by Alana Serra
Dark magic drew upon the life force of others.
“Tell me what you’ve done with Rhia,” she heard Desmond snarl.
He’d sprung to his feet, his blade in hand and poised to cleave her head from her shoulders at any second. His eyes were wild, blazing with righteous fury. In that moment, he looked every bit the paladin he wanted to be.
And she was the evil he wished to eradicate from the world.
Her mouth opened, but the plea never made it past her lips. Desmond would kill her. Nothing she could say would convince him she was really herself, and even if she could, the things she’d done…
There was no choice here. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, giving her the clarity she sorely needed. Rhia turned and ran. She ran until her legs ached, until her lungs burned, until she couldn’t hear Desmond following behind her any longer. She ran until she reached an alley, her back slamming against the wall as she tried to catch her breath.
Then she slumped to the ground and sobbed, knowing she truly had just signed away everything that mattered to her.
Chapter 4
Rhia wasn’t sure how long she stayed there as the city burned around her.
She could hear fighting in the distance, deeper inside near the guild. The adventurers were handling things, and they would ensure Esrinas wasn’t just ash and rubble by the end of it. But Rhia herself would have nothing to return to regardless. She couldn’t stay here. Even as sobs wracked her body, as the certainty of her fate soured her gut, she knew that to be the case. Desmond would never believe her, would never see her again without wanting to kill her or at least turn her over to the church of Belisan.
Rhia knew she should leave now, while everything was still chaotic. She had those three gold. She could easily make a new life somewhere. A good life. But a life without Desmond…
He’s gone. Tell yourself he was killed and move on.
Where that voice inside of her came from, she wasn’t sure. It was hard. Cold. Almost cruel. And yet it was also right. In Rhia’s world, Desmond existed no longer. Not in any way she could ever interact with again. She’d have to be thankful for the fact that he was alive and would eventually find happiness without her.
That was a bitter comfort, though, and one that left her numb more than anything else. She was still numb as the space around her began to shift into nothingness once more, time and place ceasing to exist.
“This is the problem with the humans who grow fat suckling at Belisan’s teat,” Aeredus said, his presence filling her mind again. “The world is either good or evil to them. There is nothing in between.”
“There is only good and evil,” Rhia grated out, pushing past that numbness to feel anger once more.
“Is there? Then you must be evil now, hm? Your dear Desmond certainly sees you as such.”
Pain lanced through Rhia and she closed her eyes, tears pricking at the corners of them. No. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Pushing herself to her feet, Rhia opened her eyes again and craned her neck to stare up at him. “I made my choice. Take what you want from me and let’s be done with this.”
One fine black brow arched, a smirk playing across Aeredus’ lips. “Well that’s very abrupt. Very romantic, too.”
“I’m not your lover,” she said, drawing in a breath to keep herself from simply launching at him in ineffectual fury. “I’m your servant, bought and paid for.”
“Willingly,” Aeredus reminded her.
Rhia closed her eyes, fighting back another sob. “Yes. Willingly.”
She felt those long fingers on her cheek, stroking her skin with deceptive softness. There was nothing warm about them, though. They were ice cold, as was his dark regard as he looked down at her. Avatar or not, he was an evil god. She was to be a pawn in whatever scheme he planned, and she had absolutely no recourse against it.
Had she been hoping for one? Hoping Desmond might save her again? A foolish girl’s hope, she realized, and let go of it as quickly as the thought rose in her.
“I’m afraid our transaction won’t be over so quickly, Rhiannon,” Aeredus said, his voice as smooth as ever. She suppressed a shudder, not of lust this time, but disgust.
“Then I’m to be your eternal slave. Will you keep me in this space and visit when you have need of me?”
Aeredus threw back his head and laughed. When he looked down at her again, a broad grin stretched across his cruelly handsome features. “As tempting as that is, I expect more from you than a place to house my cock. And really, you should expect more from yourself. Chin up, girl. No one likes a woman who broods.”
“Fuck you,” she spat.
A smile curved his lips and he leaned down, taking her face in his hand, his fingers pressing hard against her jaw. She tried to yank away from him, but he held firm. “Such a dirty mouth,” he admonished. “You’ll do well in your new role.”
When he let go of her, Rhia nearly staggered backward. His fingers left a searing brand on her face, the likes of which felt as though it was burned into her very soul.
“What role?”
“I’m afraid my pet is about to get herself killed,” he said with a put-upon sigh. “She certainly has the drive and thirst for power I would expect, but she’s not especially bright and she’s easily baited. Belisan’s pawns will finish her off before the day is through.”
“The Dark Lady,” she breathed, her stomach twisting as dread washed over her.
No. He couldn’t want that. He couldn’t ask that of her, it was absolutely insane.
But then… he wasn’t asking. He didn’t have to ask, and they both knew it.
“Such an uncreative title,” Aeredus said, scoffing before his lips twisted into a wry grin. “But yes. Congratulations, you’re moving up in the world. You’ve become royalty in the span of a few moments.”
“How wonderful for me.” Some of that numbness had returned, her tone disaffected.
It was a defense mechanism, she knew. There was no other way she could process this.
“It is, and it comes with more perks than the title. You had your first taste of real power back there. How did it feel?”
Her stomach clenched and it took everything in her not to retch as she remembered the sight of those sunken-in corpses. Aeredus’ grin broadened.
“Oh, you’ll get over that soon enough. Though I did start you off easy,” he tsked. “Those ones were already dead.”
Her fingers curled against her palms, pressing so hard that her nails drew blood. When she looked up at him, her eyes blazed with hatred. “Tell me what you want from me and be done with it. I’m tired of your games.”
“Direct! I like that in a woman.”
Shadows rushed inward toward the center of his form, and he was gone. Rhia drew in a sharp breath, assuming he was playing her for a fool yet again, but he reappeared behind her, his presence looming. She whirled to face him, again half tempted to launch herself at him for all the good it would do. He was just playing games of another sort now—trying to goad her.
“What I require of you is no simple feat, Rhiannon, but I believe you are fit for the task. You will take the power I have given you, take the lieutenants I am going to send to aid you, and do what my last pet could not. You will destroy Belisan’s precious ‘guild’ and take her toys away from her so that she can fight me as she was meant to—without the cannon fodder.”
“What?” she breathed, a tremor snaking through her. “Destroy the guild? Are you mad? I can’t—”
“You can and you will, pet,” Aeredus cooed, his voice soft and deceptively soothing even as the shadows cast harsh lines over his face. “Or I will reverse what was done this day and your precious paladin will die. Because of you. Is that what you want?”
Her blood ran cold as she thought of Desmond’s lifeless form. It would be worse if Aeredus was permitted to do it. He’d make sure Desmond suffered. His last moments would be agonizing, and it would all be her fault. All because she’d agreed to this deal without…
knowing the terms beforehand. Her stomach sank, her hands clenching into even tighter fists as she realized it was by design.
Yes, she’d been desperate and foolish, but Aeredus had taken advantage because that was the sort of creature he was.
“The choice is yours, of course. I would never make you do anything,” he purred, as if he could hear her thoughts.
He likely could.
“Choice,” Rhia gave a harsh laugh. “There is no choice here. My fate was sealed the moment I called for you, when I asked you to fix a problem you caused.”
“And you’re willing to be held accountable for your actions? You are a rare treat, Rhiannon.” He flashed her a grin, his smile a blinding white against the darkness. “But alas, I have other matters to attend to. If you intend to defy me, can you do it sooner rather than later? I have places to be.”
She said nothing, glaring at him with a fury she’d never known before. There was nothing she could do, nothing she could say. She’d made this deal. She’d done what she felt she needed to do. To defy him would mean forfeiting Desmond’s life, and so she kept her mouth shut until the Dark God merged with the shadows, leaving her in that endless void.
When she could no longer feel his presence, Rhia let her thoughts pull her into that rage. She let it stoke a fire inside of her, hot and righteous and unable to be doused. She’d made the choice, but he’d tricked her just the same. If he wanted her to have powers, then she would use them. But not to further his own ends.
She would do exactly what she’d done today. Help people. Undermine Aeredus at every turn. And when she’d gathered enough support, when she’d done enough to make up for her sins, she would challenge this pact she’d made and break the Dark God’s hold over her for good.
Chapter 5
When the world came back into existence around her, Rhia wasn’t in Esrinas anymore.
She had no idea where she was. Sitting atop a hill, the scratchy feeling of bark against her back, she appeared to be in a forest she didn’t recognize from first glance. The trees were a dark purple, their leaves blood red, still clinging to the branches despite the fact that it was well into autumn.
Rhia slowly pushed herself to her feet, wiping the debris from her frock. Aeredus hadn’t even given her the chance to collect any of her belongings. Not that she had much, and she wasn’t sure her apartment was still standing now, but it was yet one more thing he’d taken from her. Patting at her belt, she felt relief wash over her as she realized her coin purse was still there, with three heavy coins inside of it.
At least she wasn’t completely stranded. Now to figure out where he’d dropped her.
Stepping out of the copse of trees that shaded her from the startlingly bright midday sun—another change, as it’d been the middle of the night in Esrinas—she approached a clearing at the edge of the hill. There was farmland in the distance, with rows of pumpkins on their curling vines. Farmhouses beyond that, and when Rhia identified the river, she followed it north toward a wooden wall.
A village.
Gathering her tattered and dirty skirts, Rhia headed that way, eager to find civilization despite not having been outside of it for long. She felt so displaced, so out of sorts that what she really needed was a reminder that she was human.
But what if this isn’t a human village?
The thought stopped her in her tracks. Did the many creatures of Aeredus grow pumpkins? Did they grow crops at all? From what she’d read, they stole whatever they wanted from the human settlements, ever greedy for more. She felt confident there were humans in this place, though perhaps that didn’t mean much if the Dark God had dropped her in his own lands.
The country of Platsia hadn’t always been segregated thusly, but around the time of the first war between the gods, the land had been physically rent in two, a gaping chasm separating north from south. The humans kept vigil over the north, making the bridges that were built impassable to followers of Aeredus who had caused the war in the first place. The stragglers remaining in the north were exiled, and so it had been that Belisan ruled over the lands of humans, and Aeredus ruled over the lands of bloodthirsty monsters—and the humans who’d forfeited their souls.
She might be in the Southlands now, but they looked far more lush than everything she’d ever heard about them. Aeredus’ territory was supposed to be a barren wasteland where not even the most stubborn foliage grew. Wracked and gnarled by cruelty, the very land bore the scars of his evil deeds.
A fanciful tale, of course, but she’d learned today that at least one of those tales was true. She wasn’t going to make assumptions about the truth of the others.
As she made her way toward the village, finding a cart-worn path that passed between the fields, Rhia heard the distant sound of a horn. An obvious alarm, coming from the very place she was headed.
They were under attack.
Instinct had her crouching low behind a fence. Before Desmond, she’d spent some of her time on the street, and an orphan didn’t last long without the ability to hide. She scanned the horizon, taking in the sight of a doe and her fawn grazing in one of the pumpkin fields, a hare darting between the brush, a few birds flushed from the tall grass. All seemed quiet beyond the horn, which the animals seemed to completely ignore. Perhaps it wasn’t an alarm. Perhaps it was their alternative to church bells, however strange it was.
Yet as she listened, she could hear something thundering in the distance. To the northeast, partially obscured by the terrain, she saw the source of the ruckus: a catapult sitting atop a rolling platform, manned by two very large, very broad men with dark green skin. Orcs.
Rhia’s breath caught in her throat, her pulse quickening. Outside of the one who’d accompanied the Dark Lady, she’d never seen an orc up close. They were terrible, brutish things known for razing human villages, raping the women within them, and getting them with half-breed bastards that the church considered a mercy to put down. The existence of the catapult could only mean one thing: They intended to do the same thing to this village.
Her instinct was to run and find someone who could help. Her command of magic was so weak and she knew so few spells that she’d only be a hindrance to them until the battle was over. But as she considered where she could even go for help, Rhia realized she didn’t need to. Aeredus had mentioned powers befitting a Dark Lady, which meant she had more than the ability to heal others. She had no idea how to access any of it, but she rushed toward the village with conviction, certain this was the correct path.
After all, if she was going to undermine Aeredus, what better way to start than by killing some of his monstrous children?
She moved closer, taking advantage of the farmhouses that dotted the landscape, using them as cover while she got a better look. There were more orcs than she’d seen originally. In addition to the two manning the catapult, there were several at the gates, hacking into the wood with massive battle axes. Spearmen waited in the back lines, ready to hurl their weapons like javelins the instant they made progress.
The catapult was drawn back, the mechanism creaking as it was pulled taut. A thick ball of dung—she caught the scent of it on the wind—was loaded into the bucket, and upon a guttural order, the bundle was flung over the wall and into the village proper. People screamed, and Rhia clenched her fists as her side, feeling the tingle of magic in her fingers.
When she looked down, she saw inky blackness snaking its way up her arms, following the veins and spidering outward in thin lines. It turned her stomach, but now wasn’t the time for self-loathing. She had the power to help these people. She need only figure out how to use it.
Rhia thought back to the first time she’d consciously manifested magic in her hands. There were moments before then, tiny flickers and sparks, but always rising and falling with her emotions. It had taken an insane amount of effort to call magic to her hands when she needed it, and even then, she hadn’t been able to manage it every time. She focused on what had mostly worked before, though, e
nvisioning the intent of the magic she wanted to use rather than the form of it.
She imagined herself casting an explosion of force within the group of orcs, directly under the catapult. In her mind, splintered wood and half-melted iron were sent flying in every direction, with orcs following suit. She focused so intently on that image, feeling a strange sort of satisfaction blooming in her chest. When she opened her eyes and looked down, that purple-black energy had manifested in her palms, ready to be flung in whatever direction she so desired.
At least, that’s how she thought it would work. But when she directed her hand outward toward the catapult, nothing was thrown from it. It was not like the blazing fireballs she’d seen slung around by the guild’s wizards. This magic appeared to do nothing at first. But then Rhia felt a distant rumble in the earth, and as she watched, a burst of that same energy detonated beneath the catapult, creating a scene exactly like the one she’d conjured in her mind’s eye.
The catapult exploded in a shower of deadly shrapnel, impaling the orcs closest to it and sending them flying. A rush of visible heat followed, distorting the air around the spell, and Rhia heard the screams as orcs were burned by it, several of them slumping instantly, their weapons crashing to the ground.
She’d done it. She’d used magic to its most powerful end, visualizing something in her mind and making it happen without study or incantation or any other component. It should have been terrifying. Perhaps it was, as Rhia was unsure how to harness such immense power. But the fact that her first targets had been a band of marauding orcs attempting to destroy a human village helped to soothe her worries, and she prepared to send another spell their way.
Hunkering down at the back of a farmhouse, Rhia imagined what she wanted to happen again. As she poked her head out to get a better look at the arrangement of orcs, though, a spear whizzed right past her, so close she could feel it slice through the air not two inches from her temple. She saw the culprit, his arm still extended forward from the momentum of the throw. Several other orcs were heading her way, axes held aloft. Saliva glinted off their tusks, catching the sunlight, and Rhia knew if she was caught, she would be killed. Or worse.
