-Callen-

  As I approached the helpless elf, my first instinct was to break the veil on him, but another thought stopped me first. Breaking the veil was an irreversible process, but I hadn’t tried talking with an elf still under its influence. Moreover, after the previous interrogation of Freema’s mom, I’m well aware that the individual awareness of each elf of their actions is far more limited while under the influence. While I’m thinking over what to ask, Luther and Jolen move up behind the elf, securing their arms. Theoretically the elf should be paralyzed, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I gave the two of them a nod while lowering myself to the elf.

  “Elf, can you commune with the entity controlling your kin, or are you a puppet?” Honestly, I’m not particularly interested in anything the elf might know, but this was a rare chance to meet the being behind the mass use of reality-altering illusions. Immediately the elf looked confused, and then he sneered at me. I continued to hold eye contact with him, and just as I was thinking my attempt would be fruitless, his twitching and squirming stopped. The previously deep grunts were replaced with a silky and soft feminine voice.

  “Theiffff. . .” Even though the voice was soft and smooth, the words spoken had a way of dragging out like a haunting echo.

  “I am not a thief. Are you looking for a thief?” I keep my voice steady as I address them. The elf’s eyes narrowed as he carefully examined my body. I subtly adjusted my hands to show I had no rings. Now I’m almost certain that the monster behind the elves was the same monster that Freema had thought would remain idle in elven territory. I paused as I tried to recall what she called it.

  “Witch of Illusions,” The words snuck out as a half-spoken whisper as I recalled what Freema called it. The elf’s body went rigid before surging into action, trying to push off the ground and bring its fists forward, but it flailed helplessly as the knights holding it immediately pulled it back. The knife in its spine that should’ve been paralyzing the elf faded in real time. I shot a line of mana forward, wrapping it around the knife. Before it ceased to exist, I infused void energy repelling the veil.

  “You wield the fragmented screams of infinite voices in suffering. No wonder my sloppy protections have failed, but how can you perceive them? None of this realm born in the age of the system can bypass my illusion; the seed of my supremacy is already planted in your soul!” I feel a deep shiver run up my back at the statement of the witch. I notice the eyes of my companion glaze over as she rants. The witch, however, notices that I didn’t ignore her comments.

  “Ah, are you fey-kin? No, no, no, no, you are no fey. If you are not fey, then you must be a demon! Yes! Your power resonates with hell itself! You seek to destroy our world! I will never let you win! Thief!” The moment her mana radiated from the elf like my mana zone, I decisively shattered the veil on the elf. The illusions disappeared like mist in the wind, but the fear in the elf’s eyes suggested that he not only heard the witch’s claims but also believed them. I grabbed his throat and twisted, silencing him before the others snapped out of the trance the witch had accidentally induced. My hand felt cold from the necessity as my kill echoed with the weight of killing someone to keep a secret. It was a twisting sensation in my gut that felt almost sickening compared to the usual weight of killing out of necessity in battle.

  I stepped back, trying to recompose myself, taking deep, shaky breaths. The moment my men regained consciousness, they seemed to realize something was amiss.

  “My lord, what happened?” Sir Luther let go of the corpse moving in close while the others shared looks of concern, their gazes shifting between me and the fallen elf.

  “I’m fine, Sir Luther; it’s just the first time I’ve had to kill someone helpless.” What was left unsaid was why I killed the elf, but saying it now would make the whole point moot. The guilt almost seemed to claw at me, but I swallowed it and moved on. As far as I could tell, the others seemed to take the explanation in stride.

  “Jolen, listen carefully; I’ve got several things to report back.” He moved next to me as I gave a brief summary of my encounter with the witch. I skimmed over the sensitive details but revealed that the witch of illusion was controlling the elves to retrieve something stolen from her. As I finished my summary, I waited for Jolen to report back the information, but he just awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

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  “Um, my lord. . . You may not be aware, but the detail of information transmissible through a twin bond varies considerably depending on the pair and practice. My twin and I could be considered among the best, but we can only share impressions. This report is far too detailed to be effectively communicated with impressions.” He pauses a bit before a strange expression creeps onto his face. “My Lord, I thought you also had a twin bond?” I could only blink at the man as I tried to wrap my head around that limitation. Certainly some bonds could be stronger than others, and what he was describing reminded me far more of my bond with Nightshade. However, taking a moment to really dig deep in my memories, I found that he might not be talking complete nonsense. All Callia and I shared in our childhood were impressions, but we pressed into the bond even before birth, communicating increasingly complex topics until it became second nature.

  “Right, my sister and I got in the habit of sharing complex impressions from a very young age. If I’m honest, I didn’t even remember the limitations; only the necessity to focus on the bond to communicate remains.” As I hesitantly admit the circumstances, I can see Jolen has a complex look that is a mix of envy and impressed. I sigh and accept that this intel wasn’t something that could be shared with the means we had, and we unfortunately failed to get any information regarding the elves’ current objectives.

  “The pursuit continues,” I declare.

  Beauty Sleep

  For Nokin, the bright light cracking the holy orb rang more of falsehood than honesty. Had Callia been awake, he would’ve done everything in his power to cut the deceiver down, but helpless as she was, he felt he could take his time in ascertaining her true alignment. Still, letting her wake up was without a doubt off the table. Callia shifted on the table, groaning uncomfortably, and Nokin’s eyes snapped open at the movement. He immediately checked the girl; her armor had closed her external cuts, but even the internal bleeding had fully recovered without the aid of external tools. Clearly she had extraordinary regeneration, but he also noticed her pulse was too strong and quick for someone under a sleeping drug.

  “Poison Resistance,” He cursed as he grabbed another IV of sleeping potion, hooking it up to her other arm. After several seconds her pulse slowed, and the uncomfortable shifting came to an end as she peacefully slept. Nokin let out a sigh of relief before slipping out of the room into his warehouse. Over the many years of his isolation, he had acquired a small arsenal of artifacts stolen from the vault. Many of the relics in the vault could naturally repel the greed demon's presence, and Nokin had taken to liberating the artifacts before they could be corrupted. He grabbed a box of holy tools and relics and shuffled back into the room. One by one, he went through the items, each returning powerfully positive results. The holy syringe that lets someone know if blood holds divine power? Passed. The blade of evil’s bane? Passed through the girl without touching her. A small magical shrub that grows in the presence of the divine? It grew so much the entire sanctuary was choking in plants that he had to spend hours fighting the tide of infinite holy shrubs. Conveniently, the shrubs were also the most important ingredient for his sleeping potion. Despite the overwhelmingly positive results, or maybe because all the results showed overwhelmingly positive support, Nokin couldn’t bring himself to trust her.

  As he glared at her unconscious body, he noticed her shift again. He immediately checked her pulse and started sweating. The girl's body had already adjusted to two potions being injected. He grabbed his last spare IV and hooked her leg up to the third. As he confirmed again that the girl was sedated, he immediately set off for his secret supplier to stock additional equipment. Throughout the next day he spent his every waking hour brewing more potions and prepping the new equipment. The large supply of sleeping potions and a fourth IV hooked into the girl's last limb gave him the confidence to leave in search of his last friend, someone who could beyond a doubt decide whether the girl was a threat. Unfortunately his friend Alex lived on the far side of the citadel. It was a whole day's journey to and from while being careful to remain hidden.

  Alex was unfortunately busy coordinating with a new faction. Apparently a big shot had just come to the truth, and for the first time in years, the outer garrison of the citadel was starting to wake up to the truth. Nokin was thrilled, but it meant he had to keep the girl sedated for another three days. Upon returning to his sanctuary, he immediately noticed a small voice tiredly calling out in confusion.

  “Whaatt,” Callia’s voice slurred out, but she failed to properly awaken as Nokin added a fifth IV, pushing her back into her slumber. Seeing all the IVs hooked up to the girl, Nokin started to wonder for the first time if he was going too far. However, he shook himself free of the notion; there was no such thing as being too careful when dealing with a demon that can lie to every relic in his possession. He glared at her intensely, watching for the signs that his potion was losing effect while he waited. He glanced at his barrel of sleeping potion and back to the girl. Her poison resistance skill was growing fast; his eyes narrowed again—it was growing too fast.

  1 Kings 8:57 NIV - May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us.