The dagger's hilt landed with a loud crunch, and this time, the asshole went down.
You were right about him being strong, I sent to Anahita as I rushed over to the prone man. One of his hands had begun working out the incantation for a Fire spell, but I stabbed downward with my dagger and pinned the palm to the floor.
Fake Malcolm let out a scream of rage and pain, one that I noticed faded away somehow as soon as it reached the walls of this room.
Breena and I are muffling the sound with our Air magic, Anahita explained as I caught the asshole's other hand and pinned it to his own throat. You may take as long as you wish in dealing with this degenerate… provided that it is also as long as I wish.
Noted, I replied as I restrained my enemy with a single hand. He bucked on the floor and tried to kick me, but my other hand caught his leg and twisted it.
A few moments later, the Lightning component of my new Archmage signature spell triggered, sending powerful currents into my imposter's knee, hand, and neck.
As he jerked and spasmed for a brief moment, I activated my other signature Blood spell, Vein to Vein.
Since I was holding him, and he was currently bleeding, the spell worked easily, creating a sort of bridge between both of our bodies—and one that only I could open or close.
And as soon as I finished casting, Teeth worked his own spell inside my body, the same one that had allowed us to activate the hidden laboratory inside my body and assimilate Anahita’s poison.
This time, he used it to create the poison in my body, which I then passed into the fake Malcolm.
Quick question, I asked my dragon persona as our enemy’s eyes widened. When did you start casting spells under your own power?
Literally just yesterday, Teeth replied, and I can only do so with Blood magic. And only to the inside of our own bodies. By the way, that’s not the main poison we were planning on infecting him with. It’s just something to help us get through his vital guard. But if it does eat completely through his vital guard, it’s also going to cause a lot of unintended damage and affect the quality of his memories and anything else he has.
Fine, I grumbled, as the man underneath me began to thrash and convulse. I’ll get to work.
Now that his vital guard was battling my poison, I activated the draining ability of my spell, and attempted to drink him dry. Close to dry, I corrected myself. We’re not actually allowed to kill him.
With the help of my poison, I was able to quickly burn through my enemy’s vital guard.
But I drained the poison back into myself, just to be safe.
Then, before he could recover from the shock and start struggling again, I began draining his blood and muscles.
His horrified expression returned tenfold as he noticed his loss of muscle mass and vitality. After about another minute, his struggling ceased completely.
And with that done, I gripped his skull, and began taking directly from his brain, absorbing the code in his DNA that decided how his face looked, and how his bones and muscles shaped themselves. He was fortunately close to my height, so changing that wouldn’t be necessary, but I began to understand just how much mana this new disguise of mine would cost.
You're sure we can keep this up for most of the day? I asked Teeth, even as I ran the calculations myself.
Yep, Teeth said firmly. It would probably be a lot harder if he wasn't so similar to us, but for a creature the same species as us, with roughly the same height, weight, and hair color, it won't be too hard. Looking like a completely different person would be much harder and costlier, so we'd only able to manage that for a few hours. And we'd only be able to turn into another animal for like a few minutes.
Another animal? I asked, blinking as I drained the last of what I needed from the asshole who had just threatened a young woman and her little brother. We can flat-out shape shift?
Sure, now that I think about it, Teeth replied. In fact, if you give me a bit of time, I could probably work out something really special.
Anahita? Breena suddenly said through the mindlink. That's one of the looks you should watch out for. That one right there means he's got a really dangerous idea.
One of, Anahita noted warily, why did you say that was only 'one of the looks?'
Because he has more than one style of very dangerous idea, the little fairy said mournfully. If I ever find a way to pass this job onto someone else, I'll write an entire manual on them.
I won't ever accept your resignation, Breena, I sent through the mindlink as Teeth began to construct the next poison we were going to inject into this asshole. But if you ever write the book anyway, I promise to let you narrate it yourself.
Wait, what? the pink-haired sprite babbled excitedly. REALLY? THAT WOULD BE SO GREAT!
One down, I thought triumphantly, now to make the other Stell happy.
I took one more pass through his mind to get any remaining memories I needed, then I reached out through the mindlink again.
Alright, Anahita, I've taken what I needed. I'm going to fully immobilize him with the poison now. It will kill him in a couple of days, but do you have any special requests regarding the effects of the toxins?
"That is a wonderfully sweet question to ask of me," the dark-haired woman said as she stepped gracefully out of the shadows and into everyone's view. I heard Rana and her young brother both gasp in recognition, then look over to me with wide, desperate eyes.
"But yes, Challenger," Anahita said out loud in her smooth voice. "I would like you to afflict this abuser in such a way that he will fully remember that there are consequences for abusing women and children. Make his mind feel three times over every bit of anxiety he ever caused the young woman he threatened and harassed. And make his body feel ten times over every blow he gave this young boy whenever his sister rejected him, and he wished to vent his rage on the one person that would never dare reveal his secret injuries, for fear of making his sister blame herself."
"That motherfucking—" I started to snarl, then caught my anger. "I mean, as you wish, Lalla Anahita."
I looked down at the terrified asshole beneath me.
"Alright," I said, after confirming that he was too weak to even struggle with me. "You heard the Lalla's command. Unfortunately for you, you have made the additional mistake of using my name to harass and torture the very people I had come here to save. So I'm not going to treat you as gently as the Starsown's Satellite asked me to. Prepare yourself to regret every. Single. Thing you've done for as long as you've been in this world.”
And with that, Teeth and I made one final modification to the poison in our blood, and poured it into the false Wes Malcolm.
It was actually a hallucinogen, like what Anahita had given us.
Only instead of dreaming about a pink-haired fairy offering to share her cookies, he would feel the sensations of having a person several times larger than they were beat him, over and over, and in every place where he had beaten someone else, according to his memories.
I coupled that with the sensation of some creature constantly hunting him, one that he could never completely get away from, no matter how hard he tried.
And that was just for the first day, so that he wouldn't die too soon from shock.
Starting tomorrow, he would relive every one of my own deaths, at a rate of one per hour.
And with that, I was finished with him.
"Can we just leave him here?" I asked Anahita as I stood back up. "Or do we need to dump him somewhere more secure?"
"This building will do fine," Anahita replied confidently. "We'll stow him by some of the rubble in one of the other rooms."
"Lalla Anahita," the young woman whispered, and I turned to see her kneeling reverently in the Satellite's direction. "I thank you for saving my brother and I, but the one you have punished will not go unmissed. I fear you risk discovery by acting on my behalf."
"No, dear daughter of Sejmera," Stell's Satellite replied, "I chose this one specifically so that we could
strike later to protect the rest of our city. The imposter will not be missed, because the real Challenger will take his place."
The young woman gasped as she looked back over to me.
"Beloved daughter and son of Sejmera, this is the real Wes Malcolm, Challenger of Avalon, who has answered the Steward's call on behalf of your world. I must ask that you keep his presence a secret, until this city is liberated."
Rana blinked as she looked at me.
"Secret..." she mumbled. "Of course...wait." Her eyes widened. "She said that you would be taking your imposter's place, tonight at the dance."
"That is Lalla Anahita's plan," I confirmed, hoping I had pronounced the Satellite's title correctly.
"Then," the young woman said uncertainly, giving Anahita a nervous glance, "I will be giving that dance to the Challenger instead."
"Fear not—" Anahita began.
"No," I said at the same time, flatly and forcefully. "That will not be part of the plan. That does not get to be part of the plan. I won't allow it."
"Good," Stell's dark-haired Satellite said critically. "Because I was about to say the same thing, except in a much gentler tone. You will not be dancing tonight, Rana. I will take your place.”
“Wait, what?” the young woman asked.
“Wait, what?” Breena said as she flew into view, finally growing big enough to see.
“I said I will be performing in your place,” Anahita said simply. “And at the right moment, when our enemies are most vulnerable, the Challenger and I will end them.”
CHAPTER 32: DISCUSSING METHODS
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said, raising my hands. “Let’s all just hold on for a moment. Anahita, can we talk about this in private? Since under-aged ears are currently present?”
“Under-aged ears?” the beautiful Satellite asked as she tilted her head, before she glanced at Rana’s brother. “Ah. Right. Rana, would you mind taking your brother back to your home, and preparing the garments you are expected to wear for tonight?”
“As you wish, Lalla Anahita,” the younger woman replied before reaching for her brother.
“Hold up.” I raised my hand.
“The garments will not be overtly scandalous, Challenger,” Anahita informed me casually. “Not at this time. I will be quite comfortable with the attire, I assure you.”
“Okay, good, yes, but I was referring to him.” I pointed to Rana’s brother. “The boy that got hurt for standing up to that dirt-bag.”
“I’m already looking at him, Wes,” Breena squeaked. She had flown up to the child while Anahita and I were speaking earlier. “He's still got some lingering injuries, but I'm about to take care of them—"
"No," I interrupted, "I mean, I'd like to do it myself. He got injured by a guy pretending to be me, so he gets healed by the real thing. If he's okay with that."
I had to ask his permission, because I had no idea whether being healed by a man who looked like his abuser would be the first or last thing the child needed.
But I really, really wanted to do whatever I could to undo all the damage that prick had done in my name.
The little boy looked up at me.
"Can..." he began, turning his gaze to Breena. "Holy Fairy, can the Challenger really heal me?"
"He can heal about as well as I can," Breena replied carefully, "but it is not necessary for him to do so. If you prefer I heal you, he will not be offended."
"No," the little boy said, shaking his head, "I want to be healed by the Challenger."
"Thank you," I said gratefully, walking over to him and kneeling down. "What is your name?"
"Abhay," the little boy said, raising his chin. "My sister says it means 'brave.'"
"Then it fits," I replied, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Ready for me to start?"
He nodded, and I cast Vein to Vein.
He had lingering light bruises and some light damage to his bones, courtesy of that asshole pulling his blows just enough to hide most of the evidence of what he had done.
So, in a bit of poetic justice, I transferred some of the vitality I had taken from the jerk into the brave little boy who had stood up to him all those times.
I was about to put in a touch of my own, as an apology for allowing his injuries to come to pass, but something stopped me.
Part of it was the guilty glance his sister had been casting toward us. That glance told me that she felt responsible for her brother's injuries. That she should have known about them, and that she should have done more to stop them.
And I knew that was bullshit.
Family members could not read minds. They could not see in the dark, or hear through stone walls. They could not be in every place at once.
And they could not stop every single danger their loved ones faced.
She had been utterly powerless against the Malus imposter, just as I had been powerless against my own captors for all those months and deaths.
And from what I saw from his memories, her giving the asshole what he wanted wouldn't have saved her brother a single beating.
Just like I had known that giving my own captors whatever they wanted wouldn't have saved me from a single death.
The words I had received from the Testifier in Nedjena and many others crept further into my mind.
None of us were responsible for the injustices we had suffered.
Not Abhay. Not Rana.
Not me.
The knowledge made a burden inside of myself shift.
As it shifted, part of my power—a small portion that I didn't need, and would grow back soon anyway—transferred into Abhay.
I transferred it not out of guilt, but out of a desire to give him just a little bit more of an edge, for however long the power remained.
In that time, the Expanse would be just a little bit more fair.
And along with that power, I transferred a single memory—of a time where I had been knocked down, gotten back up on my feet, and found a way to get stronger.
And with that thought, my soul took the burden inside of it and pushed.
As power shuddered through me, I could feel the young boy come to a realization of his own, and the next moment, I felt him push as well.
When we both settled down, I let go of him, and he ran to his sister, embracing her in a hug. Anahita huddled over them both, placing a hand on each, and began whispering to them.
This time, I couldn't catch any of her words but 'survival' and 'victory.'
A moment later, Rana closed her eyes, trembled, and pushed as well.
Anahita stepped away from them, and I could tell that she was smiling under her scarf.
"Now, if you don't mind, I believe the Challenger has some concerns he wishes to discuss with me regarding the dance I have volunteered for. Please return to your home, and if you do not mind, Rana, please lay out the aforementioned garments."
"Yes, Lalla Anahita." The young woman bowed, took her brother, left, and completely ignored my sputtered protests.
The dark-clad woman turned to me.
"Now, Challenger," Anahita said as she turned to face me, with just a hint of frost in her smooth voice. "I believe you had some objections you wished to voice regarding my evening plans."
"Um," Breena began, "do I need to leave?"
"You do not," Anahita said in a voice that reminded me of steel sheathed in velvet, "in fact we will appreciate your mediation. Now, Challenger, please explain your concerns regarding my plan. And my choice of attire."
Man, I could listen to her read out of an encyclopedia all day and not even mind, Teeth mumbled in my mind.
Quiet, idiot, I said to him quickly, she's mad at us again.
Huh? Teeth asked. How do you know? What did she say, exactly?
"My concerns are..." I began, ignoring Teeth angrily, then getting angrier as I realized the hormonal moron had completely derailed my train of thought. "My concerns are that I am uncertain what exactly you will be doing tonight, how willing you will be to perform said
uncertain actions, and how comfortable I will be while you perform said actions to me. In front of a crowd. Of people we are planning to kill."
"Ohhhhhhh," Breena said knowingly, "that makes sense. I think. Do you get it, Anahita?"
"I think I do," the sable-haired woman said, her voice still soft and firm, "he is worried that I will somehow be degraded in the same fashion that those desert rats intended to degrade Rana. And that he will be forced to witness it without being able to intervene. Do I have the right of it, Challenger Malcolm?"
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