“What happened to your robes?” Oscar asked by way of greeting, handing over a serving (swan) of the early (according to Cillian) supper they were working on.

  “Keep an eye out. The emperor’s knights are crawling through the place on the lower floors. We’ve been attacked twice. Ambushed the second time. Group of all women, magicians among them.”

  “They’re still alive?”

  “My magic rendered them unconscious.”

  Oscar grunted, “I don’t have the stomach for that sort of work either.”

  Attar and I set out describing the women in as best detail as we could remember. Cillian in particular took careful note of our words.

  Brace cut through our talk with the only question that mattered, “Can we beat them?”

  “With their weapons? No. Not without Attar or I here.”

  Brace didn’t seem offended by my assessment.

  “And without their swords?” Attar had dropped them to take his own handful of roasted swan.

  “The odds are better, but their magicians are still their biggest threat. None of Astra’s blessing will help against them. Still, with their afrit-bonded magician dead they will have troubles killing you. Close in fast, stick together, and target the magicians if you can. If you are separated they will blind you and kill you one at a time by robbing you of your senses.”

  I’d figured out who the magician I’d killed had formed a pact with on our way back. The weight on my chest had been the final clue. Afarit were dangerous; strong enough to move entire armies and faster than the wind, with complete mastery of smoke and fire. We were lucky she hadn’t been granted full access to its power.

  The Aether magician had probably made a pact with Aether himself, or one of his servants. I still wasn’t sure which magician had made me lose control of my breathing or what her bond could possibly be, and I had no idea who Marian had made her bargain with. Something to do with fire by her robes and hair.

  “Is there anything we can do to defend ourselves from the Aether?”

  To all of our surprise, it was Attar who spoke, “Astra may be able to breathe it. In which case it will empower her. She is god touched and royalty after all.”

  I was touched by more gods than I could keep count and hadn’t been able to breathe the Aether in the slightest, but the crown was divinely ordained. It might be enough.

  “Don’t count on it, but that is probably your best bet. Otherwise, take advantage of any terrain you know better than them, and attempt to blind them in turn. They didn’t seem to be effected by their own Aether. Keep Gunhild out of the Aether if at all possible. It might be anathema to her true nature.”

  I left the Delta people to their thoughts to cozy up to Astra.

  “How are you at drawing maps?” I asked.

  “Terrible, much to the shame of my tutors. My writing is terrible as well. I was always more interested in reading.”

  My magic map would have to do. It was more accurate anyway, if less reliable. I suppose if I was ever desperate there was always my potion of calligraphy form. I’d had no clue what it was supposed to do, but improving the imbiber’s ability to draw maps made sense.

  I sat next to her and handed her the strange tooth we’d found. She took it with bemusement, then her eyes widened as she was whisked away to the dream world.

  I could have asked her how she was doing, or tried to offer her some encouragement, but I’d found people could do that part for themselves. What they needed more was others in their corner. People who they could be free around. And I wanted to share in the wonders I’d found with her, so she could share in the wonders with me.

  Her gaze refocused after a minute. There were tears glistening in her eyes. She handed me back the tooth.

  I waited.

  “I saw,” she wiped a tear from her eye and sniffed back a running nose, “Sorry—I saw my friends and family all around me. A few of us were walking down the road past the field near my house. We saw the others in the field, preparing for the afternoon feast. So we stopped by the fence. The gate is tall—was tall, I doubt it is still standing—and so I grew as tall as the trees to see over. Everyone was laughing. My sister was on my shoulders, and I picked up my best friend so I could place her on the top of the fence. It’s silly, but I was struck by how her legs kicked back and forth over the pole. It was right. It was how life should be.

  “I had to leave before I couldn’t bear to stay there any longer.”

  I took the tooth gently in my own hand, taking her hand as I did so. Her eyes met mine, even though she couldn’t see more than their light, “It wasn’t how life should be,” I said gently, “Life should be the will of more than one person.”

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  She nearly pulled away but I tightened my grip, “But that does not mean it wasn’t beautiful, or that it is not something to strive for. It merely means how life should be is infinitely more beautiful than we can know.”

  The light of the Elysium shone brightly in my eyes, causing the princess to gasp. I released my grip and let her hand slip away.

  “I’d like to visit those warm shores.”

  “Something to look forward to,” even if she couldn’t see my grin, she could hear it in my voice, for she smiled in turn.

  “I’m far too old for you,” she said, eyes twinkling with a light of their own, “for shame taking advantage of a ninety-six year old woman.”

  She scooted over and leaned her head on my shoulder, “For shame.”

  ***

  I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before when I woke with the sun the next day. Or rather, I noticed something that was so common I’d never noticed not noticing it.

  I could see myself, hands, arms, legs, blood, lungs, heart; everything.

  Attar was also visible, nestled on the far end of the room. My growing light didn’t wake any who weren’t already awake, but Astra and Oscar were both looking at me. Oscar with joy, Astra with curiosity.

  I let them stare, as I was more focused on Attar. Even as I watched he began to fade and turn clear like glass once more. I did too at the same rate. Even my golden lungs and stomach’s contents viewed only from my ring vanished.

  “You were visible at the dusk as well,” Astra said, “Whenever the Corpse in the Sky changes forms perhaps?”

  I’d believe it if Attar hadn’t also become visible. There was more than the god’s influence going on here.

  Oscar clapped his hands in delight, “Your visage is no curse at all! Your friends can still see your wonderful face whenever we like, we need just look at the right time. And otherwise, when you wish not to be the source of men’s stares you can slip off your clothes and hide in plain sight.”

  I wondered if Oscar had been this positive before he’d visited Elysium. It was a benefaction.

  “I’m going to record a spell, and then, Oscar, I think I shall be taking your advice.”

  _?Mental Map?_

  I protected the spell in the manner the Corpse in the Sky had showed me. Only once it was safe did I take care of my morning duties and the join the others in breaking our fast. Today would be the last day of swan.

  I also made sure to refill my waterskins from the pool (this time without the amulet which sucked them dry), and drank my fill there as well.

  It was nine-thirty in the morning according to the stormy eyed Cillian by the time Attar and I were fully ready to set out. We were both freshly fed and watered and alert after a long nights rest. I’d been finding I slept more easily and with far more length among friends.

  We moved through the room with the dead goblins, it was also serving as the latrine, and I couldn’t help but notice the corpses were starting to turn. They’d dragged the bodies to the far wall, but the dungeon was going to fill with miasma if we didn’t find a solution to the corpses and waste. Perhaps I’d have to develop a stronger fire spell, but then I might suffocate us all with smoke.

  The violet mushrooms we’d encountered devoured the corpses supernaturally fast, and in theory my dryadic nature would allow me to control them, but I’d also seen how fast those rats had died. We’d have to be truly desperate before I tried. Better to find a new room to hole up in instead, once the current hideout became unlivable.

  The lift was still there when we got back.

  So were the emperor’s knights, who made sure to announce their presence with a second ambush. This one, at least, was verbal.

  “Where are they?” demanded their leader. It was obvious who they were talking about. Marian and the green robed mage were missing. Two hanks of hair were in the leader’s hand.

  It looked bad.

  “That’s no concern of mine. We did nothing to them, save give them our warning,” I flared my light out to the maximum of its extent, until the dark spots of blood against the dark stone were visible to the naked eye as well as my ring, “Follow those footprints to Marian.”

  There was fear in the tiny knight’s eye now. No longer wary, but terrified.

  “Leave us be, Magec.”

  “You are the emperor’s cowards who ambushed me. Me who offered you no harm.”

  “We feared you.”

  “And now you have reason to fear. Get out of my sight.”

  “The lift is ours.”

  Perhaps the emperor had chosen her for her courage rather than her brains. I could demand they leave the lift, and enforce the demand if I needed to, especially now that they only had one magician. But they knew that the same as me, and I did not doubt the “advisor of the emperor” to be petty enough to sabotage the lift if I pressed the issue.

  “Δηλητηρι?στε αυτο?? που υπηρετο?ν τον αυτοκρ?τορα αν αγγ?ξουν ? βλ?ψουν αυτ?ν τον ανελκυστ?ρα.”

  I allowed my godly voice to take over as I spoke in the language of the gods. My glowing arm (I’d kept the intense light of the sun) flung out dramatically toward the lift.

  Encoding Poison

  Darkness wrapped around my soul, slipped underneath, and spread throughout like its own poison in my veins. Roots of dark magic which would not easily be pulled. The slope only ever went down. I ignored it as best I could while I proclaimed my declaration to the knights.

  “This lift will kill any who I have not ordained may touch it, as well as any who attempt to harm it. It is yours no longer.”

  The knights shrank from my words, and their remaining mage visibly paled.

  “She speaks true,” she whispered, “that is the language of the gods. She is Magec indeed.”

  I stepped onto the lift and Attar followed a moment later.

  It was all very dignified.

  Then I grabbed the winch and started winding us down in to the depths, one juttering inch at a time.

  “Mother of light...” the mage whispered, shortly after we’d disappeared from sight.

  I was the trickster goddess of light.

  I was allowed to sigh.