Kaladin Shadowheart’s POV.

  Back in the underground prison, I watched as the previously smug man thrashed violently around in his restraints. Any former sense of control he had over his situation evaporated. Over seven days of no sleep, he had been reduced to a madman. The incessant ear-grating noise could not be ignored.

  Multiple dungeon items emitted a cacophony. It turned the metal cage into a hellish place. Nothing short of being physically knocked unconscious would save someone. But our captive was tightly strapped to a bed, his body bound, and even his jaw forced open after he attempted to take his own life. Not that it would have mattered, a light mage was always a standby, and biting off a tongue wasn’t a quick enough death.

  In a way, it was respectable. Most Humans could only go a handful of days with zero sleep, but he had lasted over a week. His training was extensive, his supplies and plans ample. He was most definitely an elite. But in the end, he was just a mortal man. Everyone had a breaking point.

  Suddenly, his thrashing stopped, his bloodshot eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his agonized screaming faded with a whimper. But it was only for a brief moment before he shot awake with a gasp, followed by more thrashing.

  “I’ll start and get what I can,” I said to Lin.

  She nodded silently as the other observers readied to write down whatever he said. Sylvia had successfully performed the surgery; he had over five obedience collars planted inside of him. All of them were removed simultaneously, and a new one was added under my control and that of a few others.

  The directives were simple: answer all questions truthfully and without deceit or purposeful omission. And don’t harm anyone or anything for any reason.

  Not that it mattered. In his state, he will be begging to answer any question.

  The guard released the locks, and I stepped into the room with another behind me. The man faltered, a hint of recognition in his mad gaze. A warm golden light flashed over his body, healing the injuries he may have had, especially to his ears. The noises of the dungeon items disappeared, leaving the only the sound of his haggard breathing.

  With a swipe of my hand, a sword appeared from thin air as I sliced the restraints tying his head and jaw down. The following one cut the straps holding him to the bed. Of course, he was still nestled and locked down by a straitjacket-type system.

  “Wa—wait, wait, wait—wa!”

  His rough cries from his throat caught in his throat as I gripped him by the throat and lifted him into the air. I made sure to pin him against the wall and released enough pressure so he wouldn’t die or pass out. I simply had to appear rough when, in reality, I needed to treat him gently so as not to break him.

  “How did you and your partner get into the capital undetected?” I asked.

  “Ca—capital? We—gah!” he sputtered.

  I let my bloodlust flow as I stared into the man’s eyes. “Get to the point,” I ordered as I released the tension on his neck, letting his body slip to the bed below.

  He let out strained coughs, but he slowly lifted his head. “The churches…they have ways, connections through the ports. Favors from people,” he groaned.

  “Names,” I demanded.

  “I—I don’t know any. Didn’t ask, wasn’t told. Not my business,” he muttered.

  Figures, the fewer people who know, the better.

  “Your target? What was it?” I asked.

  “Hubris, we were to get Hubris back at all costs. Killing the traitor Exarch was secondary,” he answered.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, and he flinched. "Hubris was in another's possession, surely you knew. Why target Grandpa—Rorken Bloodfallen?”

  The man shook his head and let out a manic laugh. “A Holy Artifact isn’t something someone can just give away on a whim! We—we believed it was a fake, a ruse to deceive us! That’s why we struck against both targets!” he answered.

  His eyes started to flutter and I rushed and forced my hand into his chest. I could hear his bones creak under the force as he let out a sharp gasp of pain.

  “That creature that you commanded, what was it?” I asked.

  “I don’t know! I really don’t—ahhh!” he screamed.

  “Lies. You must know something. If you don’t know what it is exactly, explain what you do know about it,” I ordered as I increased the force.

  “Vampires, those scum! I—I think—no! I’m almost certain it was those creatures!” he cried.

  What?

  “How is that possible? You said it was multiple Vampires? What makes you so certain?” I questioned, releasing some of that same pressure.

  The man let out short, controlled breaths before answering, “Only the Inquisition Physicians would know! I wasn’t a part of them, I swear! They are secretive bastards! Scheming! Doing god knows what in those tunnels! B—but the blood…the smells…for a long time we collected bodies and the living of those vermin! We did it for years! I even did it myself! I went on the raids when I was younger!”

  I stood back as an understanding dawned on me. It was just conjecture, but it felt as if the pieces of a long-standing puzzle finally came together. The reason why the north of Amoth was a chaotic place where Vampires fought, killed, and raided others and each other. Never able to regain a sense of structure, while most of the world feared and despied them…

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  It wasn’t an accent; it was designed to be that way, but it was always a matter of to what end? Arotal had the noose wrapped around an entire species under the guise of religious persecution because of their “actions” and past. Sure, maybe a part of it was genuine to them, but the upper echelons had a greater purpose, a goal in mind—a reason not to use their strength to wipe out their former enemy.

  Experimentation and weaponization. And a single word came to mind.

  “A homunculus,” I muttered.

  Perhaps they are even touching upon Blood Sorcery or magic? Unlocking the secrets of Talgan, the man who would have destroyed them.

  And if they wanted artificial life…a body that could hold a foreign soul…

  “Amon-Ra wants to be flesh and blood. But that power can’t exist in a normal vessel. But if you created one…” a deep voice resonated in my head.

  But to what end? If he has the power to descend onto the world with that might, why would he need a physical body?

  “Who knows? It’s clearly not his main goal. Most likely a scheme or another tool to further his agenda, nothing more,” Kronos answered.

  I shook my head. I could think about it later; time was short enough already.

  “The obedience collars in your body, why do they let you use magic?” I asked.

  “I—I—I—” he stammered.

  His body locked up tightly as he violently shook himself. He had started to seize.

  I motioned to the mage and said, “Heal him.”

  Unfortunately, the healing of light magic only gave a brief respite. The man started to seize the second the mage stopped healing him. The door slammed open as a flood of people moved in. Perhaps he would recover with some time. It was a shame he broke so quickly, but a necessity.

  Someone of his caliber, the moment the obedience collar commands were removed, he would have tried to kill himself. And even if that failed with his mental fortitude, he would have ignored orders until the collar itself killed him.

  Only with a broken mind on the verge of collapse, completely stripped of his safeguards, would he answer questions in the same vein of survival. After all, he clearly wanted to live. If he were truly a devout infiltrator, he would have attempted to kill himself long ago, regardless of the situation. Perhaps he held onto a vague hope that he would be rescued, or that we would slip up, maybe even the safeguards would stay in place.

  Regardless, I have to leave him to Lin and her people now.

  As I walked back into the observer room, Lin let out a long sigh. “It was wishful thinking that he had something truly important. In the end, he was just a small fish who knew a little more than the mino. Easily forgettable,” she grumbled.

  “It’s not over yet. He’s not dead. Surely he can at least give you places to investigate further,” I said.

  Lin shrugged. “Most places of value would be in Arotal. We don’t have the means to infiltrate those facilities even if we wanted to,” she sighed.

  All I could do was nod in agreement. Information gathering was difficult as it was. And it was clear we were behind the curve compared to Arotal.

  —

  Dallin Shadowheart’s POV.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  Mila had been staring at me with a smile for some time now. However, I already knew what she was going to ask. It was probably the same thing the last few days.

  “Are you going to play again today?” she asked.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course,” I said.

  Mila nodded to herself with a proud smile, then stopped and asked, with a worried look, “You’re not tired of the game?”

  “No, not at all,” I said honestly.

  Mila smiled brightly and turned her attention to Rose. Rose had a strained smile, but in the end, she still said she would come and play.

  It’s been difficult for Rose ever since…ever since her mother passed. It was a hard thing to talk about. It felt like everyone had lost someone recently. But none of us ever really talked about it.

  My chest hurt as memories of Grandpa came back. I could still hear his voice. Remember all his lessons. It still didn’t feel like he was gone, that I would go home and he’d be there, waiting for us.

  When I opened my eyes, something drifted out in front of me. It hopped once, then twice, and looked up at me with its glowing eyes. It was a golden bird, the same one I had seen all my life.

  But it wasn’t real. At least, not to anyone else. I asked Mom and Grandpa a long time ago, but they couldn’t see it. No one could see it but me. And even though I could see it, I could never touch it. My hand always moved right through it.

  The bird never said anything to me or ever did anything but watch me. And it only ever showed itself if I felt happy or sad. Or in my dreams. For the longest time, I wondered what it meant. But I never found an answer.

  Maybe one day someone will be able to tell me what you are or what you want?

  Huh?

  “No, I don’t want to,” Mila hissed.

  I blinked a few times, and before I realised it, everything had changed. Calum and his friends came over at one point. Calum was…not exactly the nicest person. But he wasn’t bad or mean, I guess? He would come over from time to time to talk to us but…he never made it far.

  “Why not?” Calum demanded.

  “Because me and my friends already said we were going to play,” Mila said, the annoyance very clear as she glared at him.

  Calum’s face reddened as he asked, “And why can’t we be friends? Or play with you?”

  Mila’s face scrunched up into confusion. “Because I don’t need more friends? And I only play with my friends?” she said slowly.

  Gosh…Mila…he is just asking…

  It also didn’t help that Rose let out a snicker, which would only make Calum even angrier. I wanted to say something, but when I looked at Mila, I kept my mouth shut. Whenever she made her hands into fists and the hair on her tail was shooting up…she was very angry.

  “So what? How many times do I have to ask to play with you for you to let me?” Calum said in anger.

  Mila stood up and took a step back toward me. “How much do I have to tell you no?" she asked.

  And then it happened far too quickly.

  Before I could even raise my voice to stop it, Calum reached out and grabbed Mila’s arm. And before he could even speak, Mila’s fist was already in front of his face. It felt like everything was slow as I watched Calum’s nose flatten, and a spray of blood explode out.

  Oh, no.

  —

  After telling the teachers everything I saw, I had to wait on a bench outside for Mom. The entire school felt like it was whispering about what happened.

  I let my feet dangle off the bench, the golden bird jumping around on the ground. But suddenly it felt like everything went quiet. The hair on the back of my neck rose, and for some reason, I felt afraid.

  When I looked up at the walk path, my brother was moving straight toward me with Sylvia. His face was calm, but for a reason that made it even more terrifying.

  “Did you see what happened?” he asked.

  “Yes…” I said.

  “Good, then tell me what happened. Don’t leave out anything. And tell me who this Calum is.”