Zaenith straightens to her full, imposing height, folding her arms across her chest. "I presume you're here to beg again. My answer remains unchanged. I will not supply mana potions to a swaddling sorceress."

  "Then why make them? Just to stock shelves and sneer at people who come to buy?" Luna snaps back.

  Zaenith shakes her head with an imperious laugh. "There is a higher purpose to mana, beyond being the plaything of infantile magicians."

  Glaring, Luna draws a small satchel from her belt. Slowly, she spills its contents onto the counter. Black, glistening orbs, soft-looking and irregularly shaped. I know them instantly, the eyes of Maldor's spiders.

  “I will trade you these, for the potion.”

  Zaenith raises a single brow, eyes focused on the items. She reaches down, plucks one between thumb and forefinger. Instantly, black mist begins to seep from it, coiling around her hand like smoke caught in water. Her eyes turn pitch black, mirroring the orb, her gaze distant and unfocused.

  What in the....

  Luna steps back instinctively, her posture tightening.

  Zaenith sets the orb down with deliberate care, the black mist retreating instantly, her eyes clearing. She doesn't look at Luna when she speaks, her gaze still focused on the eyes. "Where did you get these?"

  Luna crosses her arms. "Off the brigands. I stole it from their laboratory."

  Zaenith's gaze shifts to me. "Your sorcerer?"

  I nod. "He's somehow gained control over a host of giant spiders."

  "And your plan for handling such creatures?"

  Before I can speak, Luna cuts in, sharp and sure. "We will slay them with magic of our own. Now, the potions."

  Zaenith stares at Luna, and then me, gaze harder than stone. Then, without a word, she turns and strides to the back of the store. After a moment, she returns with three small vials of deep blue liquid and sets them on the counter.

  "Take them, then."

  Luna snatches them up, examining each briefly. Apparently satisfied, she gives me a curt glance. "I’ll wait for you outside," she mutters, then turns on her heel and strides from the shop, the door swinging shut behind her.

  Zaenith ignores Luna entirely as she gathers the black orbs, slipping them into a small satchel and tying it shut with deliberate care. I watch her, then ask, "Are those reagents?"

  "Of a sort," she says, curt and unwilling to elaborate.

  "Are they valuable?"

  Plenty where they came from. If we kill Maldor, I could gather a whole bundle...

  "No. They are useful to me alone, and even I have all I need with these."

  She tucks the satchel away, dismissing my hopes.

  I begin to turn, but her voice stops me. "Those spiders do not serve the sorcerer alone. Beware their mother."

  I glance back. "Their mother? What do you mean?"

  Zaenith’s gaze holds mine, implacable. "It is your trial to overcome," she says simply, offering nothing more.

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  Hmph, then why say anything at all?

  Outside, Luna waits for me. Together, we make our way to Zaenith's house, my house, really, since I’m the only one who stays here now. With no furniture, we settle on the floor near the hearth. I strike the flint, and flame blossoms instantly, its warmth easing the chill.

  Luna glances at me, her voice low. "Seven...."

  "Hm?"

  Luna hesitates before continuing, but pushes through "Be wary of your master. I doubt I need to say it, but... her reaction to the spider eyes... it was not natural. Nor was it sorcery, she cast no spell. She may not be human."

  Not human... right.

  But then... what would that make me?

  "How did you come to be her apprentice?"

  I look away, the fire reflecting in my eyes. “She’s my mother.”

  Luna blinks, visibly taken aback. A beat passes before she mutters, “You’ve a peculiar family.”

  “Maybe,” I murmur. “But if I do, Zaenith’s the cause of it.”

  She doesn’t pry further. Instead, she folds her hands over her knees and says, “Tomorrow, we march with the mayor. Edwin’s assigned his men, but we need to settle what we’ll do.”

  I nod. “Like we discussed. Maldor’s ours. Ren.... will have to fight with Two. Ideally, we'll kill our foe before their fight begins. Or... at least before it ends.”

  Luna looks at me, one arm draped over her knee. "Are you worried about your brother?"

  "No. Not him."

  She pauses, pressing no further. After a few more moments, she continues on. "I've been thinking. Maldor won’t step onto the battlefield himself, not if he can help it. He’ll send the spiders. And with them added to the brigands... it could be enough to overwhelm the Edwin’s forces. They are just peasants after all. The fear alone may break their morale."

  I glance over. "Should we warn him?"

  She nods. "It will take us at least two days to reach the fort, plenty of time. But ideally, we'll kill Maldor before the spiders become a major issue. We just have to find him."

  "Do you think he’ll need to see the battle to control them?"

  "Most likely. From the windows of the fort perhaps, high up. We’ll have to watch as the fight unfolds, and spot him when he reveals himself."

  I recall Zaenith’s warning. "What about their mother? What birthed those spiders..."

  Luna shrugs. “We’ll have to fight through it,” she says. “The females are bigger from what I’ve read, but not monstrously so. If Maldor has so many, there’s probably at least one. Still, it shouldn't be an issue. Maldor himself is likely to be the greater problem.”

  “I see...”

  Then why did Zaenith....

  Luna leans back, firelight playing across her face, turning her features soft and golden. Night has settled outside, a biting chill pressing in through the stone walls. We both inch instinctively closer to the hearth.

  She studies me a moment, then asks, “Are you afraid? This will be your first battle, won’t it?”

  I nod faintly. “I don’t know about afraid... But yes. It will be my first. What about you?”

  “For me as well,” she says quietly. “When I was younger, I used to watch my father ride out to battle, always hoping he’d take me along. He never did of course. But now... I finally get to ride out too.”

  “Did Edwin even agree to it?”

  She smirks. “I didn’t ask. Not that it matters, I’ll ride beside him, or ride ahead without him.”

  I huff a soft laugh. “You do love forcing your way into man business.”

  She snorts, rolling her eyes.

  Still smiling, I slap her on the back, hard enough to throw her forward. “I wonder if we’ll have to coat you in mud again.”

  She scowls, sitting back up. "Fuck you. My mother bought me that cloak."

  I shrug. “Getting dirty is part of being a man.”

  She glares for a few moments more, then lets out a soft laugh, leaning back. I glance at her, catching the firelight glinting along the gold streak in her dark hair, the same hue as her eyes. My chest tightens just a fraction. She catches me staring.

  “What?” she asks, voice low.

  I cough and glance away. “Nothing.”

  She gives me a sidelong look, not quite buying it. Her eyes drop to my belt, brow lifting. “Isn’t that the innkeeper’s daughter’s ribbon?”

  I follow her gaze. “Yeah. She gave it to me. For luck, I suppose.”

  Luna nods slowly, almost to herself. “I see. A good match for you.”

  "Match for me.... right...."

  If there is such a thing.

  I clear my throat and shift the subject. “You didn’t say whether you were afraid. About the battle, I mean.”

  Her face hardens, jaw set. “No. If I can't face this, I’ll never fulfill my duty. My path as a covenanter is only just beginning.”

  “To fight demons and sorcerers?”

  She nods. “Among other things. The world is darkening. Even my superiors feel it. The covenant has long focused on securing dangerous artifacts, hoarding forbidden knowledge, shielding the world from its worst... but now the time has come to fight. The agents of the dark grow in the shadows. We must answer.”

  She looks into the fire, quiet for a moment. Then her eyes turn to mine. “We should prepare a plan. If we’re to fight together, there must be trust. No secrets. I’ll tell you what I am capable of. You’ll do the same. From there, we can prepare.”

  I nod. “Agreed.”

  We talk for a long while, outlining sharing the truth of our abilities, our skills, formulating potential tactics using them separately and together. The fire crackles, shadows shift, and the night deepens. But between us, something solid takes shape.

  A strategy.