Amalie was sitting on a wobbly chair in the top room of the tower. She had already had some time to think about all sorts of things. After the incident with Aurel, in which it had emerged that his younger brother, Wenzel, was a sorcerer, everything had changed. Soon men who had been sent from Greifenburg had turned up and taken her away. In her interrogation, she had made it clear to them that she had known nothing of the circumstances and actually had no other connection to Wenzel, whom they were now looking for. At the time, she had been terrified that they would do who knows what to her, but all they did was lock her up. That was it. They didn't ask her any more questions. But now the situation had obviously changed. From what she had heard from some of the soldiers and other people, there was an upheaval and revolution happening in the country and her former classmate was involved in some way, too.

  Either way, she had now been brought here to be used as a hostage. The woman whose idea this was sat opposite her and talked while the young Amalie was listening, unsure of what would happen next. "Since these losers can't do it with all the resources we've given them, I've had to make the decision to do it myself. I once swore to my honourable father to destroy all demons in our land and I intend to keep that promise!" explained the lady, whose face was now paler than ever. Then she pulled a knife out of her pocket. At the sight of it, the girl she was talking to was terrified and wanted to evade backwards, but this was impossible, as she was sitting in a corner. She correctly deduced what Gabriela was up to. When the woman saw how tense Amalie was out of fear, a diabolical smile crossed her lips and she said: "You will be my key to destroying this wretched brood, my dear! I will wipe evil from the face of this earth, just as Lord Voland demands of me!"

  With a shaky voice, the girl replied: "I have told you so many times that I have nothing to do with Wenzel. He won't come just because of me." - "Oh, but he will! If you understood the circumstances, you would come to the same conclusion. Besides, this is something you should hope will happen. If he accepts my offer, your life will be saved." Amalie didn't believe a word she said. The insidiousness and deceitfulness of her words were almost palpable. Then, it finally happened. Several times the clouds and sun had alternated while they were looking through the window now. "Clash!" it went, and from one moment to the next its pane shattered. A young man landed on the windowsill and then jumped down from it onto the room’s floor. When he saw the two women, he suddenly stood riveted to the spot in surprise. Gabriela immediately rushed over to Amalie and held her knife to her throat.

  "Don't take another step and don't move or the girl gets it!" she initiated her blackmail strategy. The guy didn't seem too shocked. He had probably been expecting something similar. "Why are you here?" Amalie let out briefly, but the queen immediately forced her into silence. "Quiet! I'm the only one talking here!" she announced. Then she began her speech: "Welcome, devil's child Wenzel! I see that you have accepted my invitation. Now then, let me explain something to you first. For centuries, you demons have ruled over the destinies of our nations and, thus, of humanity as a whole. This could not remain so! My ancestors, in whose footsteps I proudly follow, have put an end to this. I cannot and will not allow their achievements to be undone!"

  As she monologued, Wenzel tried to find a way to dispose of her without endangering Amalie. He thought and thought, but in the rush of the moment he simply couldn't think of anything. He could shoot something at the lady, but that would be conspicuous and she might be reacting soon enough. Besides, he couldn't judge the woman and didn't know how determined she was to carry out her threats. To be on the safe side, he had to assume the worst case scenario. She had really gotten him off on the wrong foot. His "plan" had actually been to seek out the highest tower in order to take out the soldiers one by one when they came up. He could cross this one off his list now.

  The lady recognised that Wenzel was looking around nervously, trying to find a solution to the dicey situation he was in. So, she said: "Your pendant, give it to me!" For a moment the boy looked perplexed and amazed, that she knew about it. "Give it to me right here and now or the girl is done for!" He hesitantly took out the stone and removed it from around his neck. "Good, just throw it on the floor towards me. Don't move an inch!" He hesitated briefly and thought about it again. This pendant was his life. So, was it really wise to just hand it over to someone like that? The answer to that was of course no, but he couldn’t allow Amalie to die. Nevertheless, he couldn’t allow himself to simply surrender either. This was a negotiation! He gave a rebuttal: "Only if you remove all the guards from the keep!" At first the woman gave him a puzzled look, but her expression quickly changed to a grim one. "Who do you think you are? I call the shots here." Wenzel's heart was beating wildly now. He knew that he had to stand his ground and replied: "This is a negotiation. You want something from me and I want something from you. I can't trust you unless you do something that inspires confidence in your word." Gabriela thought about it for a moment and then replied, "Agreed."

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  Then she called out for the guards, who had apparently already been informed in advance of what might happen, as they had not come up when the windowpane shattered. The usurper ordered them all to leave the keep. "Are you sure, Your Highness? We won’t be able to protect you like this!" - "Indeed. That's the idea behind it." The men were confused, but did as they were told. As a result, Wenzel grabbed his stone. His hand clutched it tightly once more, but then he threw it over to the ground in front of the lady. When Amalie saw this, she was visibly disappointed. Gabriela bent down and picked up the object. She was now satisfied, because Wenzel no longer had any power. She was probably unaware that the boy still had a sword.

  Then she continued: "The Witch Empress Elisabeth had once cursed my ancestors, that only evil would befall them and their descendants, that’s how angry she was, because we had ended her unjust rule! Haha! But I'll believe it when I see it. In the meantime, I'll continue to make life hell for you demons! That's why I burnt down the library in Greifenburg. The less you know about magic, the less likely the return of a permanent so-called empire becomes." This caught the boy's attention and he replied: "That was you? I actually thought the building had caught fire from the endless barrage during the siege." The woman only gave him more and more reasons for him to hate her. But that was apparently her intention. She felt more confident now that Wenzel no longer had his magic.

  "Magic is simply too powerful to allow its existence. That is why your kind must perish along with it! The magic you possess can do far too much and will ultimately bend and manipulate the will of all those you rule over. That is why you are a demon!" Wenzel hated that and contradicted her: "I'm not an evil person and I don't intend to manipulate people." - "Haha! They all say that. Even if you are telling the truth here, what about those who come after you? Someone will start the tyranny again, it's only a matter of time." - "And that justifies barbarically burning people at the stake? Isn't this practice you've introduced just as cruel and tyrannical?" Now the lady paused for a moment and looked the young man in the eye for the first time. He looked at her too and saw how neurotic her gaze actually was. What he couldn't see was his own fear-filled gaze. Now Gabriela took the floor and adopted an amused tone: "What? You think... haha! You think WE created the Inquisition? Oh, no, my boy! The first Demon Emperor, your "messiah" Melgar, personally created this institution to eliminate other sorcerers, who could have challenged him for the throne! There can only be ONE!"

  This revelation left Wenzel speechless. But the patriarch had told him something different…. Was this true or had the putschist Gabriela simply lied to him? What was true? While all this was flashing through his mind, the high lady decided to put an end to it all. "I should have never allowed you to stay alive. Well then, Wenzel! It has been a pleasure!" she exclaimed and smashed the pendant onto the stone floor with all her might. As it shattered, a dazzling light shone through the entire room, blinding everyone. In an instant, the magician blacked out and collapsed. At the sight of Wenzel lying on the floor, the woman let out a devilish laugh. She let go of the girl and walked towards the boy with the knife in her hand. She would end this now!