with himself. Finally, he set his foot down and turned to regard Olivia, the swirling blue portal casting strange shadows on his face and on the cowering Carlu. “What’s this, then?” he asked, clearly at a loss.

“I was hoping for a Deus ex machina, as you suggested, Somhairle, but I regret to inform you that it arrived just before you did. Now look me in the eyes and tell me you committed all those murders.” As she spoke, Olivia opened her connection to the Crown of Nightmarch, and it began to glow, limned in white, ghostly flames.

“I did. I enjoyed it, fool child. Now, I promised to leave you intact, but if you’re going to use some artifact to hinder me, then I’m going to have to teach you a lesson.” Olivia felt his cold, slippery Energy begin to gather, and she simply looked at him and, using the crown, cast Thought Spike.

Carlu saw Olivia’s crown flare with rose-colored flames, saw them reflected in Olivia’s eyes, and then he saw Somhairle clap his hands to the sides of his head. As he swayed, writhing in apparent agony, Somhairle’s eyes turned red, and he began to cry tears of blood. His face turned pink, then red, then purple, and then he collapsed, rivulets of blood pouring from his ears. He twitched thrice and then lay still.

The swirling blue portal seemed to pause, strangely reversing its motion, and then it snapped shut with an audible *pop*. “What have you done?” Carlu asked the sorceress, backing away.

“Stop!” Olivia said, and he felt his legs turn to wood, rooted to the stone.

“What . . .” Carlu stammered. “Ensorcellment? You’ll be staked out and burned for this!”

Olivia walked toward him, cold fury in her eyes. “How strong is your will, Carlu? Do you want to live? Do you think Alyss wanted to live? I can’t suffer you to exist in the same world as I. Stop Breathing!” The sorceress was on fire now, blue and white flames licking her shoulders and surrounding her crown. Her eyes blazed like blue magma, and when Carlu heard her command, he wanted nothing more than to obey. He clamped his mouth shut and gave in to her will—who was he to challenge a goddess?

Olivia watched as Carlu finally stopped jerking and writhing, his body unhappy about his mind’s decision to stop taking in air. When he was still, she knelt and took the rings from his fingers, feeling around his belt and inside his vest for hidden storage devices, but only finding a few odds and ends—a pipe, glasses, a pocket watch, a handkerchief, and even a snuff box. “You were a pretentious little creep,” she said, still not feeling an ounce of remorse for what she’d done.

She gave Somhairle the same treatment, quickly stowing the black egg and his rings into a pocket of her robes. She searched for whatever he’d used to open the blue portal but found nothing; either he’d used it up making the portal, or the Fae were good at keeping those sorts of things out of the hands of the non-Fae. Olivia looked at Somhairle’s face, his flesh purple and his expression twisted, and she frowned. “You deserved worse, you fucking monster. You deserved to suffer for days or years.”

Olivia stood and started down the passage. She’d let Oylla know about Somhairle and Carlu, but then she wanted to get back to First Landing. She had to talk to Bronwyn, had to stop her from going through with whatever deal she’d made with the Fae.