Chapter 53: Princess of Shadows

-Lorelei-

I dashed across the vast rooftops of the city, the cool night breeze in my face. Most of the city was dark now, even the nightlife needed to sleep at some point, but I did know my way around just a little. At least enough to know where the night market was.

As I came up on a large road, I sped up and cast a subtle spell, vanishing in a cloud of black smoke and reappearing on the rooftop on the opposite side. Shadow magic was still my speciality and though I focused more on the destructive side of it, I still enjoyed a variety of the more stealthy and movement oriented elements that this kind of magic was most renowned for.

I wasn’t Lumielle, of course. My sister was on a whole different level when it came to magic – especially stealth magic. But I knew enough to move quickly and quietly without anyone being the wiser.

There were of course other benefits as well, those kept by my family and my family only and I feared I would need them for the first time this journey.

Mentally, I felt around for Kamir’s presence once more. I’d psychically commanded him to meet me at the night market, though our paths should cross soon, if my plan of the city was correct.

As I’d predicted, it didn’t take long until I felt a familiar mass of shadows dart through the streets and alleys beneath me. Though nightwolves weren’t proficient spellcasters, they could use some innate shadow magic abilities.

With another shadow step across a larger street, I started closing in on the nightmarket. Although dropping in right from above might not be the best of ideas. If that’s where their main entrance is, it will be heavily guarded. Not that I couldn’t take care of them easily, it simply would be easier to find another sewer entrance just before the market and slip in without any of them expecting me.

Gracefully, I slipped down the roof I was currently on, down to the alley below. Kamir came to a stop right next to me and his shadows shifted into his physical wolf-shape.

“What are we hunting for?” his telepathic message growled through my mind.

“The princess was taken. They’re hiding out in the sewers below,” I explained and Kamir nodded.

“There is an entrance ahead,” Kamir motioned towards the end of the alley, flaring his nostrils. “I can smell it.”

“We move, then.”

With that, both of us hastily made our way down the alleyway and, as Kamir had said, found a flight of stairs that headed down to a tunnel, water running past a few iron bars and along the length of it. We went down and I began casting a spell to blast it open. Then, the two of us slipped into the darkness.

Thankfully, both of us could see perfectly fine in even complete darkness.

“How will we deal with the kidnappers?” Kamir growled mentally.

“We kill them all.”

*****

-Zahria-

With a heavy sigh, I closed shut the door of the lavish stage coach and turned back around to the small hall that was carved out right next to one of the sewer tunnels.

There was still no word from my apprentices, which worried me quite a lot. The little bunny girl couldn’t have posed much of a threat to them – I did train them myself after all – but their apparent absence had me fidgeting with the silver ring on my middle finger again. I know it was unbecoming, fidgeting like this, but it wasn’t like anyone here paid it any mind.

Everyone was abuzz, tearing down the hideout we’d temporarily taken over for our operation. We’d completed our goal – mostly. The princess was unconscious and ready to go, but I still had an uncomfortable feeling. Like we’d somehow messed up along the way.

Let’s go through it one more time:

The princess and her companion arrived in the city with three other figures – two of them hooded, the other obviously human. One of them left early in the morning, then the remaining four went sightseeing of all things. In the evening, they retreated to their inn, but the human and the other figure went out again, into the pleasure district – no judgement from me, they do good work here in Khibili. Shortly after they left, the princess and her companion snuck out and explored the night market – on the whole other side of the city than the pleasure district.

There really couldn’t have been a better time to strike, right? Or did I miss anything? The bunny couldn’t have possibly made it all the way to the adults while running away from my people. Right? And even if she did – which was unlikely – there is no way the human and the other one were much of a threat to my apprentices. Unless they were, like, crazy strong, but I doubt it.

There are few who can defeat me this far south and I taught everything I knew to them.

There simply was no way.

The sounds of boots hastily splashing through water tore me from my spiralling thoughts as I saw Aisha and Sana burst into the hall and slump to the ground, heaving.

“What happened?!” I asked, looking around for the rest of them. “Where are Jamal and Anir?”

Aisha rolled over to her back, gazing up at me, still breathing heavily. “Zahria,” she panted. “They’re gone.”

“What?”

Sana slumped herself against a nearby wall. “There was this woman…”

“An elf,” Aisha added.

“She’s a shadow mage. She… she killed Jamal in one hit.”

“We only saw her going after Anir next, when we turned and ran.”

“Like you taught us. ‘If a foe is too powerful, safe yourself first.’”

“Fuck!” I cursed, slamming my hand against the wall. “The elf, what did she look like?”

Aisha bit her lip in thought. “She had… white hair. Long. Almost silvern.”

“And violet eyes,” Sana added.

I let out a shaky sigh. I couldn’t be one of them, right? Father told me about them, but he said they kept out of jarranian politics. Why would one of them even travel with the princess of Argonne? A kingdom on the other side of the continent. It made no sense…

“You know who it is?” Sana asked, carefully. “You look like you know.”

“I- I don’t think so. You’re describing one of the Darclin, but… they have no stake in this.”

Aisha’s eyes went wide. “Like from the myths?”

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. Her hair could be bleached and her eyes were maybe magically altered,” I tried to convince them – and myself.

A sudden boom thundered through the sewers and small bits of sand drizzled down from above.

“What was that?” Sana asked, her eyes now wide as well.

“How wounded are you?” I asked sharply, my voice as commanding as can be. There was no time to waste now.

“Just a few bruises and scratches,” Aisha replied.

“No serious wounds,” Sana confirmed.

“Get on the coach, take it out of here. Get to Izgorbashz, no matter what. Don’t stop for anyone. Don’t wait for me. Travel through the night – take turns resting if you must. But do NOT. EVER. STOP!”

The two of them got up to their feet hastily and climbed onto the coach.

“What will you do?” Sana asked, turning around to me.

“I’ll try and hold her off. Just go!”

With that, another boom sounded through the sewers and I heard screams from some of the thugs I hired.

The coach started moving and made its way up the tunnel. Outside of the sewers, the city, to somewhere in the outskirts. I just hoped I could give them enough time to make it. The entire operation depended on it.

Father… please be proud of me.

I swallowed as the screams got louder and louder, ever closer.

Then, the lights all burst apart.

*****

-Lorelei-

I blasted another thug right through the chest with a shadowy spine, just as Kamir whirled out of the shadows and mauled the thug beside him. So far, it was going great. The thugs weren’t much of a threat and most of them were way too panicked to actually fight back in any meaningful way.

I turned around a corner and three more thugs came rushing my way, shouting a war cry of sorts to fight back against their fear.

It mattered not.

I opened an array of miniscule portals behind me and a rain of blackened darts short forth from them, skewering all three of them immediately.

It was a good thing Marion wasn’t here right now… I doubt she’d like this side of me.

I watched as my shadowy friend made his way around the bend on the other side, quickly followed by more screams and the sounds of flesh being torn apart.

Just as I turned another corner, I was suddenly thrown back, nearly stumbling into the wall, but managing to catch myself before.

“DIE SORCERESS!” the armoured individual shouted as he hefted a massive battleaxe above me.

I quickly dodged away to the side, shooting two small magical darts at him. They impacted his armour, but barely seemed to penetrate it.

Magical armour… how annoying.

I felt Kamir finish up his feast in the other corridor and telepathically commanded him to continue on. I’d deal with this one alone.

The soldier whirled around after his missed strike and barrelled down towards me, preparing another devastating strike.

As a sorceress, I would be in big trouble here. Magical armour, close quarters, melee…

Luckily, I was only a spellcaster second.

I stretched out my hand behind me and made a circular motion, mentally opening a small pocket dimension. I focused on the blade tucked in there somewhere and felt the familiar grip in my palm.

Right as my attacker was about to hit me, my arm shot forth, silver blade in hand and deflected the blow. Then, with a burst of speed, I dashed right around his bulky form and slashed the sword along his lighter-armoured calf. With a loud scream, he went down to one knee.

I capitalised on the opening immediately, whirling the blade back around and driving it right through his throat in his moment of vulnerability. I pulled my blade out again and his lifeless husk crashed into the sewer waters with a loud splash.

I paused for a moment to listen. Kamir was not that far ahead, but I could still hear some screams ahead of us. It did feel like we were nearing the end of the hideout, though.

Saving my energy, I slowly advanced, finding the leftovers of Kamir’s slaughter strewn about the sewer waters. I found him near another bend, crouched down and waiting.

“They are making a last stand ahead. There is a hall, it is bright there.”

“I see,” I commented flatly. “I think we can do something about that.”

I gathered some of my magic – this wouldn’t take much power to do and overcharging spells is rarely a good idea – and released a swarm of dark magical tendrils. Like snakes, they slithered through the air and into the room, rapidly shooting forward once out in the open and smashing into any light source they can find.

With a resounding shatter, the light ahead is extinguished and the screams of the frightened thugs re-emerge.

We do not waste any time.

Using some more magic to give myself another speed boost, I dash around the bend, Kamir right behind me, into the open hall.

There are no more than a dozen people gathered here. Mostly thugs. One of them is dressed in an elaborate version of the assassins from earlier. Less… leathery and more robe-y. She must be someone important then, I supposed.

Though before I could target her, I needed to get through a wall of very frightened thugs.

The first one fell immediately to a quick and precise strike. The second tried to prepare an attack, leaving his belly completely open. One slash as I dash past him is all I needed to take him out. Next to me, two more of them are ripped apart by Kamir.

Number three and four are able to block my first few strikes, but two quick magical darts take care of them. Just as I try to finish of the fifth one, a blast of magic is hurled at me and I’m forced to teleport to safety, the missile just barely avoiding me and thundering into the sewer walls.

That was entirely too close for my liking.

The spellcaster looked at me with wide eyes, then goes to prepare another spell.

If this fight turns into a magical battle, she might have the upper hand. I really didn’t know with what kind of mage I was dealing with here, so I’d rather stick to my speciality for now. Which meant I needed to get into melee with her. I couldn’t possibly continue killing off her thugs while she sent those blasts after me.

Gripping my blade tightly, I made another shadow step, right past all the defence lines and directly in front of her. She stumbles back, her spell fizzling, but quickly gets her bearing again and pulls out two daggers.

She was graceful, I noticed. A well trained professional, rather than a street thug. Similar to the assassins that were sent after Rosie, but more… adept.

It wasn’t like there was anyone who could hold a candle to my fighting skills though. None I’d met, at least.

Confidently, I shot forward and harassed her with a flurry of slashed and strikes, all of which she either parried or dodged away from. She was very fast. Some of her techniques reminded me of… Well, no, that couldn’t be. A coincidence, certainly.

I didn’t let up, keeping close to her at all times, trading blow after blow. Throughout the entire fight, she is on the back foot, never daring to attack even once. She is afraid to leave an opening, I realise. She’s not trying to defeat me – she knows she can’t – she’s trying to win time.

And she’s starting to loose. Her breathing is heavy, now. Her reflexes only so slightly slower than before.

After an especially hard blow that she tried to parry, her dagger slammed back onto her lips and she is thrown back against the back wall of the hall, right next to a long tunnel.

“Where is the princess?” I ask sharply, slowly closing in again.

The mage wiped a bit of blood from her lips and gazed up at me with a dazed look.

“She’s long gone,” she replied, heaving.

“Where. Is. She?” I spat, raising my blade again.

“My turn,” she growled.

The sounds of combat behind us have tampered down. The entire hall is covered in blood and corpses. I heard the sounds of people running through water, away from here, the occasional scream of terror signalling Kamir is on their heels.

“Why are you with the princess?” the mage asked, staring at me defiantly, though her quivering lips and her wide eyes betray her true feelings of fear. Not to mention the rapid heartbeat, so loud I could probably hear it even if I had Marion’s ears.

“I’m her protector,” I growled. “Now. Where is she!” I screamed, pinning the mage against the wall and pressing my blade against her chest.

“L-like I s-said,” she panted. “L-long gone.”

“WHERE?!”

Before I could get another panicked response, Kamir returned to the hall, dragging the body of a terrified thug behind him.

“This one surrendered,” Kamir explained telepathically.

I turned towards the thug, blade still pressing against the mage’s chest.

“Where did you take the princess?” I asked sharply.

The thug stammered, before piecing together a reply. “S-she’s n-not here any more.”

Not here any more. The words repeat in my mind, sending me down a spiral. I feel anger taking over reason and try my hardest to somehow fight it back. I couldn’t loose myself right now. I needed answers.

“WHERE DID YOU TAKE HER?! WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!”

“I-I,” he stammered. “I d-don’t know.”

A scream of pure, unbridled anger burst out of me and I felt my control slipping for but a moment. I felt the magic within me roiling and despite all tries to somehow will myself not do it, it blasted forth as I shot out a massive spike of dark energy towards the helpless thug.

He cried for help as the spell threatened to skewer him, when a sudden mass of energy builds up between my spell and the thug. Shadowy tendrils form into a sort-of shield and the spike shatters before it could impact.

I whirled back around to the mage, who had her hands outstretched towards the thug. As if just realising what she’d done, she raised them back up above her head in surrender and swallowed hard.

“Shadow magic…” I whispered, staring at the mage. Her way of fighting did feel familiar to me, but… she couldn’t possibly be one of us. I glared at her. “Who are you?”

She stared at me for a moment, slowly shifting my blade away from her chest. I didn’t know why I let her.

“I am Zahria Al’Razek. Oldest daughter of Ziyad Al’Razek.”

I stared at her blankly. What…? Why…?

Why the fuck is the daughter of the fucking emperor kidnapping my daughter?!