28 March 1686 of the 6th Era, underneath the St Madeleine’s Cathedral, West District

  A black claw lunged at Charlotte from the darkness, aiming for her back, but Antony’s shout gave her just enough time to get out of the way. A very elegant, almost ephemeral move despite the puffy dress she was wearing.

  Without dropping a beat, she swirled around. A simple wave of her arm illuminated the space right in front of her for a brief second, allowing them to catch a glimpse of the attacker. And what they saw sent chills down their spines. An amalgamation of bodies of both beasts and men hastily thrown together and sealed with vile magic. Mouths moving in silent agony. Eyes of different sizes and shapes staring blindly into the space in front of them.

  And a dozen claws, giant, looming, awfully sharp. So sharp that they could probably pierce one’s soul.

  The fiend shrieked, and its voice sent waves through the air. The items on the shelves were instantly dislodged and flung at Charlotte and Antony at harrowing speeds.

  Antony froze. In his mind, he was not here anymore.

  A turn of the doorknob. A friendly greeting. And then, the world became hell.

  He closed his ears with his hands, collapsing to the floor. I’m sorry. I can’t. I wanted to save her, but I couldn’t. I never could. Never could have, no matter how hard I tried.

  “Antony!”

  He didn’t reply. Charlotte cast a quick glance at the man behind her, realising that in this state, he was of little help, but needed all the help she could provide. She straightened up, summoning the staff that had been propped against the shelf back into her hand.

  The ghoul was seemingly waiting for exactly this moment, lunging at her again. She simply took a step to the side, letting it rush past her. Thankfully, Antony did not interest it for the time being, but that luck could very easily change for the worse.

  Their dance continued, one step at a time. Lunges, attacks, counter attacks. There was a thick aura surrounding the ghoul’s body, making it really hard to see an opening or exploit a weakness.

  Back then it took five of us to even weaken it enough for the final strike. Lady help me.

  She found her footing again and raised her hand, gently chanting a simple spell. Gold rays of light left her fingers, rushing towards the ghoul. They struck at different points, looking for a weak spot. And, by the looks of it, at least one hit the mark, as the creature winced and staggered.

  Damn it.

  The darkness surrounding the fiend grew thicker.

  It lunged at her again. Unfortunately, this time she couldn’t just get out of the way. Somehow, even though she tried to avoid it, she ended up right between the ghoul and Antony who was still lying on the ground. At least his eyes were now open.

  Yet, she wasn’t about to give up. Instead, she quickly thrust her staff in front of her, and the ghoul’s claws scratched against a shimmering golden shield. Another bout of magic pushed it away a couple of feet.

  The beast screeched again, this time even louder than before, and Charlotte saw its many claws slowly melt into a single one. Sharp and straight as a giant needle. And then, it vanished.

  She took a couple careful steps back towards the pale light from Antony’s spell.

  How is it even possible that it got in here? At this rate…

  She barely managed to dodge the needle-like claw that materialised from thin air, and threw another golden bolt in the general direction of where the attack came from. It seemed to hit the mark again, for another shriek followed right after. The air became a bit easier to breathe. Yet, this was far from over.

  Charlotte firmly planted her feet on the ground and closed her eyes, concentrating. Her voice as she cast the spell became sad and distant – as if she were the Dead Moon herself travelling through the night skies, forever chasing after her sister. And, as if answering that call, a small moon formed in front of her. A shield that also served as an additional means of attack.

  Not a moment too soon, too. The clawed fiend struck again, hitting the shimmering orb instead of Charlotte’s heart. It took a step back, but did not give Charlotte enough time to cast a spell powerful enough to drive it off.

  All this time, Antony watched all of this, unable to move a muscle. His mind all but shut off. Terrified of the ghoul. Terrified of the fight. Of the very notion that there was a fight. All he wanted was to run, as far away as possible. But even that his body refused to do.

  And yet…

  She won’t last if I don’t do something.

  The thought was sudden and sharp, finally cutting through his stupor. She was an experienced exorcist, and the Destined Avatar. But right now, she was also incredibly tired. He could feel her mana reserves, still not fully recovered from yesterday’s incident, slowly being drained. At this rate, she might just have to resort to drastic measures in order to protect both of them. Or, if worse comes to worst, to at least save his life.

  And he was having none of that.

  Antony closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart and arrange the jumbled thoughts into a single coherent sentence. Then, he slowly stood up and raised his hand.

  A giant ray of light pierced the darkness of the archives, landing square on top of their attacker. It shrieked and cowered, caught off guard, which finally gave Charlotte an opening to hit it with what felt like a divine spell of her own. That combination finally pierced through the ghoul’s defences, leaving a large gaping hole in the shield that was protecting it. Unfortunately, before Charlotte or Antony could do anything else, it turned around and ran, quickly dispersing in the darkness.

  “Gone for now,” Charlotte slowly lowered her staff, leaning on it for support, then turned around towards Antony. “And you said you were a coward.”

  “I am,” he took a couple of deep breaths, smiling awkwardly, and walked up to her, unable to stop his body from shaking. “However, I did say that I can find some courage in me when I have someone I want to protect, be it at the cost of my life. Just enough to not make a complete fool of myself.”

  She laughed and suddenly hugged him, tears streaming down her face. Antony sighed and, too, wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her hair. Her mask completely dropped, and he, too, could stop pretending. Even if just for a moment.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “You do realise what you’re doing, don’t you? I’m certain even in Lundhaven this kind of display of affection would start a fair few rumours,” he said finally.

  “Do I look like I care?”

  “No, but you don’t exactly strike me as someone who would fall head over heels for a man you met a few days ago, either.”

  She looked up at him, her expression completely blank, then pressed her forehead against his chest and tightened the embrace.

  “And you don’t look like someone who believes in love at first sight,” her voice was muffled.

  “We have almost two hundred years of shared correspondence. I’ve exchanged more letters and personal information with you than–”

  “And how exactly can this be considered an argument in favour of your feelings, but against my reasoning?”

  Antony quietly laughed.

  “A fair point that I can’t argue against. But think this, I’m a mere secretary, born and raised in the slums until my first teacher stumbled upon me and realised how gifted, both magically and intellectually, I was,” he knew it was a lost battle. He wanted to lose that battle. Yet, he just had to try. “You come from a noble house that’s as close to royalty as it can get without being added to some official gobelin hanging somewhere in the royal palace of Lundhaven. These are two different worlds we’re talking about.”

  “I’m the fifth child in that family, and their only daughter.”

  “You do realise how horrifying that really sounds? The only girl in the family, and with four elder brothers?”

  “Probably,” he felt her body relax a little. “I never thought about it that way. They used to tease me a lot growing up.”

  “I’m an only child, so I never had to share anything with anyone or experience the pleasures of sibling infighting,” Antony said in return, feeling his head spin from both the still lingering shock and this sudden confession. Not even a confession, no. An acknowledgement. “Still, this is a terrible idea.”

  “The only thing that makes me somewhat anxious is the fact that the Secret Service tasked you with compiling that report on me, and if it comes to light that you’ve allowed your feelings to get the better of you,” her voice trailed off.

  “I would be considered compromised, and so would be the contents of that document,” Antony agreed, finally admitting defeat. “Ethan did warn me that you were incredibly stubborn, but I think he still managed to downplay that.”

  “Ha. Look who’s talking.”

  “I can be reasoned with,” that sounded almost like a cry for help. “Alright. I guess we have a lot of things to figure out, but that can wait till later. I don’t think I’ll be able to close my eyes until we’ve solved this case.”

  He pulled her closer one last time, then somewhat reluctantly eased the embrace to get a better look at her face. Still anxious.

  “While I’m obviously not the most reliable witness in this situation, I’m pretty sure that thing is what attacked us in the time stream. Or, rather, something akin to it attacked us. It definitely lacked the claws, but the overall aura was the same. I don’t know how that is even possible, but...”

  “Perhaps we’ll know the answer once we find the artefact that powers it or at least learn more about it?” Charlotte took a deep breath. The business-like tone of Antony’s voice seemed to finally have the desired effect on her, bringing her back to her senses. “What I don’t understand is why I didn’t feel it approaching us. Nor why I didn’t feel its presence at the crime scene. It definitely killed Lord Welz.”

  “The claw fully matched the weapon description. As to why… I might have an idea, but it’s way too early to say. Oh, looks like we’ve attracted attention. Someone’s coming.”

  A light indeed was quickly approaching them, and they could already hear the distant worried voices.

  “Not surprising,” she reluctantly let him go and straightened her skirt. “That thing breached defences that should be impenetrable for any undead. It materialised here with no warning and then left just as easily. This entire situation is beyond weird, really, but it was no different thirty years ago.”

  “You finally remembered something?”

  “I did, yes. I told you that I merely wanted confirmation. And I got what I wanted, just not the way I wanted,” Charlotte frowned. “While it differs somewhat, it is very similar to a creature I fought on the Eastern Archipelago during that fateful campaign. I suggest you read the file you found carefully when you get the time. I’m all but certain now that the Northern Star isn’t really a priceless piece of jewellery that’s been in the family for centuries. We’re dealing with an artefact from the Third Era disguised as one.”

  “Splendid,” Antony smiled, but without much joy. “What are our next steps?”

  “Find out how long it’s been in Lord Welz’s possession and where it went, obviously. Hopefully with that also find his killer. We can begin by talking to Mrs Greeves, seeing that she agreed to meet me today,” Charlotte waved her hand in greeting, recognising Cardinal Whitesand among the approaching group. “And then the solicitor. I want to know why Lord Welz took the only copy of the will and placed it in the safe together with the original. Hopefully Mr Fincke, too, will have something to say on the matter, though I begin to regret not questioning him more thoroughly when I had the chance.

  “Also… Mr Levy, I suggest you don’t leave my side for the time being. Until we’ve dealt with the threat the ghoul poses, at least.”

  “Even for the night?” She glared at him, and Antony hurriedly raised his hands in an apology. “That came out horribly and I won’t be mad at you if you turn me into an ice sculpture. I’ve earned it. Why the sudden suggestion?”

  “With your help I dealt it a grievous wound, but not a fatal one. It will be back, and it might come looking for you,” Charlotte frowned. “You robbed it of its prey, twice now.”

  Antony closed his eyes for a moment. He wanted to suggest the same thing, but out of concern for her safety, not his own. Charlotte, however, gave him the excuse to simply agree without trying to convince her, “Understood. I… Oh, did you drop something?”

  Antony kneeled and picked up a very old looking piece of paper. It definitely wasn’t there before the fight and didn’t seem to have fallen off any of the shelves.

  “That’s–”

  “What an interesting formula,” he hastily returned the page to Charlotte, hoping that she didn’t notice the surprise on his face. For a blessing, that did seem to be the case.

  “It’s Ethan’s final request,” she rummaged in her pocket and produced another piece of paper that she passed over to him. “I know it’s silly, but… This is a good luck charm, if you will.”

  The second sheet of paper turned out to be a letter, probably the last one Ethan Goshawk penned by his own hand. Antony quickly blinked a couple of times, fighting the tears.

  “My dearest Charlotte,

  I hope life is treating you well and you are as full of energy as always. Is that student still giving you grief? I must admit, I got a bit of a chuckle at your expense, but I cannot deny that I find the situation rather relatable. After all, I was in the same predicament not too long ago. And the same student pestering me, no less…

  I apologise for the recent lack of eloquence, but… oh, who am I fooling. You already know, don’t you, just politely giving me the opportunity to confess on my own terms. You are right. I am afraid I do not have much time left. I can barely keep myself awake to write this letter, let alone continue working on the formula. I must bitterly admit that I am not sure which written piece with my name on it you will receive first, this one or an invitation to my funeral. The irony of it all.

  I know this is a lot to shoulder, but there is one thing I wish… apart from being able to spend another night stargazing and debating on the laws of the universe with you… And that is for you to continue my work. It is in your power to decline this selfish request of course, but I would be truly at peace knowing that my efforts were not in vain.

  I miss you and all the conversations we have had, I truly do.

  Yours,

  Ethan Goshawk”

  Charlotte renewed the preservation charm and sighed, putting the letter away.

  “And the formula you saw is what he asked me to work on. It’s a healing spell from what I can tell. Any ideas on what the last missing ingredient could be?”

  “A word, by the looks of it, but I’ve no idea which.”

  Ethan, how did you get your hands on this thing…