Saren was standing in front of the tower, looking up at the roof.

“It’s been repaired,” Saren said, “with magic, of course. Or did she make you renovate the tower?”

“No, Saren,” Finley said, looking up at the roof, “she made us work at her tower. I mean we did repair it. No magic at all.”

“What’s Wizard Irina?”

“Good enough. She helps people. But she is an outcast. She doesn’t talk too much and almost never leaves her tower.”

“Such an attractive door for an ordinary stone-made tower.” Saren said and gazed at the door.

“It is.” Finley said and stepped toward the wooden door of the tower.

“Wizard Irına,” she said with a loud voice. “I have brought a witcher who wants to see you for an important issue. Please, Wizard Irına, could we come in?”

Nothing happened for a long time. Then a voice arose.

“Wizard Irina is busy. Please leave, my good friends.”

Finley looked at Saren. Saren shrugged. Finley then looked at the door and said. “We are for a—”

Then a voice was hearable again. “Wizard Irina is busy. Please leave, my good friends.”

“I am not your good friend,” Saren said, stepping forward to the door and she knocked the door many times. “I am a witcher and want to sell you the dust of a kikimora, with which I don’t know what you’ll do. I killed it days ago at the dike for the safety of the town. You don’t have to welcome me but at least check the dust, Wizard Irina. Hey! Amari, bring the dust and put it by the door.”

“Saren, don’t get rude!” Finley said, “Saren, please, don’t throw the dust down there. That’s rude.”

“Let’s go, Finley, if she doesn’t want to see me, as a witcher. At least, she’ll have to examine the kikimora’s dust by herself. She is going to leave the tower anyway. Hey, Amari, we are leaving, you stay and do as I said. The dust by the door, okay?”

Amari nodded. “Okay.”
Finley stopped Amari. “Saren, take this dust and put it on your donkey—”

“One moment,” the same voice said in a different tone. “Saren, iis that really you?”

Saren swore.

“I am losing my patience. Hurry up and open this door.”

“Come up to the door and come in, I’ll let you come in. But only you. Okay?”

Saren lifted off the bag that the kikimora’s dust in. “I’ll bring the dust in too.”

“I don’t care about a useless creature’s dust. I need to talk to you.”

“What about the dust!?”

“Throw it away or feed a wild animal with it.”

“Okay, Wizard Irina doesn’t need it so,” Finley took the bag from Saren and gave it to Amari. “We are leaving, Saren, Amari! Let’s leave. Into the house with the kikimora’s dust.”

“As you command.”

Saren approached the door that opened a little bit. Then she walked through then the door slammed shut. Saren found herself in darkness.

“Hey!” Saren shouted. “You are a joke! I am getting angry.”

“Just a moment,” The same voice said.

Saren walked forward, stretching her hands out. She kept on walking. “Doesn’t this tower have a wall to support myself. It’s completely dark, still. Hey! Do you hear me!”

After walking for a short time, Saren walks through an opening with light flickers. She walked into a garden.

“Smells like rain, and there are apple trees,” Saren said, looking around. She looked across the landscape at the horizon. “And there is sun above and blue sky with clouds… This is an illusion, isn’t it?”

“Welcome,” the person said and smiled. “I am here in front of the house.”

Saren turned around and saw a house. And the person. The person was walking up to her, with a naked girl along, carrying a basket full of apples.
“At least, Greetings, witcher.”

“Kiya!” Saren said, “I am surprised.”

“During my life, I met thieves, who looked like kings, and kings who looked like whores. And whores who looked like wizards,” Saren smiled, “but none of them looked as you looked, Kiya. Do you still put on the robe? Isn’t it a bathrobe.”

“It’s a robe that Wizards wear, Saren, you never get that the difference between them. Anyway, let’s sit.”

They sat in chairs at a table. A naked girl with the apple basket approached, put some apples on the table, smiled and moved away, swaying her hips.

“Is she an illusion, too?” Saren said, looking at her hips. “I started liking magic, then.”

“It is an illusion. Like everything here that you see, smell and hear. The girl included. And you can even—”

“Maybe later.”

“Okay. What are you doing here, Saren? Are you still hunting the monsters that are extinct. How much did they pay you for the kikimora.”

“Nothing. That’s why I am here. I wouldn’t have come here If I had been paid for it.”

“I see.”

“Can’t you just buy the kikimora? Maybe you can make an elixir out of it?”

“My friend, Kikimoras are useless, but I am really happy to see you. You knew I was here, didn’t you?” Otherwise, why would you come up here with what you brought here, am I right?”

“No you are not. I didn't know you were here. But, I remember you used to live in a same looking tower in somewhere else far away from this town.”

“The ruler of that place didn’t like my doings and here I am. I rented this place. I heal people here and they allow me to stay here. Good deal. Better than the ones I made with the other rulers in the past.”

“Why don’t you use your real name, Kiya? People of this town know you as Wizard Irina.”

“The name, Wizard Irina belonged to a birl, who lived in this town thousand years ago. And she had built this town. Since I occupied her tower after her death, I thought it would be an honour to use her name.”

“You are just disguising, aren:’t you? Have you got an enemy again. If so, she must be so strong that you have changed your identity.”

“I seem like a coward if you cover my story like that.”

“Have you got any enemies,” Saren crossed her arms, “Wizard Irina?”

“Yes, but I have no problem. I can handle it.”

“Okay.”

They both remained silent and ate apples. As Irina finished her apple, she stared away.

“You have not changed, Kiya… I mean Irina.” Saren smiled. “You need help, that’s obvious.”

“Fuck my fate,” Irina looked at Saren, and hit the table. The apples dropped off. “She has stretched her bloody claws toward me—”

“Can’t you speak normally, who has stretched her bloody claws toward you? Give some details.”

“I can,” Irina sighed. “I made it all the way here, hiding and running from a monster that wants to kill me. I am so afraid because wherever I go she finds me and is going to kill me tomorrow or later.”

“Aha,” Saren said, “Now I get it.”

“Does my death entertain you?”

“Kiya,” Saren said, “that’s the ordinary life of mine.Your death doesn’t entertain me. I've seen death countless times and I can say I am full of dying people.”

“Can I count on your help?” Irina said. “Because I considered you as a close friend.”

“I remember,” Saren grimaced, “our last meeting with you and your close friend, Elis, was a complete disaster. I had to kill a witch that had been killing the people of the south. The alliance of the ruler accepted to pay for it, but because of you two, they called me a fool. And I had to walk off without any penny, even though I had killed the witch.”

“It was Elis’ fault.”

Saren laughed. “Really? Who supported her speech. You did. Because of you the rulers didn’t accept to give me any money and kicked me out of the south castles.”

“South is not as lively as it used to be, Saren, you would not want to leave there.”

“I am not surprised. The witchers were kicked out of there because you and your companion introduced the monsters we killed as extinct animals people may benefit from. Why did you do that, I don’t care but now, you want my help after all. Tell the monster that’s after you that you had the witchers kicked out of the south so she could live on freely. She won’t devour you if you tell that to her. See! We solved your problem.”

Irina looked away. Saren laughed. “I am not a past person. So, let’s talk business. Don’t be a coward. Tell me what’s threatening you and how much you can pay for it. We'll see what I can do.”

“Have you heard of the Curse of the Black Sun?”

“Nonsense,” Saren said, “It’s just a myth.”

“No it is not. It is written in the noble writings over the content. They say that Lilith, under the name of south Nina, will return to exterminate the human race if the black sun occurs. And the rivers will turn blood red if we don’t sacrifice the girls who are born during the eclipse.”

Saren leaned back in her chair, laughing. “Nonsense!”

“No it is not,” Irirna tumbled the table, “because of the new legislation, we, Wizards can not maintain rituals—”

“Which is killing innocent girls for your obsession with myths!” Saren crossed her arms. “If you don’t talk about the real monster after you, I'll leave.”

“But according to a survey that’s done over the continent, among girls born after the eclipse mutate into monsters.”

“Just a coincidence, nothing serious.”

“Saren, we’ve compared the dust of the girls born after the eclipse and another ordinary monster’s dust and we have come to the conclusion that the essence of their dust is quite similar. No human dust carries magic but those born after the eclipse did.”

“All creatures look similar to humans, you know that since all beings share the almost same structures. I’ve seen people with eagles’ talons, or wolf’s fangs, although they were humans. And I’ve seen monsters that looked totally human... But they were still monsters. If they are no monsters and have any monstrous aspect, let’s say, It's not their fault, it’s magic’s fault. You, wizards are messing with magic and people around end up mutating into creatures we call monsters. Indirectly, this is your fault.”

“You’ve seen all sorts of mutations, you say,” Irina said, “But the people born after the eclipse, though they are not monsters, carry the instinct of an ordinary monster and a bit of their aspect on their bodies. Some of them attack children and eat people, they are in need of acting so. And some act like they are in need of sexuality and sell their bodies in town because of the monstrous instinct that was given them after the eclipse. Do you think how many of the monsters you killed might have also been a human that was born after the eclipse? I think you don’t care about it since all of them are just monsters for you…” ”

Saren grimaced. “What are you talking about? You are asking me how many mutants I’ve killed but don’t care about how many I’ve reversed their spells that turned them into monsters. I also reverse spells if the human that has monstrous aspects wants it from me.”

“You’ve said their mutation is our fault. But we use higher magic in many temples. All attempts ended in the girls’ death, not in a monster’s birth.”

“Why a monster’s birth bothers you since you kill the humans in your experiments.”

“We don’t kill humans, we try to prevent them from becoming a monster that would kill thousands in the future. We sacrifice one to save thousands.”

“I hate the idea of lesser evil. Do they want to die? Have you ever asked them?”

“Saren! If we had asked them, none of them would have accepted to die, in the consequences, thousands would have suffered.”

“So you don’t ask any of them if they ever wished to die. Not all of the girls born after eclipse have monstrous parts—”

“We cannot be sure of it, they are potentially at risk of mutating.”

“How can you be sure that the girl you locked up in your temples and that you have an experiment on is a monster? Some may be human. But I know those imprisoned in your towers died in a short time.”

“Those who died didn’t participate in our experiment, which is harmless for humans. Yes, some become apathetic after not being given food for a long time an—”

“I know what you do to people, I’d kill you if you are not saved by the laws and your proofs are becoming ever less convincing. Do you have any more?”

“Yes I have,” Irina squinted. “Although, we could find if the person in the experiment is a potential monster or an ordinary human, one of them was… How to say… She was weird.”

“What do you mean by the word weird?”

“Weird. I mean our magic didn’t affect her body and without food, she would be fine in comparison to any human. ”

“Maybe she was just strong?”

“No human can survive after a hundred days without food. But she did. And magic didn’t affect her as I said. The same magic that is used for devils didn’t affect her for some reason.”

Saren remained silent.

Irina sighed. “We, wizards , concluded that the girl was Lilith herself.”

“Really?” Saren laughed. “Really?”

“What is funny about that? It is obvious, the magic that kills devils doesn't even affect her. She must be stronger than devils. She must be Lilith.”

“Does she have a name?”

“Yes, Renfri.”

“So, Have you met Renfri in person?” Saren crossed her arms. “Since you are afraid of her so much, could she be the monster you are escaping from?”

Irina sighed and nodded.

“What do you want from me?”

Irina looked at Saren. “It is obvious I want you to kill her.”

Saren shook her head.

“I am not a mercenary,” she said. “And how can you be sure that she is a monster?”

“She attacked me, she is a monster!” Irina yelled. “She was about to kill me with her claws if I couldn’t escape. And somehow the sight of char doesn’t work on her and she, somehow, can find me wherever I go. It is fate. It is obvious that Lilith wants me to die since I am one of the wizards who prevents her from showing up.”

“Irina,” Saren got up from the chair, “I kill monsters, devils or witches for money. But I can not kill people unless I am hundred percent sure that they are monsters.”

“She is not a human. She is a monster. A mutant. A cursed mutant,” Irina leaned back in her chairs. “You killed a kikimora. But kikimoras kill because they're hungry but Lilith kills for pleasure. Kill her and I’ll pay you for it, within reason, of course.”

“I think I can’t help you since your excuses didn’t convince me. And you are the town wizard, I think the mayor can help you. You are under the protection of the law. You are protected.”

“Fuck the mayor and the law!” Irina yelled. “I don’t need defence, I need you to kill her. I know I am safe here in this tower since the magic saves me here, but some nights I can’t even fall asleep because I think Lilith will find a way and get into my tower.”

“I think you can stay here for the rest of your life. There are apples and naked girls you can conjure up… Here is like heaven.”

“Please, Saren. Help me.”

“No, Irina.”

Irina was silent. Saren looked up at the illusion sun above and then looked down at the apples on the ground.

“I think I am hungry,” She said, taking an apple from the ground. She took a bite. “Illusion but it is delicious. But I am really hungry, I need more than apples. Can you summon a cake for me—”

Irina got up, turned away and walked toward the house in the garden. She entered the house and shut the door.

Saren stared at the house. “It seems I’ll have to go back to the harbor and find somewhere to eat.”