Lexie bit her lip, anxiety ricocheting through her at Lionel's measured stare. She hurried to hide her panic, trying fervently to pretend she had no clue what he was talking about.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," she said.

He cocked his head, crossing his arms over his chest. A tattoo she'd never seen before blazed on his upper arm, glowing white against his dark skin.

"The other day, I sensed a strong Eldritch energy emanating from you," he said. "And when you were passed out, I sensed two recent Eldritch influences, even stronger, hanging like a shroud. It would have to be an incredibly powerful Eldritch Lord to leave that kind of scent behind, but I'm not sure what an Eldritch Lord would be doing with you. They tend to only go after powerful mages, which you are not. Maybe your father, but not you."

He was so close to the truth that it made Lexie tight with nerves. She tried not to show it on her face, her mind scrambling to come up with an excuse.

"I have bad dreams sometimes," she admitted.

"What kind of dreams?"

"I'm not sure. I don't remember them, never remember them." She cleared her throat. "My mom died a few years ago, and I thought I was having bad dreams about her, but since I don't remember them..." She shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sure after I see the Saintess, I should be fine, right?" Aiden had told her that only one session with the Saintess' magic shouldn't hurt her, only make her feel mildly uncomfortable, depending on how much her Eldritch shard had grown. She wasn't looking forward to it, but hopefully something like that would help get Lionel off her back.

But he wasn't backing down. "What if the Saintess's magic doesn't work?"

"Why wouldn't it?"

He shrugged. "My charms didn't work either. The creature might have already bonded with your soul. You didn't sign a contract with anyone or anything, right?"

Shit. "No. I mean, I'm not sure what a contract looks like, so maybe I signed one by accident in a dream I don't remember."

He rubbed his chin. "That's what worries me. What if you got tricked into one? I'm not convinced that it's just a coincidence that a powerful Eldritch Lord started haunting your dreams randomly, especially given your proximity to Xena."

What does Xena have to do with–oh wait. Lexie started thinking of a new spin that would get her and her father off the hook.

"What do you mean?" She widened her eyes with innocence. "You think maybe it's haunting me because of Xena?"

"Perhaps," he said, and Lexie almost felt a wash of relief that he wasn't assuming that the problem was with her. "When did this start?"

"Recently," she said.

"I heard you began hanging out with a boy with an Eldritch possession."

"Oh, Jett." She shook her head. "It started before that." As much as she wanted the heat off of her, she didn't want to incriminate Jett while she was at it. "I don't know exactly when. Like I said, I don't remember the dreams." She hesitated. "I had a soul injury last year and lost my memories."

He paused. "The soul injury. How did it happen?'

"I'm not sure. They said I fell into a ditch and hit my head. When I woke up, I didn't remember anything, including my dad. Recently, I started getting some of my memories back, and I thought the dreams about my mom were part of that."

Some sympathy shone in his eyes. "Xena told me about your mother. I'm sorry."

She shrugged, feeling a little guilty for playing that card. "It's okay. It happens."

He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face."Well, it's good that you're going to be seen by the Saintess. I think that's best. But I'll also do some looking into this soul injury of yours. Perhaps that's where it all started. I just can't figure out why a powerful Eldritch is so insistently attached to you." He paused. "Who did you see after the soul injury happened?"

Oh no, they were getting too close again. "I'm not sure. You'd have to ask my dad."

"You haven't had any follow-up medical visits with anyone?" he said.

She shook her head.

"What if some of the Eldritch energy attached itself to your soul during the injury, and it's lingering? No one has checked on you to see if the injury persists?"

"No. My dad called a healer a bunch of times, but no one showed up." She shrugged. "We live in Hovelton, a pretty remote town full of mundanes. We don't get a lot of healer visits, and I guess Dad's hero benefits expired."

Lionel looked uncomfortably guilty at that. Good to know that he also thought the healer split was diabolical.

"I'll ask Dee to check out your soul, too, while she's purifying you. I'll be watching you closely, too, so let me know if anything strange happens."

"Sure."

He cocked his head. "Are you sure you're telling me everything?"

Lexie could see it faintly; the suspicion hadn't left his gaze, despite his fervent effort to put her at ease with their line of conversation.

"Yes," Lexie said. "I'm telling you everything."

He came closer, his shadow looming over her. "If you're in trouble, I can help you. I won't hold it against you if you're trapped in something you can't handle, even if you think it was your fault, and even if you're trying to protect your dad."

Lexie's hand clenched underneath the covers. So he was still suspicious of her dad. Lexie stared into his eyes, and his forthright expression, and for a second, she wished she could tell him the truth. Even if it was just to get it off her chest, and also because she was tired of hiding it from Xena.

But the urge passed, even as Lionel kept pushing.

"I can help you without incriminating him," he said. "But I can't help you if you won't tell me the truth."

"I have told you the truth," Lexie said. "I don't know why the Eldritch thing is in my dreams, and I don't know how to get rid of it."

The sound of footsteps outside Lexie's door told her that the medic was back. Her muscles eased slightly as Lionel shifted away.

"Alright," he said. "I'll let it go for now. But I'll be watching you, Lexie. Not just for Xena's sake. For yours as well."

All Lexie could do was nod.

She finally released a breath once he was gone. She also texted her dad to warn him about her conversation with Lionel. He was going to start digging into her past, and he possibly had the resources to figure out what was going on, or at least get close.

Lexie had to be even more careful now. Things were about to get dicey.

***

"Hi Lexie." Saintess Dee walked into the room the next morning, bringing sunshine and her usual affability. Lexie once more felt the overwhelming draw of her aura and felt like crying in happiness at seeing her.

"Hi, Saintess," she responded shyly.

"Please, just call me Dee." She said with her usual winsome grin, and her presence was a soothing balm. "Unfortunately, we don't have much time to chit-chat. This is supposed to be an in-and-out visit, but I'll see you again soon, alright?"

"Okay." Lexie was nervous as Dee stepped close to her, taking her hand. She felt the Eldritch particles inside her hiss and skitter, and nerves were even worse.

"Now I'm going to scan your body and bless you, okay? It will feel really pleasant, like a nice warm bath, but after I leave you, you're gonna experience a tiny crash of withdrawal, and it can be a bitch. Oops, sorry, no swearing in front of children."

"I'm twelve," Lexie said, which made Dee's smile widen.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Of course. You're a big girl now. Anyway, the withdrawal will not feel great, but you can sleep it off, and you should be back to normal in a few hours."

Lexie nodded.

"Okay. Here we go."

Dee started, and Lexie squirmed. It did not feel pleasant at all. Or rather, a part of her felt good, but there was a growing discomfort that plagued her.

The unpleasantness evolved into a burning sensation inside of her, and the anger made Lexie want to shove her off.

Luckily, Dee had her eyes closed as she asked, "Do you feel anything? I need to know if the Eldritch creature is attached to your soul or not."

"No," Lexie said. "I don't feel anything bad."

Dee frowned. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Feels good."

Dee opened her eyes, and Lexie smiled. Dee smiled back uncertainly and then scanned over Lexie's body with her hand, like she'd done to Evan years ago.

She shook her head.

"It's hard to read anything beyond faint Eldritch energy," she said. "It retreated with the blessing, and you look kind of normal, I guess. Are you sure you don't feel anything?"

"Nope." Lexie shook her head, even as nausea turned her stomach. "Did it hurt you? Did you feel anything entering you?"

"No, don't worry, I'm alright." She patted Lexie's head. "Just confused. Well, like I said, I'll be back in a few weeks to check in. It's difficult to get rid of all the essence at once, so we'll need to have regular sessions."

Shoot. "Great," Lexie said, and Dee rubbed Lexie's head one more time before she left.

After Lexie was sure she was gone and no one else was outside the door, she launched herself out of bed and rushed into the bathroom to throw up.

***

Lexie was finally released from the infirmary on the third day after she woke up.

She had a lot of work to catch up on. She'd also sadly missed her appointment with Flora to visit the healer.

Flora was telling her all about it toward the end of Herbology class, before Torin came to interrupt.

He walked in right at the tail end of the conversation, and Lexie saw him step into the path of Jett, who'd been carefully carrying a pot of thousand-year-old ginseng that they'd studied and were going to brew during their next class.

Torin strode in his usual militaristic fashion, but with his attention on Lexie and Flora, he didn't see Jett and wasn't able to pivot in time. He walked right into the pot, which flew out of Jett's hand and went crashing onto the floor.

Torin's eyes followed the trajectory of the disaster, and he appeared frozen in disbelief. His face heated up, and it was the first time Lexie had seen him embarrassed.

"Well," Professor Giantsbane said. "It took me nearly a century to locate and develop that to perfection. And now it is completely useless. How nice."

"Sorry," Torin said instantly as he gave Jett an apologetic look. "I'll replace it."

The professor arched his hairy eyebrow. "Do you have a thousand years to lend me?"

"No. But I can ask my Grandmother if she has access to a time dilation chamber."

He sighed. "It's alright. It wouldn't be the same, and it's my fault for having infants handle prized plants anyway."

"Hey," Flora, Lexie, Jett, and the other student who wasn't Clara protested. "That's mean."

Giantsbane smirked. "Count yourselves lucky. You guys would be considered below infants in my species."

"I'll look into acquiring another of those plants for the lab," Torin said. "My apologies again."

"That's alright, Firebringer. I appreciate it."

With a quick nod, Torin came up to Lexie's table.

"I need to talk to you," he told Lexie. "Your class is over, correct?"

"What, no hi to me?" Flora cocked an eyebrow. "What am I, chopped goat?"

"Hi Flora," he said, but Lexie noticed that he didn't quite meet her eyes when he did. She glanced between Torin and Flora and wondered exactly what their relationship was, but then Torin snapped his fingers to bring her attention back.

"I need to talk to you."

"You mentioned, but you should know I still can't exercise for a few days. The whole demonic possession thing messed with my system healing, and Saintess Dee said I need a few days of rest." At least something good came from this fiasco.

"That's not what I want to talk to you about."

Lexie shared a look with Flora, wondering what the big secret was.

"Alright." She hopped off her seat and told Flora, "I'll be back."

"Sure."

She walked away with Torin and asked, "What's up?"

"I wanted to tell you that I'll be going to a dungeon soon."

"Oh." She blinked. "Before or after the break?" Their winter break is coming up in just a few days.

"During. I'm assigned to accompany my third-year mentor into a Level 4 dungeon. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but probably within a few days."

"Oh." Lexie was suddenly very nervous about it. Her mother had disappeared in a dungeon, and so had her Uncle. She stared at Torin and imagined never seeing him again.

She didn't want him to go. But she couldn't tell him that.

"Why do you have to go?" She asked. "I thought heroes barely do dungeon work."

"Sometimes, it's necessary. This is one of those times, and given the large-scale capacity of my skill and my power level, it makes sense for me to accompany them."

No, it didn't. He was still a kid, a year and some change older than Lexie.

Lexie wanted to protest further, but she didn't think she had a right to. They weren't that close anyway.

"Be careful," she told him instead, her mind troubled.

"I will. Anyway, I'm telling you this because I won't be able to leave school with you. My mom initially wanted me to accompany you home, but you'll go with extra security instead. They'll meet you at the trolley stop, four of them."

"Four?" That felt excessive. "Why four?'

"We get a lot of attacks as Firebringers. We're used to it, but you might not be."

"I see." Lexie also figured her father had told Stella something about the Pirate guy, but he couldn't have given out that much information, given that Stella wasn't supposed to know her father was helping with the investigation. But she had to know enough to be able to protect Lexie from the pirate guy.

Lexie was scared of him showing up and hurting her. The fact that he could see the future terrified her even more and added a sinister layer to her constant sensation of being watched. So, in this case, she was glad and appreciative of Stella's efforts to help. She'd have to call her later and tell her.

"Sounds good," Lexie said as they walked toward the gym. "By the way, what's going on with you and Flora?"

Torin, the unshakeable, quick-reflexes Torin Firebringer, nearly tripped on his own two feet at the question as he pivoted to her with a look that could only be described as panicked. "What do you mean?"

"You two clearly know each other. Are you friends?"

He cleared his throat officiously. "We're in the same class and attended a lot of the same events."'

"And you met as children, right?" Lexie recalled Flora telling her that she'd gone over to Stella's house once. That might have been a more frequent occurrence than she'd imagined.

"Something like that." His face was still red, and he coughed awkwardly to clear his throat again. But it was the shiftiness of his gaze, more than anything else, that revealed the truth to her.

"Oh my Gosh," Lexie gasped loudly, slapping her hand over her mouth. "You like Flora. As in you like, like her.

Torin turned red as a tomato. "No."

"You do! Ew."

"Excuse me? Ew?"

Torin looked offended, so Lexie added, "No, not ew as in it's gross, just ew as in I can't imagine you liking someone. Especially Flora."

"Why? Because we're so different?"

"Well, yeah, and also you're both kids. Wait, when did you start liking her? How long have you been friends? Does she know? Is that why you're always getting distracted around her?"

"Can we drop the subject, please?" Torin groaned.

"Nope. Come on, tell me. Oh, wait, are you the arranged marriage guy?"

His head snapped to Lexie. "There's an arranged marriage guy?"

Lexie's lips pressed together, her eyes widening. "Shoot. I didn't think that was a secret." Sorry, Flora.

Torin was waiting for her response with a rapidly shifting expression, and Lexie shook her head. "I'm not sure if I can tell you more."

"It's fine." From Torin's face, it certainly wasn't fine, and Lexie felt bad that she'd thoughtlessly broken his heart like that.

But also, he was like thirteen. Most emotions would feel big at that age, but they probably wouldn't last. He might like a different girl in a couple of years, which might be for the best because Lexie didn't think Flora liked him back. Or at least she didn't act like it, but then again, she probably didn't know how he felt.

Should Lexie say something?

Nope. She shook her head. I have too much on my plate to be playing cupid.

What did she know about relationships anyway? She'd never been in one.

Lexie spent the rest of the day resting, leaving Stella a voicemail, and looking at the brand-new shimmering card in her inventory. She wondered what she was supposed to do with it. It would probably come in handy should she run into another Eldritch again, but she didn't want to risk doing what she did with the Tree creature and potentially getting stuck in their soul.

So then what was the card for? Could she possibly find a different use for it? What if she could analyze its pathway and extrapolate from that to form three different cards, one as a void creator, one as a light killer, and the other one as a telekinetic card (which she still planned to make for Astrid)?

Or what if she could learn more about this soul card mechanism to make more soul cards?

It was certainly interesting to study because it was a card attached to one's soul that didn't seem to have a limit on its power. Then again, the system might impose a limit should she attempt to use the card on Earth. In which case, she could pull out her ambassadorial key to buzz it through.

Would that work? Would the system let her? The card was crazy overpowered and was made with more components than just Fae Crystals. Would it even show up in the system? It was in her inventory, so probably?

More importantly, could she recreate another soul card without almost dying in the process? To help siphon and limit her own Eldritch energy?

That would be an exciting breakthrough.

If only she could check the Undernet right now and ask about it, but she was staying away because of that creep. Naem certainly wouldn't tell her, even if he wasn't busy at the moment. He would think experimenting with such a thing would be too dangerous.

And Lexie was inclined to agree.

She sighed deeply, and her system screen blinked to alert her to an incoming call.

She frowned, blinked twice, and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing right.

The call was coming from Tate Reynolds.

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