The innkeeper was almost done doing his rounds. Every day he liked to check the unoccupied rooms to make sure that they were secure and that the previous inhabitant hadn’t done anything too heinous within. After all, he had a reputation to uphold. If people started saying that his inn was shoddy or unclean then people would stop coming. And when people stopped coming there was no income, and when there was no income he had no money to pay for food, and when he had no money to pay for food, what little guests he did have had to buy food outside of his inn, which meant even less income for him, and if there wasn’t enough income for him then he and his daughter went hungry, and if he and his daughter went hungry, people thought even less of him. One thing leads to another in a vicious, unending cycle. If one thing went down hill, everything could go down hill. So he did his rounds.

He was about to enter the last room by the door when a dark shadow loomed behind him. Flustered, he wheeled around, yet he could discern no more from the man himself as he could from his shadow. He was too shadowlike himself, cloaked all in black, not even allowing light to fall upon his face. Yet there was an aura about him, a sense of power and identity. It was an identity unknown to the manager but an identity nonetheless.

“Do you have any rooms available?” He asked in a bass tone. The innkeeper nodded his head.

“You can even have this one right here,” he answered as he pointed to the un-inspected room. “I was just about to clean it up a bit.” Without even waiting for an answer, he opened the door. As he did, he thought he saw a small speck of movement out of the corner of his eye near the foot of the bed and turned his head sharply. But there was nothing there. A light breeze curled sensuously about the room, originating from the open window. He went to the back of the room and closed it, fearful that such a slipup in what little security there was would cause the stranger to leave the inn. If he was being a little more perceptive, he would have seen the dirt on the windowsill.

The stranger surveyed the room, also oblivious to the dirt, or if he wasn’t, he didn’t care. “No, I’m afraid this isn’t a room I’m interested in. I desire something more secluded, less obvious. Something hidden.”

The innkeeper chortled nervously, “I think I have just the thing for you, sir. I have a place that no one knows about. Well, no one besides the people that have previously used it, and, of course, me.”

The shadow said, “Show me.”

The innkeeper nodded and walked back into the hall, the stranger following him. He walked to the end where the stairs started and lifted up a flap in the carpet that was almost completely unnoticeable. He pulled on a string sticking out from in between two floorboards and the trapdoor opened easily. He pointed to an iron bolt, explaining how easy it was to lock the door. The mechanism was simple enough, all you had to do was twist the metal, slide it over, and twist it back into place to lock it off.

But the shadow wasn’t listening. The innkeeper was rambling about so simple a device and he just didn’t find it important to listen. So instead he looked back at the room previously showed to him, into the face peeking out of the doorway. But he only received a short yet revealing glimpse before the face was withdrawn into the room once more. He turned away from the sight of the now closed door, slightly worried. The eyes had seen the trapdoor but it was still difficult to get to, and, for the most part, it was still secret. At least it would be better than a normal room.

He interrupted the innkeeper in mid-sentence saying, “I’ll take it.”

Silpha peeked around the side of the house she was hiding behind at the inn. Although they dared not speak, Loku and Ranu turned their palms up towards her. Silpha understood the gesture well. It meant much luck and peace unto you. But more than that it meant that her friends were with her and their hands would be waiting to catch her if she fell. Silpha smiled and nodded. She was glad for the support. She poked her head back around the corner. This time she did not turn back but slowly crept away from her hiding spot and into the night.

Silpha walked as slowly and carefully as possible until it dawned on her that the longer she was visible, the more likely she would be spotted. Then suddenly she heard a sound that spooked her into a quick sprint across the road and to the side of the inn. She thumped her back against the wall and panted heavily; her heart was in her throat and it was getting harder for her to breath. She waited until her lungs were controllable again before she turned around.

Right by where she slammed herself into the wall was a window. It was, of course, not the room that her enemy was staying at but it was unoccupied and made for a good entrance. As she slowly pulled the bottom half of the glass up so she could crawl through, she tried not to worry too much about noise. After all, who would hear it?

Silpha pulled herself up and through the window and she landed heavily on the floor with a thump, then quickly stood up again and brushed off her skirt. She would have to start wearing pants or something; it was getting too hard to save the world when you had to maneuver around in a long dress.

The knob on the door turned easily under her hand and she was soon in the corridor. The inn was absolutely quiet. A little too quiet. Eerily quiet. Silpha shook her head and convinced herself there was nothing to worry about. After all, it was just the darkness playing tricks on her. Everyone was sound asleep. Weren’t they?

The quiet shadow closed the door behind her and walked over to the end of the hall where the stairs were. Instead of following their direction upwards, she pulled back a small section of the rug. It was where the rug in the hallway ended and where the rug leading up the stairs began. The two seemed to fit seamlessly together unless you knew about the break. The rest of the rug was held in place on the floor by some sort of unseen fixative. Probably not magic but not nails either.

Silpha pulled on the string sticking out from under one of the floorboards. At first it wouldn’t budge and she smiled. It wasn’t anything a few words couldn’t fix. Silpha put her open palm over the floorboards as she spoke and the air whined softly for a moment. She pulled on the string. The trapdoor sprung open easily now and she cautiously climbed down the ladder, pulling the rug back into place before closing the trapdoor behind her.

Beneath the floor wasn’t quite as bad as Silpha thought. When she and her friends had discovered the man’s mysterious lodgings, she dreaded the idea of going down. She was completely convinced that it was dark, damp, and filled with bugs and mold. The truth was quite the opposite. Although it was currently dark, it was fairly warm, clean, and what little she could currently see didn’t have a trace of mold on it.

Suddenly the ladder creaked and Silpha froze, glued to the spot. She held her breath as a soft moan issued forth from the darkness and she heard someone turn over on a hay bed. She silently thanked the surrounding air and whatever fairies or gods had looked down upon her this night; she had not awakened the sleeper.

She continued down the ladder. Her eyes were slowly becoming accustomed to the lack of light and she could roughly discern the contents of the room. There was a wardrobe, a bookcase, a desk, a bedside table, and a bed with a slightly moving figure in it.

Silpha quickly reached the bottom and started exploring. It was difficult searching for the knife in such utter darkness but she made do. Twice she ran into something and was sure that the figure had finally descended from the spiraling world of sleep.

It took her about ten minutes for her to realize that the dagger hilt was sticking out of the blanket that covered him. She felt around the bed for a moment, doing her best to form a mental image of the scene. She still couldn’t see the best and she wanted to know the area as well as possible. Her shape jumped slightly when she ran into fabric on the bedpost. But there was nothing to fear, it was merely his cloak. Then gently she pulled the covers back, revealing that it was the right knife. It was definitely the one she had come to retrieve. There was no mistaking the zigzagging pattern and the skull on the hilt.

Her heart thudded in her chest harder than ever as she slowly reached for the shiny object clutched in his hands. It was so loud, she was surprised it did not wake him. Swiftly she peeled back his fingers. In her haste she touched him a little too roughly and as the knife came from his grasped there was a quick intake of breath and he moved. Silpha instinctively whispered a few words and the metallic sound of the magic sounded through the room. At the sound he quickly sat up. He pointed at the candle on his bedside table and the wick instantly caught. A dim light filled the room yet neither Silpha nor the dagger could be seen. She had cast an invisibility spell upon herself at the last second.

The man turned his head about but Silpha could not see his features. Only the man’s silvery outline could be seen in the sparse lighting. This made him seem even more terrifying. Nothing moved for what seemed like forever, and then slowly he put his head back down on the pillow and fell back asleep. Silpha was glad that he had forgotten to put out the candle. The shape wouldn’t have to climb the stairs blind again.

She slipped the dagger into her pocket and confidently climbed the ladder once more. Her cocky attitude made her completely forget about the loose wrung. Her excited, triumphant feelings melted like butter on a pan when the ladder gave its audible squeak and she gasped louder than the ladder. In an instant the man had pushed the ladder over and she fell to the floor with a crash. He could easily hear where she was from the cry that escaped her lips and he effortlessly picked her up and threw her onto the bed. Before her invisibility spell had faded he already had pinned her down.

Now that the light was in front of him instead of behind him, Silpha could see him a lot better. He wore only pants and had a sculpted physique. Despite the terrible things he had done, he couldn’t have been much older than Silpha. “You’re so young,” whispered the not-so-dark shape with wide eyes.

The youth’s own eyes flared with rage as he yelled, “Why are you here?” Silpha winced at the anger in his voice. “Well?” Though guilty thoughts were wheeling about her head, she didn’t know what to say. There was no way she could tell him her secret errand if she wanted to stay alive. He frightened her and she was on the verge of tears. She shut her eyes tight and wished the whole thing away, but, of course, he was still there when she opened her eyes once more and he said with the same intensity, “Come on, who sent you? Huh? Who sent you?” She cringed from his continued hostility and at her reaction, he sighed and released her, recoiling back a few feet from the bed. He took a deep breath and said more gently, “Why did you come?” For some reason his voice gave Silpha chills.

He turned back around to face her, arms crossed in front of his toned chest. Poor Silpha was still at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say? “You don’t know?” was all she could manage under such pressure.

He looked down sadly. “I figured one of you would try to kill me eventually.” He looked back at her again. “I just didn’t think it would be you.” Silpha was a little surprised by him. He seemed nothing like the one described by Ranu. This one seemed heavy-hearted and full of regret, not bloodthirsty or ruthless.

“Who are you?” Silpha whispered with trembling voice.

She gleaned a wry laugh. “You break into my room and ask my name?” He gazed at her frightened face for a moment, and then sighed, “Very well. I am called Leothane. The Dark Society is my legion of loyal and willing friends. They do as I say and will never disobey me. I could get them in here right now and none of them would have a problem killing you.” As he said this his eyes became as hard and sharp as tempered steel. There was no doubt in Silpha’s mind that what he said was true. “Now, you tell me who you are,” he commanded.

She nodded, still frightened. “I’m Silpha,” she answered taciturnly.

“Silpha,” Leothane echoed quietly, mulling the name over in his mind. “Well, Silpha, I guess now you either have to finish what you came to do or I need to finish you first.”

Silpha blanched. “No,” she whispered, recoiling to the bedpost, “I didn’t come to kill you.”

“Then we’re back to the original question: Why did you come?” Silpha averted her eyes. If she looked too long into his then she would have to tell. Those violet-blue eyes made you tell everything. Then Leothane appeared to lose his patience. He yelled at her, “You don’t feel much like talking, either?” Then for some reason, Leothane paused for a moment to laugh softly to himself. It was almost as if his moment of violence and anger had never happened. “I don’t blame you. I probably wouldn’t talk either. Yet still, my personal feelings can’t get in the way. I need to get answers and if you won’t give them to me willingly then I’m afraid I’ll have to beat it out of you.”

He walked calmly over to the wardrobe but it wasn’t the kind of placid, serene calm. It was the kind of calm that people have when they’re trying to conceal great emotion. He rummaged around for a moment before returning to the bed with a length of rope in his hands and as Silpha scrambled to get away, he grabbed her leg before she could escape. Her frantic efforts amounted to nothing when he pulled her towards him. He didn’t even bother to hold her down. He said a few words and with a sound like a glint the rope tangled itself around her wrists and snaked itself into his hands. Still holding on to the rope, he returned to the wardrobe to fetch a few metal pulleys. A few more magic words and the rope was threaded through the pulleys and attached to the ceiling. Silpha could feel Leothane pulling on the rope until she reached the desired height and he tied it to the bedpost.

He stood in front of her, arms folded once more. “I’m giving you one last chance,” he threatened with no malice, “Why did you come?” His voice seemed more emotionless than angry as he spoke. If anything it was more of a plead than a death threat.

Silpha figured that it was time for a partial bluff. “I don’t know why. I just… knew that I had to. But please believe me; I didn’t come to kill you!”

Leothane sighed. “I just wish I could believe you.” A few words were spoken and a sharp, red flash in slow motion lashed out at her, ripping her dress and creating a red sear mark across her stomach. Silpha cried out in pain.

“Please!” she begged, “Just let me go!” But Leothane seemed deaf to her pleas. She wasn’t used to this kind of pain. She could endure long, slow aches and the less intense pain of being cut but she had no strength for burns. Leothane’s energies seemed tireless and she could barely hear her own screams in her ears. Then when she could stand it no more, Silpha finally screamed, “You monster!” Leothane stopped mid-spell and quickly turned his back to her, his frame shaking. Later on when Silpha looked back on it, it seemed as if he were trying to hide his face from her in shame. “Please,” she tried again, “Stop hurting me.” Leothane did not respond. She continued her protest, “Just leave me alone.” Leothane murmured a few choked words and issued forth his hand, palm down, fingers spread. The red light appeared again and Silpha closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain. Instead she found herself falling into oblivion.

She opened her eyes again. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed but it must have been a good amount. Small beams of light streamed through gaps in the ceiling and people were moving about going through their daily routine. Silpha herself was lying on the bed under the trap door. She looked around. Leothane was no where in sight but her clothes were repaired and her wounds were healed once more. The ladder was also back in place. She quickly remembered her friends and how worried they must have been. When she could sense no one in the hallway, she climbed up the ladder and popped back out of the trap door.

As she suspected, her friends were no longer waiting behind the house that served as a shield from watching eyes. She wondered around, still trying to figure out what had happened. She couldn’t remember much. The only thing that really came to her mind was the pain inflicted by… what was his name again? Leothane, that’s right, it was Leothane. Then suddenly something else sprung to her memory. She held her breath as she reached her hand into her pocket. She relieved her lungs again when she felt the smooth metal still there.

Silpha knew that her friends could have suspected the worst and retreated to the safest haven that they knew. This probably meant Loku’s house. The Dark Society still hadn’t found where Loku lived yet, although it probably wasn’t too hard to figure out where they would run to when they dashed for the forest. She headed that way now, staying from the path in case she could be spotted too easily.

A bit later, Silpha stepped silently into Loku’s house. There was no way to tell if they were still asleep or not, so she searched for them quietly. She opened the door to the room that Loku usually employed for rest but Instead of the soothing image of her sleeping friend, she was greeted with the point of a sharp sword. Ranu quickly dropped it and it clattered to the floor and Loku, who was holding a knocked arrow and bow, threw her weapons aside and they both walked up to embrace her, both of them with tears still flowing down their cheeks.

“It’s alright,” Silpha whispered, “I’m okay. And I got the dagger.”

They both let go at once as if everything had been pre-coordinated. Their faces that were previously filled with rain clouds suddenly cleared into sunny skies and they jumped up and down in delight. Silpha was taken aback; she knew that there was reason to rejoice but she didn’t know her friends would be this excited.

Loku cried happily, “Tell us, Silpha, tell us how you did it!” Ranu fixed his beaming gaze on Silpha and nodded expectantly.

Silpha averted her eyes. “I don’t know if I can. I’m not sure how much of it was a dream and how much of it was real. I went down into his room, got the knife, and accidentally woke him up. I don’t remember much after that except for waking up and coming to find you guys. His name is Leothane. He leads The Dark Society.” Silpha hoped that her lies wouldn’t shine in her eyes too brightly. She remembered more than that but it was true that she still hadn’t sorted what was real or not and she didn’t really want to share any of the details with them anyways. What had happened between Silpha and Leothane was not their business or problem. It was personal.

Ranu nodded. “He must have knocked you out or something. But I don’t really care. I’m just glad that you’re safe. I’m just happy you aren’t hurt.”

Not on the outside, thought Silpha, but instead she handed Ranu the knife and said, “Here. You know what to do with it. Be sure to work well with Loku. You both need to share your talents for this to work right.”

Ranu nodded and looked down into Loku’s eyes. “We’ll get started right away.”

“Good,” replied Silpha, “We’ll meet back tonight at the old oak.”

That night Silpha, Loku, and Ranu were hiding in the bushes at the border of the clearing where the old oak stood. They were all ready for the battle. Ranu had his sword and shield ready, Loku had an arrow knocked, and Silpha held a dagger in her right hand, waiting to defend herself if danger looked her way.

As they expected, Leothane was by the opening to the demon world with another sacrifice. This one was much older. He was probably a father and husband by now and he stood completely baffled by the vortex visible just under the oak’s bark. Then things turned sinister again. Leothane pulled a butcher knife out of his robes and when his arm stretched towards the man, Loku’s fingers released the arrow. Leothane wasn’t expecting it and had no time to react. The arrow grazed the hand holding the knife and continued until it buried itself in a tree trunk. Ranu immediately stepped from their cover, his sword and shield ready for battle. Lucky for him, Leothane did not have the rest of The Dark Legion behind him this time and was fighting completely on his own. This way, he didn’t have a legion of men behind him, waiting for his order to kill. The sacrifice turned at the sound of the arrow and at the sight of the bloodied knife in Leothane’s hand, he ran for his life.

“Nice shot,” Silpha whispered to Loku.

“What are you talking about?” Loku hissed back, “I was aiming for his head!”

Leothane watched his sacrifice escape. “Now look what you did, boy, you frightened off my prey.”

Ranu laughed, “Did you seriously expect me to let you release any more demons?”

Leothane clicked his tongue like a parent scolding a child, “I told you if you crossed me again I would kill you.” He voice sounded regretful, “Looks like now I have to.” Before Ranu could even come up with a witty retort, Leothane spoke a few words and his sword and shield flew through the air, the sound of the released magic vibrating the air.

Ranu stood alone and unprotected against Leothane’s merciless magic. Leothane spoke more arcane words and the sound of magic continued. His hands began to glow brightly and a bright, white curving blade grew from his clenched hand. He swept his fist at Ranu who ducked under his arm. “So that’s how it is?” Ranu asked, nimbly dancing backwards out of reach, “You disarm me but ensure your own victory by sprouting swords from your knuckles.”

Leothane nodded shortly, “Yes, that’s how it is,” he answered, swiping at Ranu again and again. Then Ranu caught Leothane’s right hand in his own but Leothane merely smiled. The glow from his hands disappeared as well as the blades of light and spoke again. This time the air thrummed in a high pitched whine where their hands met and Ranu gasped in pain. Small sparks of silvery light appeared on his skin and flowed through his arm to Leothane.

Then another arrow shot out of the bushes and embedded itself in Leothane’s leg. He was startled by the sudden attack and the incomplete spell undid itself, letting the life flow back into Ranu where it began. His dark hood snapped to face the bushes where Loku and Silpha hid. He spoke once more and Ranu was sent flying away above the forest canopy. “It’s good to see how quickly you recovered from last night, Silpha.”

Silpha and Loku exchange frightened glances. Then in a panic, Silpha dropped her dagger and seized Loku’s bow and quiver, standing up to reveal herself to Leothane, inexpertly knocking an arrow. She hoped that he would attribute her clumsiness to her shaking hands and not her limited knowledge of the weapon. It was a long shot and a bluff but she preferred to keep Loku alive as long as possible.

“What, not even a pleasant hello?” asked Leothane, sounding somewhat hurt.

“Did you think I would just forget last night?” asked Silpha, her voice trembling slightly. Ever since her unfair torture, Leothane scared her a little more than before. She had experienced firsthand what he could do and it was truly frightening.

“Silpha, there’s something, I’d like to tell you but I can’t with her there listening in the bushes.” He turned his head towards Loku.

Silpha’s eyes widened as she stared back at the brush and she turned back to Leothane. “Will you promise not to summon any more demons and leave my friends and me alone?”

He sighed, “Silpha, I can’t promise you that. I thought you would have understood that by now.” He inclined his head slightly and it seemed to Silpha that he stared straight through her eyes and down into her soul, although she could not see his. Silpha closed her eyes and turned away as Leothane sighed again. “Forget I said anything. You can take your friends and go.”

Silpha looked back up. “I can’t do that. I thought you would understand that by now.”

Leothane chuckled, “I should have seen that coming. Fine, I guess we’ll just have to fight each other then.” Silpha’s eyes grew nervously wide but she still bravely nodded her head. Leothane made the first move, throwing the same sharp, vertically elongated red light from before. Silpha easily jumped over them and countered with her own move. Soon the air was filled with glittering sounds.

Leothane soon resorted to his previous tactic and made the light blades sprout from his clenched fists once more. Silpha found herself stepping back and quickly losing ground. Then Leothane did something totally unexpected. He spoke and Silpha found herself paralyzed. The light blades disappeared in a flash and her face was suddenly inside the darkness of his hood. His lips were pressed tenderly against hers. At first she was completely taken aback by the gesture but she soon relaxed. Somehow she enjoyed his kiss and, without realizing it, kissed him back just as passionately.

Silpha pulled away first. “I… I don’t understand,” she told him. “Last night, you did such terrible things. Now you’re kissing me?”

Although Leothane’s face could not be seen, it seemed to Silpha that the darkness it was shrouded in turned slightly redder. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Last night… After I… I was crying. I was crying, Silpha. I don’t want to have to hurt anyone. Especially not you. Then after I cut you down and you passed out, I… I healed you. I think that’s when I really fell in love with you, when I realized how much I cared… That I cared enough to use my energy to help you instead of hurt you. I know that we just met but last night I… I kissed you.”

Silpha stared at him in wonder. Could he really have fallen in love with her or was this just some sort of joke? Or maybe he was trying to lead her into a trap. She was sure that any minute now he would try to trick her into joining him, using such an excuse to hiss lies into her ear about how together, they could change the world.

Cruelly, her thoughts were interrupted by a sound that split the air and they both turned in the direction it came from. Ranu was standing by the old oak, looking triumphant. The tree was healing itself and the bark was growing back over the opening to the demon world. He grinned and held up his reddened hand. Leothane looked down at his own hand and realized what had happened. “How did you…?” was all he could manage under the circumstances.

“The knife was in the arrow,” Silpha told him in answer.

Leothane turned away from Silpha towards Ranu. Two flames sprouted under his hood where his eyes were. A menacing hiss emanated from the darkness, “You…” was all he could say in his anger. There were more sounds of speech from the cloak.

Before he could finish Silpha cried out, “No!” Leothane turned to her, his eyes still burning. “Please don’t,” she whispered. He turned back to Ranu, then back to Silpha and after a moment his eyes slowly winked out.

“Looks like Silpha came through for you, boy. You should thank her.” He spoke again and disappeared, leaving behind the sound of a crystal wine glass expertly played.

Ranu ran up to Silpha and nearly tackled her. “We did it, Silpha, we did it!” he yelled. “You said we could do it and we did it!” Loku emerged from the bushes. She wasn’t smiling and she didn’t seem at all happy. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, staring only at Silpha. Ranu jumped on her as well but she did not respond to his touch. Ranu stepped back from the two girls with a confused look on his face. “Did something important happen while I was gone?”

Loku ignored him. “Silpha, what was that?”

Silpha turned scarlet and cleared her throat, “Well… ah... hmm.” No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find the words to say. There was no excuse for kissing Leothane as if they had been lovers since birth. Yet how could falling in love be so bad? How could such feelings of joy and happiness be so terrible? Perhaps it was not the love so much as it was the person but she had a right to fall in love with whomever she felt like didn’t she? Didn’t she? Didn’t she…?

Loku was unrelenting, even to Silpha’s obvious discomfort and slight embarrassment. “Silpha, he kissed you!” Ranu’s head snapped around towards her and his eyes grew wide in surprise. “And he didn’t just kiss you, he really kissed you! And you kissed him back. And to top things off you lied to us! Tell us, what really happened last night? What really went on between you?”

Silpha’s blush turned a shade darker. “Loku, I don’t know if I can tell you. That sort of thing… it’s kind of private, you know? It’s not something you need to hear.”

Loku started shouting so loudly, that nearby birds fled into the glittering night sky, “It’s not something I need to hear? It is something I need to hear when it’s about someone who’s trying to kill us! What, you think that just because he cares about you he’ll stop summoning demons and start living a small, quiet life?”

Loku’s yelling enraged Silpha. Who was she to tell Silpha what was personal and what wasn’t? Who was she to tell her who she could or could not love? Silpha responded with anger of her own. But Silpha’s anger wasn’t like normal anger. She rarely ever got angry but when she did she had very little control over herself. Sparks shot from her as if she were a star and the air about her crackled. Her eyes glowed red and her voice attained a pitch that Ranu could not even reach yet. “Where do you get off?” her voice boomed in a lower bass than Leothane’s. “You are just as much in love as me if not more!”

Ranu stepped between them and asked sheepishly, “Can’t we just talk calmly and reasonably with each other in front of a warm fire?”

The girl’s fury shifted to Ranu and they both screamed, “NO!!!” Ranu was shocked at their hostility and recoiled away from the fight.

The two girls turned their attention back on each other and lightning shot between their eyes. “It’s not so much that you’re in love, Silpha,” Loku told her, “It’s all the secrets and lies that you’ve told us. Why won’t you tell us about your parents? Why won’t you show us where you live? Why didn’t you tell us everything about last night? And now suddenly you can do magic? Silpha, you’re the one in the wrong, not me!”

Silpha felt like she had been slapped in the face. “If that’s how you feel than fine!” Silpha turned her back on her friends and marched away towards the trees. “Then I’ll go join Leothane and you can both die for all I care!”

“Fine,” Loku yelled back, “Then Ranu and I will have to fight you, too!”

“Can’t you just leave me out of this?” Ranu asked meekly.

Both the girls turned to him and again screamed, “NO!!!” Ranu bowed his head. Obviously there was no way for him to talk sensibly with either of them yet. But Silpha didn’t notice Ranu’s unhappy situation. She was too busy storming off in a huff.

Later that night as Silpha lay underground in her bed, she couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t help thinking about the fight between her and Loku and the kiss that Leothane gave her. She remembered how it felt for her to be close to him, for her lips to meet his own sculpted, luscious ones. How could it be so bad? She wasn’t quite sure if she loved him yet but she definitely had feelings for him. Loku was being unreasonable, Silpha was sure.

She closed her eyes and listened to the ever-present sound of distant magic and water, dripping and rushing, incorporated into one, pure melody. It was pleasing to the ears and had a lulling quality to it that made it easier for Silpha to fall asleep.

After what seemed to Silpha only a few minutes later, she awoke from a terrible nightmare. She had tried to talk to Leothane and kiss him. But then his mouth grew large and his teeth sharp. As she kissed him he bit her lips off. As she continued to hug him and show her affection he continued, biting her fingers off when she stroked his cheek, biting her head until it bled when she rubbed it against his chest. She continued loving him until he had devoured her. It was still night, judging by the lack of sound, and she seemed to be alone. The darkness swirled about her and she curled up, crying. She had been crying since she had awakened.

Then she gave a cry not of sorrow, but of fear. Something was touching her. And whatever it was, it was in the bed with her. She screamed and fought to get away but it held fast and she screamed all the louder. It was dark and she couldn’t see a thing; her mind was panicking. Then just as suddenly as it had come, whatever was holding her let go. She scrambled out of the bed and curled up in the corner. She still couldn’t see and she was still very frightened. A voice close to her muttered, “Pathetic.” It sounded familiar somehow.

She looked up, “Pyrothecleus?” she asked, still frightened.

There was movement in the dark, “Well at least you have some sense. Now stop sniveling and stand up. The Logthra has something to say to you. He’ll be here soon and I’m to make sure you’re ready.”

Silpha held her legs all the closer. “Ready for what?”

There was a frustrated grunt, “Who cares? Now stand up, before I make you! Pack quickly and get dressed. Unless you want to stand in front of him naked.”

Silpha stood up and furrowed her brow. “But,” she told him, “I’m already clothed. It may be underclothes but he won’t see me naked.”

Silpha couldn’t see the demon but she could tell by his tone of voice that he was grinning evilly. “The Logthra never gave me orders to let you take your clothes off yourself. If I have to then I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

Silpha hastily walked over to the wardrobe. Her blindness didn’t matter in this case. She knew her room well enough to easily walk through it if she had been blind. She pulled out a dress, unable to see which one it was and slipped it over her underclothes. It was at this time that the door to her room opened and closed, although it was so well oiled that the hinges were silent and Leothane made almost no sound as he entered the room. It was a difficult thing to hear and barely perceptible but, as said before, Silpha possessed unnatural hearing abilities, and even the slight sound of his footfalls alerted her to his presence. As she popped an arm out of the sleeve of her dress, the other snaked down to her thigh and under the white under-dress where she kept a dagger hidden in case of emergencies. When the sound of steps came close enough, Silpha whirled around and the dagger whipped out of her sleeve to rest threatening under his jaw.

Both Leothane and Silpha froze. After a moment of silence Silpha murmured and a humming ball of living light formed near their heads. She gasped as she saw his face but still did not take the dagger from its place. Leothane’s eyes were stony and cold in the face of such danger. Instantly, the demon was next to her, one of his sharp, pointed nails resting on the side of her throat were her artery was. “Do not touch the Logthra,” he hissed menacingly.

Silpha ignored him and Leothane inclined his head slightly, careful not to spook her or cut himself on the sharp blade. “What’s this for?” he asked.

Silpha breathed deeply but did not take the knife from his throat. “Protection,” was all she said in response.

Leothane’s eyes turned sad, like a puppy rescued from an abusive master. “Silpha, don’t you trust me?” he asked. Silpha could hear the sadness bubbling up in his voice and decided that he hadn’t come to hurt her. She sheathed the dagger and Pyrothecleus also withdrew to stand behind Leothane.

“How did you find me?” She eyed him wearily. She still wasn’t entirely sure about who she should trust, especially now after he had followed her to what she considered her sacred sanctuary. Now no place was safe for her.

“It wasn’t hard,” he explained, “Where do you think I learned magic? This place may be secret but those who know of it know that it’s the most prestigious magic school and research center in the country. You were lucky to have been brought here. Just as I was lucky to have been brought here.”

Silpha nodded. It made sense that he studied here. It would explain how he knew about it and how he had become so skilled in magic. But she knew that she had to stick to business as much as possible. They were in love, it was true, yet they were still, for the moment, enemies. “What’s this about? I know how you’re here but why are you here?”

Leothane chuckled slightly. “Straight to the point, huh? I’m here because I want to talk to you some more. We haven’t been able to talk much and… I really love talking with you.”

Silpha crossed her arms. “Then why did you bring him?” she asked, referring to Pyrothecleus.

Leothane turned to him and ordered, “Pyrothecleus, I order you to depart from this room. I will summon you once more when I need you.” He purposefully left the statement open to give the demon freedom. Just as long as he wasn’t in the room, Pyrothecleus could do anything he wanted. He smiled happily and disappeared.

Silpha shook her head. “You came to do more than talk. What do you really want?”

Leothane sighed, “Yes, nice seeing you, too. I came to ask you to come with me to Lattsel. I could really use your help.”

Silpha looked at her feet. For some reason she felt slightly embarrassed and regretful turning him down. “I can’t, Leothane. What you’re doing isn’t right. If it were criminals or murderers then it wouldn’t be so bad but these are good, kind people. They don’t deserve to die. They don’t deserve to be slaughtered and sacrificed to bring evil spirits into the world they left behind.”

Leothane sat on her bed and put his head in his hands. “You still don’t get it.” he said, his voice full of emotion. “You still don’t understand that I’m doing it to save you and all your friends. I’m not doing it for myself. I’d give anything to let the burden fall to someone else but if I won’t do it then who will? Who else has the strength to save us?”

Silpha stepped closer to him. “I do. I have the strength to fight you. Your actions will kill us and make slaves of any who remain.”

His eyes looked up at her, “At least our race will survive to fight back one day. At least we won’t be eradicated without any chance of survival.”

Silpha was startled by this revelation. “But… if you leave them in the demon world then they can’t hurt us. Just let things be and we’ll be safe.”

Leothane shook his head. “No, Silpha. They were coming before I even knew they existed.” She stared at him in shock. His last few statements had made her mute and still as if she had merely been painted on the wall. “They were working hard to breach the border between the worlds. Luckily it was near my own hometown and I was able to communicate with the demon king before the breach was complete. I made a deal with, in a manner of speaking, the Devil. They allowed the weakness to heal itself again and sat back, waiting for me to release them. That was the deal. I open the gateways and bring them through and in return they let the human race survive.”

Silpha sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulder and Leothane looked over at her. His eyes were sad and it looked almost like he was about to cry. She smiled at him, a friendly gesture in complete contrast with what she was about to say. “Leothane, I know that you think that this is the answer but I’m telling you, this isn’t right. You can’t trust demons. And what about those that have to give their lives? I’m sure you didn’t ask permission. Who would agree to it?”

He sighed, “I know, I know, but don’t you see? There is no other way. It’s either this or be killed. If you don’t trust the demons then please, Silpha, trust me. Don’t you love me?”

“Leothane… I do love you. But if you really loved me you would give up this lost cause of yours. You would join me. Together we could fight against them, make them wish they never even thought of coming here. Together we could lock them away forever!”

Standing, Leothane pleaded, “You don’t know what you’re saying! I’ve seen them, Silpha. I’ve seen their monstrous forms, their hungry faces, their lust for revenge. I was lucky to even get this deal with them. They want to kill us all. And now they can’t. The demon king signed a blood contract. He can’t go back on that.”

She stood as well, their faces only inches apart. “Very well. Neither of us is willing to give up on their resolution. We have to stop seeing each other, thinking about each other. We have to give up on us ever being together.”

Leothane turned his back on her. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I won’t act on my feelings for you anymore. I’ll hold myself back.” Silpha nodded. Shortly after, she realized that he wouldn’t be able to see it yet she felt herself not caring. It gave herself closure and it was worth nodding, even if no one else could see.

At the lack of response, Leothane decided it was time for him to leave. He dissipated with a suppressed sob and a sound that hung in the air like a crystal chandelier. Silpha stared at the spot where he previously stood. A few tear drops glistened in the flitting light and she felt her own eyes beginning to spill over. She held her hand out for the tiny sphere of light to land on and, with clenching fingers, she extinguished the small, artificially living light and crawled into bed. It took awhile before Silpha could fall asleep again and it was no more as pleasant as it had been before Pyrothecleus had awakened her.

After an unfulfilling night, Silpha wondered back above ground and walked around on the streets for awhile. She didn’t feel like going back to her friends after her fight with Loku and she needed some time to think. She didn’t think of anything in particular, she just walked about, letting her mind go over the events. Leothane thought that she didn’t love him but he was wrong. Her love for him was strong… so very strong but still, she couldn’t help him. Leothane was good but his resolutions and decisions weren’t. But what surprised her most was the fact that it never once entered his thoughts that she refused him to save him, the same way he refused her to try and spare her a grueling death at the hands of the demons. She had to fight him, for his sake.

Somewhere a dog barked. Silpha had never owned a pet but she could see the effect animals had on others. They help to keep their owners strong and happy. Silpha’s personal favorite was the cat. They may not protect you very well or anything but they are less likely to maul you to death and they are usually quieter than dogs. Now that Silpha felt so alone, she wish that she did have a pet of some sort, whether it was a cat or anything else at all. Anything would be good to talk to at this point. Her thoughts turned back to Leothane and she wondered if he had a pet. From what she had heard, he had at least one dragon. Now there was a real animal. They were smart, clean, and fierce and if they grew big enough you could ride on them and some even had the power of speech. She hoped that someday she would be able to meet one of Leothane’s creatures.

Without knowing it, Silpha had walked to the door of Ranu’s blacksmith shop. Automatically, she opened the door. She didn’t expect anything to be there, she just felt that it was what needed to happen. Inside it was empty and cold. It was like how she was feeling. It seemed fitting that she had come here.

She walked into the back room where they had slept a few nights ago. Loku and Ranu’s shapes were still visible in the thresh. Their sleeping forms were still vivid in her mind, lying side by side, clasping hands. She wondered if they were both completely dedicated to one another, if they both loved each other the equal amount. Loku completely ignored Ranu last night after Silpha and Leothane kissed. But that was just anger… right?

The door to the shop opened. Silpha made herself invisible with little more than a slight sound. The door to the room opened and she silently slipped out through the crack in the door before it could be closed again. Loku walked over to stand behind Ranu who was kneeling before the fireplace, trying to get some wood to light. It was Loku who had checked the back room for eavesdroppers. A lot of good it did her.

“There’s no one here, Ranu. We’re alone,” Loku assured him.

Ranu stood up from the growing fire and nodded. He and Loku sat in two of the three chairs they always kept there. The third one was Silpha’s. She took it now, glad that none of her friends had her keen sense of hearing.

“You know Loku, you shouldn’t have involved me so much with that argument. Now Silpha is probably mad at me, too. Besides, don’t you think you should cut her some slack? After all, you and me both have each other, but Silpha…”

“She has no one,” Loku finished, “I know. But still, she shouldn’t get too friendly with him. I’m worried that she might betray us.” Then Loku paused for a moment and gave a slight laugh. “Or maybe I’m just jealous.”

Ranu leaned in close to Loku. The conversation was heading in a direction he didn’t like. “Why would you be jealous?” He asked quietly.

Loku saw the hurt in his eyes. It reminded Silpha like a lost puppy. Loku put her arms around his head and crooned, “No, Ranu it isn’t you! I… love you. It’s just they were so passionate and when you saw you could tell that they really loved each other.” She let go of him and turned her head away as if in shame. “I wish we could be like that.”

“But… but Loku we are! At least I am. Don’t you feel what I feel when we kiss? Don’t you feel that we’ll last forever? Can’t you see…” His voice slowly trailed away. Loku still couldn’t bring herself to look at him and Silpha didn’t blame her. It was easy to see that her words cut him deeply. He still loved her so very much and now it seemed that he was losing her. Silpha felt sorry for him.

“Sorry I even brought it up, Ranu. I do love you.” She turned back around and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled slightly but Silpha could tell that it still hurt. “Now we have to find Silpha.”

Ranu nodded. “She might be in trouble.”

Silpha giggled and dropped her invisible disguise. “Don’t bother. I’m already here.”

Loku stood up in front of her angrily. “Silpha! We thought we were alone. We were having a private moment in here!”

“Well, it wasn’t all that private it seems,” Silpha said between laughs. “Next time you should check more thoroughly, Loku. You looked right through me!”

Ranu laughed softly to himself and Loku rounded on him. “You think that’s funny? You think it’s absolutely hilarious that she was listening in on our private moment do you?”

Taken by surprise, Ranu attempted to recoil into the back of the chair. Naturally the chair fell over and Ranu went with it and he hit his head hard on the floor. Loku cried out in dismay as a dark, red river pooled into a lake about his head and flowed through the floorboards. Loku was kneeling by his side at an instant. She took his head in her hands, smearing her dress with the sticky blood and sobbed into his hair. Silpha pushed her blubbering friend aside in panic. She had to stop the blood flow before he lost too much. Anxiously, she picked up her skirt and began ripping the hem into strips, wrapping them around the strands of hair that had been stained red. She closed her eyes and spoke for a moment. She opened them again and told Loku, “His wound doesn’t go too deep. He will have a splitting headache after this but he’ll live without too much injury.”

But Loku didn’t answer. She was sitting in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest. She muttered, “It’s my fault. I yelled at him and he fell over. Silpha, now he’ll hate me. Now he’ll think I don’t love him.”

Silpha looked over her shoulder. “Of course not, he knows that you love him dearly. He knows.”

But Loku shook her head and murmured, “I thought you heard the conversation we just had. Now I’m sure he’ll think that I love him. Why would he?”

Silpha decided not to divert her attention from Ranu. It would be useless trying to convince Loku right now and Ranu needed the attention more than she did. As she worked she debated whether or not she should use her magic to heal Ranu. It would drain her for awhile, possibly even kill her if she wasn’t careful. If you used magic to heal someone then you had to share the injury with them. She decided to compromise and healed only the skin on the scalp. Skin was always easier than healing the whole thing and it had the benefit of stopping the bleeding. A smaller cut appeared on Silpha’s forehead and she tore a fresh strip to press over the top of it. It didn’t bleed for long and she could tell that it would heal quickly.

Loku helped her carry Ranu to the back room and they made a large pile of straw for him. Silpha decided not to talk with Loku right now. It would probably end in disaster again. She could tell that Loku was feeling very emotional right now and the last thing she needed was being pushed over the edge. She sat by Ranu the whole time, holding his injured head in her hands mournfully. Regret and guilt flared through her eyes.

Silpha went back into the front room, closing the door behind her. It was best if Loku sorted out her feelings without her. It was getting a little cold so Silpha spoke a few words to create a fire. She stared into it, letting the dancing shapes mesmerize her. The fire goddess danced provocatively in front of her but then she seemed to walk away to make room for two more dancers. But they weren’t dancing. It seemed almost like they were talking, but after a moment she could tell by the way the flames snapped that they were having a magical duel.

Her eyes blinked. Was she imagining this? No, this wasn’t just her normal day dreams. She had created the fire with magic and it seemed that it was doing more than giving off heat. She knew that magic was sometimes unpredictable, almost living, and a few times seemingly rebelling against its users but nothing like this had ever happened to her before. If this was happening than it had to be some sort of interior struggle.

At this point it would be appropriate to give a brief description of magic. Magic is more than just power, it’s the hidden energies inside a person that can be manipulated in various ways. The most common way is forming thoughts with words that have a bit of inherent power themselves from being used so much by the first wizards. They used more powerful magic and it was only used with a specific language that later on died out. Yet, due to the immense amounts of magic spent using those words, the words themselves had been granted a small amount of power. Therefore, most magicians use it. Because magic is the power within a person and not some outside force, magic is often changed by the user’s state of mind.

Perhaps this was the reason such strange things were happening with Silpha’s fire. Either she would have to undue whatever damage had been done or she would be forced to give away the secret to the whole town. She would be completely cast out by the underground magical community. She quickly said a few words to extinguish it, hoping silently that the magic wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want it to.

As soon as the embers died out, Ranu’s father came in through the door. Silpha jumped at the sudden noise and whipped her head around to face him. He saw her and continued in. At the sight of the last few dying embers and the fresh smoke and bent over the fireplace and when he stood up again, there was a small fire slowly returning warmth to the room.

“Where’s Ranu?” he asked in his loud yet somehow timid voice.

Silpha thought for a moment before replying. “He’s in the back room.” Ranu’s father made his way to the door but Silpha quickly stood up and held out an open palm to him. This time it was meant as let it rest. Let peace be. “Don’t go in there,” She cried out. He paused before grasping the doorknob but he did not turn it.

“Why?” He asked, a little suspicious.

Silpha took a mental breath. She had to be careful about what she said. Ranu’s dad was into morals and he might get the wrong idea if she told him that Ranu and Loku were in there alone in the wrong words. Perhaps it would be better to tell him a half-truth. “Loku… she said something funny and Ranu laughed so hard that he accidentally tipped the chair backwards. He hit his head hard and he passed out. Loku feels really bad about it so I decided to leave her in there alone.” This way if Ranu’s dad got a bad impression he could go inside anyway and only find Ranu’s head bruised and Loku crying over him. It was a consistent story, even if it wasn’t true.

To her mild surprise, Ranu’s dad took his hand off the doorknob and nodded. It seemed even he knew when things were best left alone. “I’m not surprised that Ranu would do something like that. He has the sense of humor for it, that’s for sure.”

Silpha giggled, “He’s never been very graceful either.” He nodded and his beard twitched in amusement.

For awhile, he busied about the shop, getting things ready for the work ahead. Silpha soon found herself bored and decided to go check on Ranu and Loku. The door cracked open beneath her touch and she gazed into the room. Ranu was still unconscious where they left him but Loku was sitting with her back against the wall. She wasn’t crying anymore and Silpha took this as a good sign. She came in and sat down next to her friend and put a comforting hand on her shoulder as if to say, “It’s alright.”

Loku’s gaze continued boring into the wall ahead of her and she spoke softly, “Silpha, it’s my fault. It’s my fault he’s hurt and I don’t know if I can make up for it.”