Saithorthepyro

Chapter 99 - Endgame III

The main cathedral of Halspus was a towering structure, hewed from white marble in centuries past, spires reaching up to scrap the sky. Six of them at each corner of the hexagonal temple stretched upwards, narrowing only at the very end to form points. Otherwise the rest of the temple sat relatively slow, a hexagonal block with engravings on the outside, showing Halspus and his progression from simple farmer to returning life to the blasted landscape of Anglea by letting the sun shine once mo...

Chapter 98 - Endgame II

The grate didn’t take long to melt. After that had been the wards, a pair of them laid perpendicular to each other, ready to trigger the moment they were crossed. I hurriedly chipped away at the sides of the chimney, cutting a hole above where an anchor had been set for each, and poured more acid, letting it each through mortar till it reached the emitters.

Both disappeared from sight, and I continued downwards.

A host of minor spirits shot ahead of me, the spells keeping them o...

Chapter 97 - Endgame I

When I stumbled out of meeting the drakes, my face was numb, my leg sore, and my taste buds obliterated. Voltar waited in the front room, talking calmly but insistently with some guards.

“Ms. Harrow,” Mr. Voltar said, a bit of a shock in his voice. “Are you alright?”

Oh, right, that sensation on my face wasn’t just the crispness of the air. Hopefully, these bruises would heal quickly.

“Doing well, Mr. Voltar,” I said. “I’m guessing you weren’t at home whe...

Chapter 96 - Conversation over Tea VI

By the time the multiple guards who joined the first had finished, I was actually still in better shape than when Melissa had worked me over.

Oh sure, every inch of my face ached, but they’d managed to not break my nose, or an orbital bone. I had my teeth, and I wasn’t drooling blood out onto the carpet when two of the guards carried me into the drawing room. Harp music played as they pulled me over to the sofa.

Three others waited inside, two of them too occupied with their o...

Chapter 95 - Conversation over Tea IV

“Lily,” my uncle replied stiffly. “You finally show your face after abandoning your family for five years? After leaving the care of your mother to a diabolism-wielding lunatic, it’s only after your ill judgment is revealed that you dare come back?”

I breathed out, forcing slow breaths. My care for this man’s approval had ended a long time ago, so best to ignore any urgings, telling me to feel shame over whatever he said.

“We didn’t abandon you, Uncle,” I replied...

Chapter 94 - Conversation over Tea III

The next morning, my head felt much better.

At least by now, it felt like a mere needle plumbing in the depths of my grey matter to cause me pain. Still an agonizing feeling, but less than the chisel that had been attempting to split it in twain the day before.

I kept the curtains drawn, though. Light still hurt my eyes, and even the lantern I was currently using was only tolerable when kept outside of my view. Hopefully, this would fade as fast as the pain in my head. My errant t...

Chapter 93 - Conversation over Tea II

After I’d finished emptying the contents of my stomach all over poor Doctor Dawes’ shoes, they’d settled me down at the tea table. Voltar had cleaned it up and returned, while Dr. Dawes poured us all some tea.

I hadn’t tasted it yet, my fingers gripping the handle in a death grip as my gaze darted between the two. My head pounded, and it felt like the chair I was sitting in was swaying back and forth.

If this was the worst, could I escape? I felt like just getting out of t...

Chapter 92 - Conversation over Tea I

When I woke up, it was blinding.

Light scoured my eyes, a searing brightness that felt like hot pokers being pushed into their sockets. Something moved near me, and I tried to scream. All that came out was a weak whine as my throat burned.

I blinked tears out of my eyes, then wrenched them shut as the blinding light refused to stop shining. The inside of my head felt like a chisel being taped further into place with every second. 

“Ah, Miss Harrow, you’re awake,” ...

Chapter 91 -Rats in a Maze IV

I moved, running back towards Dawes and Malstein, hoping I could make it.

Two steps and the ground beneath me shifted as the low rumble of the earth elemental grew. My hoof stepped on a section as it cracked, and it sent me to the ground. 

The shaking didn’t stop, sending me from one side to another as rocks fell from the ceiling above. I scrambled forward, only for something to land on my shoulder blade. I couldn’t hear my scream over the rumbling as I collapsed.

M...

Chapter 90 - Rats in a Maze III

More had survived than I thought.

Calamities always seem worse at first glance, and this had been no exception. Plenty of those I’d thought were dead had turned out to be alive. 

Morbid and cruel it might be to think, but that had caused more problems. A mad scramble developed to get the wounded out before the water came crashing down. 

Not all of them lived. The survivors who could walk pulled the others screaming and shuddering, and carried them roughly across ...

Chapter 89 - Rats in a Maze II

As soon as that Malstein was yelling, already quelling a brewing panic.

“Everyone starts cutting blindfolds now!” he roared. “I want them ready and able to be donned at a moment’s notice!”

I cocked my ear as another roar echoed across the walls. It wasn’t that close.

“We should barricade the entrances,” I yelled to the captain. “It’s not close, and when we’ve blindfolded ourselves the sound of it smashing through can tell us where it is.”

Malste...

Chapter 88 - Rats in a Maze I

 “Malvia?” someone asked me. I couldn’t tell who, but I got my laughter under control.

“Sorry,” I said as I passed the piece of paper back to Dawes. “I simply can not believe how gullible those Pure Bloods are to fall for this. This must be fake.”

It had to be fake. Sure, the Church of Halpus hated Infernals. Sure, they’d been making moves recently. But there was a difference between that and this, a signed writ directly beseeching some random human street gan...

Chapter 87 - Interrogations V

It took quite a bit of time to get Kalasyp out of the tomb he’d been placed in. It had proved too risky to take him through the tunnel we’d dug, so we needed to remove the planks. I’d gone under, skinned my leg, and hit my broken one hard enough I think something had broken again. 

After ten minutes of lying on the ground focusing on not crying, I made it over to the planks.

It had been such a simple explosive I’d been tempted to start yelling at Malstein for sending ...

Chapter 86 - Interrogations IV

This wasn’t going to be subtle.

Watchmen marched down a tunnel, the sound of dozens of boots on stonework cacophonous to the point I’d covered my still-enhanced ears. They’d broken out armor for this, breastplates shining as they trod through the narrow tunnels, barely able to fit two across. Rifles had been traded for pistols and swords for the close-quarters the tunnels would force on them.

It made for a cramped passage and a worse racket as they walked. I’d have gone in...

Chapter 85 - Interrogations III

“I can’t really blame whoever was supposed to do research on us for missing that information,” I said, leaning forward on my chair, head resting on my hands as I grinned. “We ran quite a game past the Watch and others for years on some of that. I do need to ask around exactly what the reaction was when they found out all of the dirty little details. The ones they did manage to find out, anyway.”

I definitely would not be doing that around Malstein, and the fact he probably was...

Chapter 84 - Interrogations II

I’d had to wait nearly an hour for the Watch carriage to take me to the Coffin.

Waiting that long had been an hour of impatience, but going alone was out of the question, so instead I had tapped my foot just inside Voltar’s house till the carriage had arrived.

A quick exchange of passcodes and a mutual paralyzation of each other later, Captain Malstein welcomed me into the carriage. I settled across from him and two other members of the watch. Both of them had loaded crossbows...

Chapter 83 - Interrogations I

Half an hour after deciding on this plan with Elise, I became convinced we were heading for disaster.

The alterations had gone well. At first. Then the staff had knocked on the door and telling Elise that because of security concerns, the entire first layer would need to be evacuated within half an hour.

“This will not work,” I muttered, looking in the mirror.

You could see the thickened bone where my horns had been, hurriedly covered up by skin. Skin that was supposed t...

Chapter 82 - Archive VI

I was halfway across the records room, weaving in and out of patches of Hellfire, when I realized something important.

The list I had was circumstantial evidence that Lord Montague had been researching things the shape-changers desired. The paper he’d given to two of them granting them entry into these Archives? A much more solid piece of evidence.

I turned my attention to my mangled arm first. No healing potions, but I needed something done to it. Staunch the bleeding, repair t...

Chapter 81 - Archive V

I hurried over to Martel, grabbing the back of his bonds.

“Not a word,” I hissed as I dragged him with both hands, stuffing the list of Lord Montague’s titles into my pockets using my tail.

The skin of my diabolism-tainted arm tingled, bits of crimson deepening in hue. Deepening out of anticipation.

I tried to breathe more slowly even as I continued dragging Martel. Remain calm Malvia. No need for violence just yet. There were rows of filing cabinets in here, plenty of...

Chapter 80 - Archive IV

“Spppf!” 

I paused, the edge of my teeth lightly poking into his skin. The archivist was nodding vigorously while also screaming loud enough that it sounded like a hog squealing.

Wrong comparison to make. My stomach grumbled in response as my mouth salivated. The Archivist’s muffled shrieking somehow grew even louder.

I opened my mouth and released his hand. 

“Be quiet,” I whispered. There was no one close enough to overhear, at least that I could h...

Chapter 79 - Tea Party III

Gregory sat numbly among the bodies, watching as the two shapechangers flew across the sky.

They didn’t remain in the air for long, already making for a rooftop. It made sense. There were things in the sky that wouldn’t tolerate sharing the airspace. Best to just change into human people once they’d made it a couple of miles, then disappear into the milling crowd.

He looked down from the lying figures, to the wreckage of the tea party. Smashed apart tables and chairs mixed w...

Chapter 78 - Archive III

Finally, some of what Gregory and Elise described matched reality.

I stood next to a bookshelf, using the ladder and a nearby cart loaded with returns as cover. Someone would be back to finish these, some of which I’d perused for a few moments. For now, it worked to keep me hidden from sight and observing the flow of traffic in and out of the library’s offices.

They were…well; I thought the bank outside had been massive. Not sure if illusion or just really expensive stone sh...

Chapter 76 - Tea Party II

Gregory stared mutely as Malvia’s body twitched, a finger-blade pushing through her eye.

Screams broke out. The fake Elise twisted her finger, grinning as the other fingers on that hand elongated. People moved away from the tables while the constant drumbeat of the rain hit overhead.

Rebecca Barnes went limp, still disguised in Malvia, the smile on her face now a confused frown as her legs gave way. The changer’s spear-finger held the corpse up, another pair shooting forward t...

Chapter 75 - Archive II

I had to hand it to the archives. Whatever they may have skimped on, the quality of their bookshelves wasn’t one of them.

Several inches thick, it was proving difficult to rot through at a reasonable pace. Instead, individual spots would take second after agonizing second as magic simulated the effects of fungi on it, slowly chewing through inch after inch till it was down to a thickness I might punch through.

There was no question about what this was doing to me. I squirmed as ...

Chapter 74 - Tea Party I

Gregory Montague considered the person across from him in the carriage as they rode, while a discordant orchestra played in his head.

Rebecca Barnes had talked to him only a little since they’d entered the carriage, mostly very inappropriate suggestions that he could only assume were because of his reputation.

Honestly, the way she’d suggested a few things, it was as if she expected him to try kissing her as soon as they were out of public view. Gregory was in the business of ...

Chapter 73 - Archive III

For once, I shared a carriage with a Montague who wasn’t Gregory.

Elise Montague was very much like her brother, mainly in the sense I’d had to remind myself thrice now that staring into someone else’s eyes could be considered rude at best, creepy at worst, and….who knows what when the person in question had seen you chewing your way through a cow’s stomach.

Please let her not ask any strange questions like that idiotic pack of noble brats from the party. Or anything rel...

Chapter 72 - Archive II

Waking up felt….weird.

I’d always slept best on my back, even with that awkward pressure on my tail, but waking up without that felt even more off.

My eyes opened. I forced down that sense of shock at seeing a tanned, weathered hand in front of me responding to the commands I was sending my own hand.

I’d essentially slumped down here and fell asleep after I’d put the finishing touches on last night. I went to the mirror to ensure I hadn’t been so eager to sleep tha...

Chapter 71 - Archive I

Today was a day of staying indoors.

The last three days had been nothing but that, and I wished I could pretend it was simply me preparing for the upcoming infiltration of the Archives.

It wasn’t. There’d been no marches in the Infernal Quarter since the day of the bombings. Instead, there were newspaper articles about the bombings and then the ‘attacks’ that followed. Some had the decency to mention who had provoked them, but still, remembering one.

The frighten...