Boom.

"Waah!"

Tomeka watched from afar as the two officers fought the massive fire monster. Her men, her shadows, were focused on the more important duty, rescuing the people in the creature's path. She did as was proper for a lady of her age, supervising them from a distance.

Her gate within cloyed at her heart as she pulled more men out to carry more people.

Her shadow men weren't real people, at least, they weren't real anymore. Her boys were shadow recreations, remnants of memories from her old organization back on September. That was before the Military Police had busted her operation and sent her fleeing to the Fringes with only her name and a few coins.

Oh, and her curse, of course.

Her curse allowed her a space all her own. A shadowy realm inside of her mind that could store anything she desired. Her shadow men were there to ferry goods back and forth, and were perfect for her gunrunning across the Fringes. She didn't need a massive ship or a fleet to carry her supplies. All she needed was her body, intact.

Her shadow men allowed for that. They popped out of shadows, any shadow. In a fight, they would do it with a gun or a knife, sometimes even a cannon. But right now, they were helping shuffle people through the archway beside Tomeka.

"Pierce!"

Thump.

Tomeka's eyes moved to the long-haired bond woman, and she leaned forward on her staff to get a better look. From an impossible distance, the woman had thrust her spear, and the spear had ignored all the space between her and the massive fire monster. Tomeka winced.

"Right in the eye, girl." She chuckled. "That'll make him angry."

Roar.

She was under no illusion. The two officers fighting the giant were only fighting to delay. They could not defeat the beast. It was an Ikon after all, an island guardian, and one for a key island. That made it a greater spirit than Raijin and Fujin on September.

"Ma'am." A man appeared beside her shoulder, bowing slightly in deference and keeping his eyes low. "I don't think we can evacuate the people fast enough. You might have to use one of your techniques."

Was the question boiling in her mind, hiding behind her thoughts? She didn't know. She just knew that the shadow men, her boys, would occasionally bring up ideas. However, she knew they were nothing but shadows in the end. They felt no pain. They never complained about work. They served her without question.

"You're saying my Shadow Armory isn't enough?" Tomeka laughed, spewing a bit of spittle.

Getting old had its costs.

Cough.

"Well, I guess I can help it along, so long as they don't mind some time in the dark."

She thought about it for a moment before she turned to the man beside her. There was another option, of course. She had a few flashlights that she had picked up on the last island.

The question was how much the people would be willing to pay for a light in the darkness.

"Don't forget the payout at the end," she whispered to herself, pushing down her merchant instincts.

If word got around that she had charged for the light sources, there was a good chance that she would have to face down the guard and the Military Police afterward. That didn't discount the other crew that seemed to have some sense of morality. Charging in the short term would risk losing profit in the long term.

"Take the flashlights out and distribute them as I drag them into the shadows," Tomeka said.

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"The cost?" Her minion didn't hesitate to ask.

"Free."

"Are you sure?"

"I have to be." Tomeka shook her head. "Now go."

She hated getting old. Her bones ached, and her knees were shaking a little as she leaned on the cane. However, she wasn't dead yet. If the two officers could stand up against the giant, she could open up a little bit more power to get the fleeing crowd out of the way.

Tomeka took in a deep breath.

The cloying shadows clawed away from her heart and down her limbs as her gate opened further. More aether flowed into her body, filling it with strength and erasing the ache in her bones. She stood up a little straighter, though she knew that the effect was only temporary.

What she would give to be able to maintain her enhanced curse throughout her entire life. It was like a drug, a tonic for all the ills of old age.

"Now, open," she whispered as the power grew through her. "Shadow Forest."

Her consciousness instantly spread to everyone beneath the people milling through the archway. Her shadow men reached up through the shadows, grasping hold of people's feet one by one and dragging them through the shadows like they were being pulled through water.

A wicked grin spread across Tomeka's face, even though she took them to safety.

"Aah!"

"What!"

"No!"

Some screamed, as was to be expected. However, they didn't have time to resist. Tomeka leaned back as the initial rush of power faded a little, and her aches began to return.

The enhanced version of her curse normally would be used to isolate an opponent in a forest of shadows. There, her shadow men could deal with the opponent with a barrage of fire from any direction. It was beneficial when there were few shadows around for her normal curse to work. Keeping people there for safety was a novel concept.

In moments, the crowd was gone. Now, there were only those who had fled through the archway. If the two officers could keep Halogi busy, they wouldn't be harmed. Tomeka leaned forward on her cane and walked through the empty arch.

"I'll need to take them a suitable distance before I release them," she whispered to herself, her eyes crinkling as a smile crossed her wrinkled face. "They'll have to bide their time until then."

"They're all gone, finally," Miss Malone said as she stood in front of a mirror on the far side of the room, blue runes engraved in the wall glowing around her as she watched the carnage outside the barrier. "Now to put down the two protecting them."

Artur struggled to gasp for breath.

He was reduced to rags. His silver hair hung limp around his face. His white shirt, now stained with dirt and blood, was torn, revealing the bindings hidden beneath. Even his pants were full of holes. The rats had done that work, coming in and nibbling in the dark.

"He's going to die." Artur coughed out the words. "You're bleeding him dry."

"Your would-be rescuers leave me little choice." Miss Malone sighed. "I can't recapture them all when they're together. Separated and cowering in their homes is where they must be. I could hardly send you out, so your father was the better choice."

Clank.

She turned, and Artur slumped against his chains. His gate burned aether as it fed into the runes around him. How many days, weeks, had he powered the shields and the path through the gate? His mind couldn't place it. All he knew was that it had been ages since he had held himself up on his feet. The chains were all that kept him steady now.

Even if he could be free, he would never be the same.

Clack.

"You've recovered too much, I think," Miss Malone whispered, turning to Artur.

She approached, her heels echoing across the stone floor as her dress swayed left and right. She had chosen a blood-red one today and wore long purple gloves to contrast with it.

"If I didn't think it would break you beyond repair, I would suck you dry and reduce you to a meat puppet." She reached out her hand, running a single finger across Artur's chin. "Everything you were is a mockery of who you should have been, yet you continue to hold on to that vain honor and nobility. I couldn't erase the delusion from your mind, no matter how hard I tried."

Clack.

She released his face and stepped away, back to the screen. Halogi slammed its fist down, trying to catch the two nimble fighters in its massive claws. The protector of the island, used to such foul means. Artur gritted his teeth.

"No, that means it is an essential part of you. I could edit your memories a thousand different ways, but you will always see yourself as a gallant knight. A pity. It would have been easier to handle if we need to flee."

"You seek to flee?" Artur raised his head. "Why would that be?"

She fixed him with cold, dark eyes. A red tinge filled her eyes, covering even the pupils. She had her gate open, fighting to control all the people in the castle's memories. Artur saw how tired she looked at that moment. She had used her power for so long without rest, and now everything was falling apart around her.

Artur knew she was no damsel in distress. Miss Malone was a villain, through and through. However, he could not bear to see a woman in pain. It was an instinct. A knight would comfort a lady, even if she were a villain.

"I'm no fool, though, Mister Tyson certainly has reason to worry." She looked back at the images. "While holding the island was advantageous for a time, it would always come to a head, eventually. What is more important is the dig site. The relics we recover from there need to be taken to Lord Baccia. All profits are secondary."

Artur furrowed his brows. She had opened the gate just the day before, he thought. Twenty people had stepped through, carrying tools and bent over. A wagon with supplies as well. He never saw where she sent them, though he knew it viscerally in the twisting power the machine extracted from his gate.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this." Miss Malone shook her head as she stepped closer to the images. "I guess if it affects you, you should know, but I shouldn't care. You are my prisoner. You will go with me if I flee the island, if not just to ensure I will not be followed."

"And what will you do when your flight is cut short?" Artur choked out a laugh. "Please tell me, with a blade to your throat, how you will retort."

She turned on him, her eyes red. Were those tears of frustration that sprinkled across her cheek? Artur couldn't help but think that he might reach out and wipe away those tears, but he forced the thoughts down. His knighthood wouldn't stop showing up at the most inopportune times.

"Then I will hold your throat to their blades and have you beg for my escape." She glared at him. "Know your fate is bound to mine. If your friends will not back down, I will make sure that your life ends before my own."

Hiss.

She grew in that moment. Her shadow stretched out behind her, and the sound of hissing spiders echoed through the room. Long legs stretched out from her back in her shadow. While her form remained that of the woman, behind her, her shadow changed into that of the spider she truly was. Artur's stomach sank before it grumbled.

The reality of his situation fell on his shoulders. Artur slumped. What could he do, trapped in the chains and restrained against the wall? Where could he find his strength? While the others may come for him, that didn't change that he was trapped. He did not even know if they truly fought for him. His friends, his comrades, they might not even remember him.

The swirling thoughts and memories from the last day mulled in his mind like a warm mead.

"You won't succeed," Artur whispered. "They will come for me, heed."

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