I returned to the manor with the knight-exorcist in tow several hours before dusk. I didn't see Qoth, but Vanya met us at the front door. Her eyes widened at the sight of Ser Kross. She dipped into a hasty curtsy.

"How's Emma?" I asked her.

"Awake." Vanya's eyes returned to me. "She… well, you see…"

"What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing," Vanya assured me. "She's just acting strange. I haven't been able to get her to rest since the physik's medicine wore off. You should speak with her, I think."

She glanced at the knight-exorcist again. "I will prepare some tea. And food."

Ser Kross inclined his head graciously. "That would be lovely."

Vanya blushed, curtsied, then scurried back into the manor. I let Ser Kross follow her, going in search of Emma. I found her in her room, where she paced like a caged lioness. The window hung open, letting in chill autumn air. Candles burned on various surfaces, little flames flickering in agitation whenever the young warlock passed one.

"Where were you?" She snapped without greeting me.

I studied her a moment without responding, stopping at the open doorway. She wore fresh clothes similar to those from the morning, only with shorter sleeves. Her arms were wrapped in dense layers of bandaging.

My eyes lingered on the small cuts around her eyes. They made her hawkish gaze seem somehow feral.

"Hunting for your revenant," I said. "You should be resting."

"I'm fine." Emma turned her back to me and stalked over to the window. "It's just a few cuts."

"It could have been much worse."

Emma stopped her pacing, her posture going stiff. I watched her collect herself, imagining the soup pot of emotions that must be simmering beneath the surface. Embarrassment, frustration, and wounded pride.

I'd done foolish things to prove something before, either to myself or others. I knew some of those feelings.

To fill the silence I glanced around the room. It didn't give me much of an idea about the young noble. Mostly bare, with some hunting trophies on the walls. I wondered if those belonged to the girl, and suspected they did.

Something that did catch my eye were the books. She kept a whole shelf on one wall, with tomes on a number of subjects. Some were laid on a table by the fireplace, others on the mantle by the bed. She'd marked pages in many.

I ran my fingers across one volume set next to the bed. By the creases on the spine and the markers she'd put in the pages, something I usually only saw people do with scripture, it was obvious she'd read it many times.

"The Writ and the Mien, by Ser Alphonse Dance." I smiled at the familiar work. "I've read this."

"You can read?" Emma asked in a droll voice. I glared at her, even as I quietly wondered why the fell young aristocrat was pouring over a work on chivalry.

She stared at me intently, her angular face difficult to read. "How did you do it?"

I tilted my head a bit to one side, turning my attention back to the book. "Do what?"

Emma tsk'd. "Don't play dumb. When you broke my magic. How did you do it?"

I waited a beat, then sighed and turned away from the book to face her. "Why? So you can try to win next time?" I let my voice become hard. "There won't be a next time. I shouldn't have sparred with you in the first place, and I especially won't do it with sorcery. I'm here to slay a monster for you, milady, not be a practice dummy for your Art."

Emma opened her mouth, then snapped it close. I didn't understand the expression on her face. Shock? Confusion?

Why would this surprise her?

"But… Nath said…" Emma clenched her jaw and turned her back on me again. She clasped her hands behind her back, like a commander hearing a report. "Fine. So what did you accomplish, hunting for my parents' murderer?"

"First of all," I said, "that your own ancestor murdered him first."

Emma became still. "How did you learn this?"

"I spoke with the dead," I said. "There aren't many secrets the denizens of the Underworld aren't privy to. You're being hunted by the risen spirit of a man your family betrayed during a sacred union."

Emma shrugged. "And what does this change? I told you the revenant was an old enemy of my House."

"It changes a lot," I said. "I should have had these details from you, so I know what it is I'm dealing with."

I sensed her putting up walls. Sighing, I softened my tone. "How are your arms?"

"They're fine," Emma lied.

In the corner of my vision, I caught a cloaked figure waiting at the end of the hall. I pushed off the door frame. "I brought someone here who might be able to help. Will you let him take a look?"

Emma turned to me, suspicion writ on her face. "Brought who?"

When Ser Kross stepped into view, Emma's face twisted into a scowl. "Lord Brenner's hired witch hunter?"

Kross let that comment roll off his steel clad shoulders. "I don't specialize in hunting witches in particular, my lady. House Hunting has employed me to help protect the people of this province, which presently includes you."

His gray eyes went to her bandaged arms. "Will you allow me to see?" He held a hand out toward her, palm up.

"Did Lord Brenner send you?" Emma looked at me, her expression darkening. "Did you tell him?"

"I didn't. Ser Kross is here by his own choice. We ran into one another at an old cemetery nearby."

Uncertainty cracked the young Carreon's disdainful mask. I saw her wrapped fingers twitch. She put on a good show, but her posture was too controlled, her face too pale with discomfort.

I knew Emma couldn't completely bend her pride. So it didn't surprise me when she just shrugged as though it were no big matter. "Very well. If you want to say a few prayers for me, father, then by all means."

Ser Kross's lips twitched into a small smile. "I may at that, but let us see what we're dealing with first."

He had Emma sit on the bed, taking a knee on the floor next to her. Carefully, he unwrapped the bandages while I watched from the door. Vanya lingered in the hall as well, her face drawn with worry.

I tried to hide my reaction once the girl's arms were bare. They were lacerated with cuts, some of which still bled. Moving them seemed difficult, and she winced even at Ser Kross's light touch on her wrist.

"You are very lucky a major artery didn't get cut," the knight murmured.

"That's what the physik told me," Emma said. Though she forced a disinterested tone, the slight purse to her lips and furrowed brow were telling.

"Be very still," Kross ordered. He closed his eyes, held Emma's wrist with both hands palm up, then bowed his head. I could see her discomfort in the way she fidgeted, obviously fighting the effort to pull her hand away.

She didn't, and after a minute I felt something change. Vanya stiffened, and Emma's eyes widened.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

I watched a faint light form around the knight-exorcist. It congealed into the barely distinguishable shape of a figure with four feathery wings, an androgynous form, and a serene, subtly sad face. It reminded me of a saintly statue made of very faint silver-white light.

"What is happening?" Vanya whispered. "I feel…"

She didn't see it, I realized. Only I, with my aura-laced eyes, could perceive the blessed spirit manifesting in the room. I watched its slender hand reach out, fingers curling around Emma's elbow. Her eyes remained locked on Ser Kross — she didn't see it either. However, as it touched her, she shivered violently and bared clenched teeth as though she'd touched solid ice.

Ser Kross frowned. I felt my hackles rise. What had he sensed? Would the seraph feel Nath's dark presence on the girl? The Blood Arts were ill regarded by some sects of the Faith, but weren't officially considered blasphemy. Consorting with a Fallen was a different matter entirely.

But the Church paladin said nothing, continuing to concentrate. The spirit's slender hands went over Emma's skin as though working at clay, and where they passed the cuts closed, scabbed, and faded. Within several minutes, only faint scar tissue remained.

A miracle. Emma let out a sigh of relief as the pain of her injuries left. I imagined it felt something like the end of a bad dream.

Last were the cuts around the young noble's eyes. The spirit brushed its hands over Emma's temples, as though adjusting her hair, and those cuts faded also. Then, leaning forward, the seraph kissed the girl on her brow.

I'm not sure if Emma felt that touch, but she did close her eyes and relax. Much of the tension went out of her, making her seem more her age.

The light faded, and Ser Kross sagged. He sweated, and I thought perhaps I saw a touch more gray in his dark brown hair. "It is done," he said.

Emma lifted her arms, inspecting the faint scars there. She flexed the fingers, opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She seemed at a loss.

Ser Kross stood and turned to me. He had a slight stoop to his posture that hadn't been there before. "She would have lost much of her ability to wield weapons had nothing been done. Some of those cuts went deep, and the physik's tinctures weren't doing anything for the infection. They often don't with magical wounds, and these were angry."

He drew in a deep breath and wiped at his brow. "It is good you brought me."

Emma's face went pale. I winced, and Vanya whispered a prayer to the Heir.

Fool, I cursed myself.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked him.

Ser Kross nodded. "I just need some rest. As do the two of you. Sorry, three of you." His gaze went to Vanya. Only then did I note the shadows under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping either.

"Good idea," I said. "We'll talk later."

"Yes," the knight agreed. "We will, but I'd like a word with you now Alken."

I steeled myself and followed him down into the parlor. The knight seemed to gather himself before standing straighter and wheeling on me.

"The girl is touched by darkness. A shadow clings to her."

I shrugged. "The revenant—"

"It is not." The knight held up a hand to stall my words. "I know the presence of the restless dead. Or my companion does. I cannot be certain what it is — some shadow of her bloodline? If it is a curse, then it is grossly strong. If it's something else…"

His jaw flexed as he considered. "I have seen such things before, especially since the wars. Dark things have a nasty habit of clinging to the angry, the dispossessed…"

He returned his gray eyes to mine, his next words emerging more assured. "I may need to perform an exorcism."

I tried to hide my wince. "Don't you think this might be a poor time for that? We have another enemy to deal with already."

"They may be related," Ser Kross said. He held up his hands and laced his fingers together, forming a single large fist. "Perhaps it is some minion of the revenant, or has something to do with why it hasn't attacked her directly? I cannot be certain, but it is worth dealing with. I will need time to prepare. Ritual material, meditation. The young lady's cooperation would help."

I didn't like the way he said that last — as though Emma's consent were a convenience he could make do without. For a moment I wasn't sure what to say. How did I lead him away from paying too close attention to the girl? I didn't imagine it would go over well if he banished Nath's influence from her.

Another disturbing thought struck me. I should have been fully in agreement with the knight about getting rid of Nath's hold on Emma. It seemed a good thing in the long run, to repel the Fallen and put the young Carreon back on the straight and narrow. Why did I balk at the idea?

Because it will put you on the spit. If it were only me facing the consequences, I would have without hesitation. But Donnelly's warning about conflict between the Briar and Heavensreach should I fail here haunted my thoughts.

Why was the right path always so damn difficult to find?

"If whatever you sensed is the reason the Orley ghost hasn't attacked Lady Emma so far," I began carefully, not wanting to let on that I suspected that was exactly the case, "then banishing it might put her in immediate danger. We should observe longer. Besides, she used magic in anger today and her power has a dark history behind it. You might have just been feeling her own aura."

That hardly seemed to comfort the knight. "For someone so young to have an aura so bloodsoaked… this does not comfort me, Master Alken. I am tempted to try expelling her Art from her. That can also be done with exorcism."

What he suggested horrified me. "That's impossible."

"It is not," Ser Kross said while holding my gaze. "Certain sects of the Church have made extensive progress in our understanding of the Auratic Arts in recent decades. It is difficult and poses some risk, but I think letting that power ferment in the girl might be more irresponsible. If I take her to one of the Priory's sanctums, future tragedy could be averted."

What he said sounded impossible, and — I had no other word for it — evil. It wasn't like severing a rotten limb. Mutilating someone's aura, their very soul, in the way he implied would be tantamount to taking core memories, or lobotomy of the kind I'd heard it said some of the continent's physiks practiced.

I wanted to reject the idea that it could even be done. But Art could be attached to a soul, couldn't it? I'd had a whole arsenal of magics alloyed to mine. Surely, that must make the reverse possible too.

I wouldn't allow it. Emma might have a dark legacy, and I might have known her less than a handful of days, but I would never condone that sort of fell surgery.

I held the man's gaze for a long moment. I was taller, and he had to slightly raise his eyes to meet mine. I made sure he heard every word I spoke next.

"Whatever its past, that magic is part of her soul. You rip it out, you're going to maim her. Possibly forever. You try it and I will stop you. Do you understand?"

Ser Kross's expression never changed. He didn't get angry, or defensive, or try to threaten me back. He studied me a while, and I had the distinct impression he appraised me in that moment, reaching some sort of judgement.

He gave a slow nod. "For now, let us focus on the creature hunting her."

I wanted to demand his oath not to try what he'd suggested. I decided to accept the compromise, though I still felt disgust and rage boiling in my gut. "I agree."

Ser Kross turned, adjusting his cloak so it draped more over one shoulder than the other. "For now, I will return to Brenner. Will you and the young lady be joining us for his lordship's hunt?"

I felt relieved he'd decided to leave on his own. Now he'd revealed his attitude toward Emma, I wouldn't have been comfortable with him staying in the manor. "Maybe." I kept my tone neutral. "I'll see what the young lady thinks."

Ser Kross nodded, still with that pondering look on his face as though I were a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "Get some rest then, Alken of the Fane. This is only the beginning."

I ate a brief meal in the dining room while Emma rested. Though healed, the girl seemed exhausted from the ordeal and hadn't stayed awake long after the exorcist's departure. Vanya came in as I finished to clean up. I thanked her, but she wouldn't meet my gaze.

I lingered by the door. "I am sorry about what happened today," I told the maid.

Vanya took a deep breath. "I know Lady Emma can be… difficult." She swallowed, making a visible effort to control her emotions. "But she is also very young. Even had things only been kept to swords, with no sorcery, it would have been just as much your responsibility. You are older and much stronger."

I nodded. "I know. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't."

This quieter moment gave me time to study the maid more closely. She wasn't quite as old as I'd thought. Early thirties at most. I'd noted before that she seemed tired, her eyes shadowed by lack of sleep, her long, thin face set in perpetual worry. Taller than average, she had bony shoulders set wide to frame a long, thin neck, the effect subtly graceful. I could imagine those tired eyes crinkled with laughter in happier times.

No laughter in them now.

"You're staring, my lord."

What are you doing? I blinked and looked away. Vanya didn't seem pleased by the attention. She shuffled uncomfortably.

To shift attention from the awkward moment I said, "I'm not a lord."

Vanya had made her way around the table by this point and stood near me, speaking directly. "It's hard to believe that. Your eyes… they seem too bright. They glowed earlier today when you were sparring with the lady, and after when you tried to heal her."

I grimaced. "I'm just a vagabond now. These…" I waved at my eyes. "They're useful. Just a tool."

"A tool?" The maid seemed curious.

"They let me see magic, curses, and spirits. Some other things. I can tell when someone's lying to me under certain conditions."

The maid looked unsettled. "I see."

She went back to cleaning the table. Something made me linger.

"You care about her," I said. "Lady Emma, I mean."

Vanya paused. Her face became reflective. "I took care of her grandmother before she passed. No one else in the villages near this manor were willing to work for the Carreons. Lord Brenner would send his own servants, or order the villagers to tend to the grounds, but rumors about Emma's family left very few willing. Anastasia Carreon was even more difficult than her granddaughter if you can believe it. People thought her a witch, and she did little to dissuade them from that idea."

A tiny smile touched the maid's mouth as she fell into recollection. "I think it amused her."

"But you stayed?" I asked.

Vanya shrugged. "It's good work, and the Huntings pay well. Especially since I don't have any other servants to share with."

I felt it to be more than that, but I wouldn't grill her further. I left the room and found Qoth waiting for me in the foyer in his coachman form.

"Making friends I see." I could almost see the fey grinning under his cloth mask.

I sighed. "Did you need something, Qoth?"

The familiar's eyes were gleeful. "I did as you asked. The priest has left the village and is going into the woods. I can track him."

"Good." I put all other thoughts from my mind and focused on what needed to be done. "Show me to him."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.