The beautiful winter night is cold as balls. What is it with these people and doing secret things in the middle of the night? Couldn’t they have their secret meeting in a well-lit and warm room, with snacks and drinks? Looking around the desolate, snow-covered field that I find myself in, I wonder if I should’ve brought a thermos of some kind.

  Hunched in the snow, Penelope pokes me. “When do you think they’ll have this meeting?” she asks behind layers of coats.

  Looking over to our hall, I let out a visible sigh. “They didn’t really specify a time. So, I’d get cozy if I were you. Also, did you have to bring the greatsword?” I ask.

  “Well, given that we’re out in the middle of the night, alone, and are planning to follow someone to an undisclosed location, I thought it might be a good idea to bring a weapon,” she says, tapping the hilt of the greatsword.

  “When you put it that way, it sounds reasonable,” I say, grabbing a cookie from my coat.

  “The real question is, why didn’t you bring a weapon?”

  “I did. It’s called a sharp mind and a bag full of rocks.”

  As we wait for even the slightest bit of movement, we hear the sound of rustling behind us. Penelope flinches and swings her greatsword, barely missing Hopper.

  “Woah, careful with that thing. You almost cut me in half,” Hopper says as he takes a half-step back.

  “Hopper? What are you doing here?” Penelope asks.

  He shakes off the surprise of almost being bisected and answers, “I followed CJ. He was being all suspicious, and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble, but then I saw the two of you together…. and well… I thought… It doesn’t matter what I thought. What are you guys doing out here?”

  “We’re stalking somebody,” I say bluntly.

  “We’re not stalking anybody. We’re just following him to a secret meeting to make sure nothing untoward is occurring,” Penelope quickly corrects.

  “That sounds like… you are stalking him,” Hopper says.

  “It’s not stalking!” Penelope persists.

  “No, no, Penelope, we're stalking poor Eidrel. There’s no sugarcoating it. After all, how did we find out about this secret meeting again?” I tease.

  “We overheard a private conversation while we were in a supply closet,” she whispers.

  Hopper's bunny ears twitch. “You did what?” he says with surprise.

  “It was his fault. He pulled me into this whole ordeal,” she says, pointing the finger at me.

  “Odd, I don’t seem to remember dragging you out here. In fact, you insisted on coming,” I say, twisting the truth to my benefit.

  “You, Charlatan, you know exactly why I-”

  Hopper puts his hand up, interrupting our conversation. Closing his eyes, he listens for something we could never hear. He then points towards our Hall. Skulking out of the back door is a robbed individual with a similar stature to Eidrels.

  “That has to be him,” I whisper.

  “You think so?” Penelope whispers back.

  “Well, unless multiple secret meetings are happening tonight, I’d say that it’s most likely him,” I rationalize.

  “If you’re going to follow him, you should do it fast,” Hopper whispers as he points to the quickly escaping cloaked figure.

  “Let's go. Why do you have your bow?” I ask as I realize that Hopper has his equipment.

  As we move, he answers, “I was following ‘you’ in the middle of the night. Of course, I brought my equipment.”

  “Fair.”

  Trudging through the snow, I quietly thank the Gods. If it wasn’t for Hopper, we would’ve lost Eidrel a minute into following him. Turns out he’s really good at covering his tracks. I mean, he didn’t even leave tracks in the snow. That’s an Elf for you. They’re lightfooted and quick. Hopper stops abruptly as we reach an isolated part of the University.

  A small stream cuts through it with a single gazebo in the middle. It’s surrounded by bushes, and the thin layer of snow makes it seem almost ethereal. Wait, I recognize this place. This is where Penelope and I first eavesdropped on Eidrel and Yvena. Why are they meeting here?

  Standing in the middle of the gazebo is a cloaked woman who must be Bianca. The cloaked man walks up to her and kisses her. Wait! What in the hells is happening here!? With a shocked face, I look over at Penelope, who is as shocked as me. Did Eidrel lie to Yvena? Is he really in love with Bianca?

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  As questions fly through my mind, the clouds part and the moonlight shines down on this small piece of the world. Then I catch it. A stray strand of black hair. With a big smile, I realize what’s happening.

  “What are you smiling about?” Penelope whispers.

  “Look, that’s not Bianca. That’s Yvena. He’s meeting Yvena,” I whisper back with a beaming smile.

  Penelope looks back at the woman. Soon enough, she sees what I saw. Her eyes go wide, and she turns to me.

  “I know!” I mouth to her.

  Hopper looks between us and rolls his eyes. He doesn’t get it. Probably because he’s having his own little thing with… Wait a minute. Hopper never told me her name. That sly little bastard. I’ll have to pry that information out of him later. If he’s willing to get beaten up for her, I should at least know her name. That’s besides the point. If Eidrel is meeting Yvena tonight. Then where is Bianca?

  “It would seem that you are an idiot after all, little Eidrel,” Bianca says as she appears from seemingly nowhere.

  Eidrel draws his sword. “Bianca! How did you know I would be here?” he asks as he pulls down his hood.

  Yvena also pulls her hood down. “How did you appear from nowhere?” she asks.

  Ignoring her, Bianca plays with a glowing red energy in her hand. “I told you, this isn’t the first time you’ve made an idiotic decision for love, and it won’t be your last. Did you really think I wouldn’t see the fire of defiance in your eyes?” she asks, taking a step towards them.

  This doesn’t seem right. Something's wrong here, and I don’t like it. Looking over to Penelope and Hopper, I get the feeling they’ve also caught on to this being weird.

  Eidrel gets in front of Yvena as Bianca steps closer. “You’ve already ruined the life of my mother. I won’t let you ruin mine!” he yells as he stabs towards Bianca.

  The sword cuts straight through her shoulder and down into her chest. Black blood drips from her wound, staining the snow. Bianca looks down at the sword and grabs the blade. She then pulls it out of her and throws it to the ground.

  “Stupid, little Eidrel. We both know that wasn’t going to kill me. You can’t kill me, but I can kill her,” Bianca says as the wound in her shoulder heals.

  Bianca raises her hand as dark red energy grows in her hand. She goes to direct it at Yvena, but before she can fire, Penelope appears before her. With one quick slash, Bianca’s hand goes flying.

  “Hopper,” I say as I rush past him and towards them.

  “On it,” he says as he lets loose an arrow.

  The arrow whizzes by my horn and slams straight into Bianca's head. Grabbing the discarded sword, I slash her behind the knee. She falls to one knee. Penelope wastes no time and rears her greatsword back as it crackles to life. With one heavy swing, she goes to slice off Bianca's head, but stops just short of her neck.

  Bianca, who had blocked the attack with her nail, sighs. “It seems I underestimated you, little Eidrel. To think you would bring help. My, how you’ve grown,” she says.

  With a flick of her finger, Bianca sends Penelope’s greatsword reeling back. She then pulls the arrow out of her head and stands up as if nothing had happened.

  “But we both know that they can’t kill me,” Bianca says as her eyes shift into a black void.

  Sharing a look with Penelope, we both go in for an attack. Penelope swings her greatsword low, aiming for her legs. I aim high, going for her neck. In the blink of an eye, she disappears and reappears behind Penelope. With claw-like hands, she aims for Penelope's head. Dropping her sword, Penelope barely manages to put up a magical shield, but it isn’t enough. Bianca shatters through the shield and sends Penelope flying out of the gazebo.

  Within a blink, I watch as Bianca disappears. Sensing the pattern, I swing my sword behind me and luckily barely block her attack. As I do, another arrow flies towards us. Bianca expertly dodges the arrow and disappears again.

  Don’t think, just react. My body moves in a random direction as I guess where she will appear next. Sparks fly as my sword blocks her claws. She disappears. Again, I pick a random spot and swing, barely blocking her attack. Again. Again. Guess after guess, I barely manage to block her flurry of attacks until the sword finally shatters.

  “You really are The Chosen One, but you are still not at my [Level]. At least not yet. If you had another year or so, maybe you could’ve survived this, but it seems luck is not on your side today,” Bianca’s voice reverberates through the empty air.

  I don’t see her, but I know she’s nearby. I don’t have a weapon to block her attack with, but that doesn’t mean I’m out of options. Think, CJ, think. Why can’t I see her? What is she? How did she heal? My eyes dart all around me, waiting for her to appear. Penelope is recovering from that hit. Hopper is nearby somewhere. Eidrel is protecting Yvena. As I think, I watch as a hint of snow piles onto the ground. That’s what I need.

  Taking the pebbles in my pocket I [Throw] them all around me and close my eyes. Leaving myself wide open for an attack. From what I’ve seen, she’s a sadistic fuck, she likes to go for the head, and she seemingly can’t die. Based on that, she’ll go for the neck the moment I show a hint of weakness, and she won’t hit hard enough to immediately kill me. She’ll want to draw it out to show Eidrel what happens when you ask for help. There’s no doubt about it.

  Listening carefully, I hear the crunch of one of the pebbles behind me. Quickly turn I pivot my head into the attack. Bianca seems surprised as her claw slams straight into my horn. At that moment, I grab onto her wrist and smile. For a split second, I can see the panic in her eyes as she tries to disappear. She can’t disappear if I’m holding onto her! I knew it! Appearing behind her, Penelope takes her crackling greatsword and bisects her in two. Her body clatters to the floor as I let out a sigh of relief.

  “Knew you would take the opportunity if it presented itself,” I say as I walk towards Penelope.

  “You’re lucky I recovered in time to save you. What were you going to do when she tried to throw you?” she says as blood trickles down her arm.

  “Have you catch me,” I joke. “So, what was she?”

  “I have no idea,” Penelope says as we turn to Eidrel and Yvena.

  “Wait? Didn’t you get the [System Message]?” I ask.

  “Watch out!!” Eidrel yells.

  Penelope's eyes go wide as she shoves me out of the way. Bianca's claws slice straight through the space where we just were. In astonishment, I watch as a fully healed Bianca stands there looking down at us.

  “I told you. YOU CAN’T KILL ME!!” she growls in a Demonic voice.

  As she does, her jaw splits, revealing an endless row of serrated teeth. Her shoes split as her feet grow claws. Her skin shifts into a cloudy grey hue, and a red spark appears in the void of her eyes.

  How in the hells am I supposed to beat that?