Triss stared at the message, her mind racing. This obviously was some sort of magical messaging book, and Naiela had received instructions to turn her and Reginald over to this Wizard Yurnash person. Or kill them. Damn it. Some part of her still wanted to believe there was good in everyone, and that someone like Naiela wasn't as bad as they seemed. It gave her hope for herself, after the things she had done. Killing Thomas and that other wizard. She knew that Thomas needed to die. She knew that Grounth had really been the one to kill the other wizard. But it still weighed on her, an invisible burden that always sat there at the back of her mind.

  Reading over the message again, that weight crushed her, extinguishing the faint spark of hope she still held. She quickly closed the book and stuffed it back in Naiela's pants where she'd found it, then sat back in the corner.

  She wasnt sure how long she sat there before Reginald returned, but she felt like it wasn't too long. He gave her a quick smile as the door was closed behind him. "We will be on our way in the morning." He told her.

  Something about his tone was off. Triss narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"

  “What do you mean?” He replied.

  “I mean what did you do to make them release us? They didn’t seem like they were going to, not after what happened.” She intentionally didn’t mention how Reginald had killed one of their men. She wasn’t sure if they were listening or not.

  “I told them who I was.” Reginald said simply. “This is the closest village to Thalonia. They may not be part of Percival’s domain, but they do have some level of respect for him.”

  “And what about her?” Triss pointed at Naiela. “Are they going to let her go?”

  Reginald shrugged. “Her fate is her own. I spoke to Jeon - that’s the man who led us here - and while he’s fine with letting us go, she’ll have questions to answer.”

  “They’re going to kill her!” Triss protested. “You know they will.”

  Reginald shrugged. “From what I could gather, she started it. She’ll have to answer for her own actions.”

  Triss crossed her arms and glared at Reginald, mostly because she knew he was right but didn’t like it. “This is dumb.” She complained.

  “This is life. We’ve had this conversation before.”

  She knew what he meant. That this was not her world, and she couldn’t expect the life to go the same way it had on her homeworld. She knew that was true, but she still didn’t like it. She didn’t answer the draconic, just continued to glare at him. He ignored her and began checking on Naiela, making sure she was still breathing and pulling back the bandage to re-examine her wound.

  Soon the young man returned carrying another cot with another man the same age. They wordlessly deposited the cot, bowed towards Reginald, then left. “You should get some sleep.” Reginald said, pointing at the cot. “It’s already dark outside, and we’ll want to leave first thing.”

  Triss complained about it, but only half-heartedly. She was feeling tired after the events of the day. Reginald helped her set up the cot to her liking, and she lay down. He dimmed the overhead lamp by turning a small brass wheel on the side. “Reginald?” She asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s all going to be ok, right?”

  “It’s all going to be fine. Get some rest mistress Triss. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

  She closed her eyes, a wave of delayed exhaustion flooding her. She was almost asleep when she suddenly remembered the book. She sat up, wanting to tell Reginald about it. He was sitting in the corner, his breaths coming slow and steady. Already asleep. She’d have to tell him in the morning. She lay back down, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

  Sleeping on a cot was far better than sleeping on the ground, but it couldn’t compare to sleeping in a soft bed. Triss woke slowly, every muscle in her body stiff and sore. The room was still dim, and she wondered idly what time it was.

  It’s ten after six. The sun should just be coming up.

  You know what time it is? Triss thought at the voice.

  Yes. It’s a strange thing, but being in this…in between state gives me a strong sense of time. I don’t quite understand it. I feel the passing of each minute.

  Part of Triss felt bad at the life the old dark wizard was forced to live, stuck in her head and without body or the ability to sleep. Then she remembered his comments from the previous evening and the sympathy disappeared. She swung her legs over the side of the cot, stretching muscles that didn’t want to obey this morning. Then she stood and made her way to the door, knocking on it firmly. After a moment, it swung open.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The room beyond was well lit, and the bright lamplight hurt her eyes. “Can I help you mistress?” A voice said, and she quickly recognized it as the man who’d brought them here. What did Reginald say his name was? John? No, Jeon. That was it.

  “Good morning Jeon.” She said as politely as she could manage in her sleepy state. “Is there a bathroom nearby?”

  “There’s a bucket in the room.” He replied, firm but not cold.

  “That’s not what I asked.” Triss said. Percival had included more than just magic in his lessons to her. One important lesson, at least according to him, had been how to deal with people in different situations. Jeon might be in charge here, but Triss was a dark wizard. She had the true power in this situation.

  “There will be times you need to display your power to get your way, of course.” Percival had instructed. “But that can get…messy. Whenever possible, simply act as though you are in charge.”

  Joen paused for a minute, seeming to consider his next words. "I'm sorry mistress, but I need to ask you to remain here for now."

  Triss folded her arms, staring at the man. She waited as he grew more and more uncomfortable. "I suppose if I escorted you?" He finally said.

  Triss smiled. "That is acceptable. Lead on."

  He instructed another man waiting nearby to watch to door. Triss realized it was the same nervous young man who’d brought her supper the night before, though he didn’t seem nervous like he had the night before. They went outside where the light of the sun was beginning to paint the sky with smudges of pink and purple. It had rained a bit overnight, and small brown puddles dotted the dirt road that ran through the village. Joen led her down the road, his long stride covering ground quickly. Triss had to hurry just to keep up. Finally they reached a small outhouse on the edge of town, the dilapidated structure obviously rarely used. Triss thanked the man before going inside. She nearly regretted asking to be taken here once she saw the inside. The roof leaked, a steady drip right over the hole cut roughly in the wooden seat.

  Her mood was significantly darker on the trip back. Water had dripped on her the entire time and a crack in the wooden seat had pinched her when she'd sat down. Not for the first time, she found herself slightly envious of men. Only a little bit though.

  The sounds of harsh words greeted them before they even reached the building and Jeon broke into a jog, obviously forgetting that he was supposed to be escorting Triss. He cleared the stairs up to the buildings porch in a single step and hurried inside, Triss running to keep up. "You will fetch him this instant!" Naiela's voice came. Well. She's obviously feeling better. Triss thought.

  The man Jeon had left behind stood at the door, blocking it with his arms folded. “Master Joen will return shortly. You’ll can wait for him.”

  Naiela stood on the other side of the doorway, leaning against it with her uninjured shoulder. Her face was pale and she was covered in sweat. Her face was a mask of fury, and Triss realized the anger was probably the only thing keeping the council wizard standing. "I didn't ask when he'd be back. I said go fetch him!"

  "What's the meaning of all this?" Joen said in an authoritative tone as he strode up.

  Naiela turned to look at him, swaying ever so slightly. "Are you the one in charge?" She demanded.

  "I am." He replied.

  "Finally. First, where is my horse? Second, why am I being told I can't leave?"

  "Which horse is yours?" Joen asked.

  Naiela laughed. "The black one, of course. I wouldn't be caught dead on that worthless mare. Where is he?"

  "He's tied up at the stables. Master Hatt is taking good care of him. As for the second question, you're being held because you attacked one of our patrols."

  "I attacked? Ridiculous! Your men tried to steal Nightfang!" Naiela shouted, color coming at last to her face. "I defended....I defended...him." Naiela stuttered, then swayed. Reginald was suddenly there to catch her as she collapsed.

  "You need more rest." Reginald told Naiela as he put her arm over his shoulder and leading her back into the room. "As I said before."

  "Do we need Mother Altruna?” Jeon asked, following Reginald.

  “It wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Reginald said.

  “Go fetch her, Cham.” Jeon told the young man. “I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  “A-actually Mother Altruna said she wanted to see her.” Cham said, pointing at Triss. “S-she told me that last night. I forgot to mention.”

  Jeon frowned at Cham. “Really? She didn’t mention that to me.”

  “LET GO OF ME YOU blast…liz…” Naiela’s angry shout lost steam about halfway through, fading to barely a whisper.

  “Damn it. Fine. Take her. Hurry.” Joen said before darting into the room. Cham looked at Triss, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and began striding out of the room. Triss followed quickly behind.

  Cham led her down the road, then onto a narrow grassy alley between two houses. He turned suddenly down another alley, and Triss had to break into a jog to keep from losing the young man. She turned down the next alley, only to have something hard smash into her face. Stars exploded in her vision as her head snapped back, and she collapsed backwards into onto the soft wet grass. Something swung down at her, and she quickly rolled to the side and jumped to her feet. Percival made Reginald give her some basic hand to hand combat training, and for once she was glad for it.

  Cham stood with a long wooden plank gripped tightly in his hands, raised high over his shoulder. His face was red with fury, eyes wild. “I’m going to kill you!” He snarled.

  “What the fuck? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Triss snapped. She slowly backed up while keeping her hands in a defensive position, ready to deflect the next blow if necessary.

  “You killed my father! You, or one of your companions!” He snarled. Spittle flew from his lips in little white globs. “I promised myself if I could kill one of you I would.” He swung the board down in a vicious arc, but Triss easily sidestepped it.

  “Put the board down.” Triss said firmly. “I’m sorry your dad died. But you need to put the board down.”

  “Die? He was murdered!” Cham spat, swinging the board sideways like a baseball bat. It crashed into the side of one of the houses and nearly shook out of his hands.

  “Last warning. Drop the board, or else.” Triss said firmly.

  Cham swung overhand again, and Triss jumped back. The board wasn’t even close this time. “Or what?” Cham snarled.

  Triss took one more large step backwards. Then she withdrew her wand from the holder on her arm. She leveled it at Cham, and gave him a smile that would have been more at home on a shark. “Or you’ll learn what a dark wizard can really do.”