43 Chapter 43, The time Piece 2

Trisha dodged, rolling along the smooth steel floor of the vault. The air ruffled her blouse as Lord Noahs wooden sword clacked to the floor with a clank. Trisha lept to her feet and with an unexpected anger threw the curved dagger in her right hand towards Lord Noah's face. The man shifted slightly, but it was unneeded. Her hasty throw wasn't timed well and missed clattering into the smooth metal wall before rattling to the floor.

Lord Noah stared at her brash move with surprise before he lunged forward, the heavy weight of his practice sword pushing aside her remaining dagger. Noah then elbowed her in the chest. Trisha gasped for breath, wondering why she would do something so foolish as to throw her knife. She winced in pain, deciding she would ram her other dagger into Noah's eye socket for daring to strike her. Trisha shook her head at the violent thought coming from seemingly nowhere.

" I can feel it. I think the demon is just controlling my emotions, trying to make me act rashly." Said Trisha, forcing out the thought that she needed to attack Noah with all her strength.

" Really? But why didn't you throw the second dagger?" Said the Bishop gesturing towards the remaining dagger in Trisha off hand. Trisha cocked her head curiously, keeping a firm grip on her emotions. She glanced around the room for a way to escape. However other than the Bishop and lord Noah there was no one else in the confines of the steel vault.

"Once I recognized what it was doing, it was easy to stop it." Replied Trisha, anxiety welling in her chest. What if she accidentally picked up a demon? To think there was a creature like Victor that existed in the world. Her eyes wandered to the Bishop, who stood well out of reach. The woman grasped the hilt of one of her two daggers in a white knuckled grip.

" Trisha, take off the timepiece." Said the Bishop, suddenly snapping Trisha from her musing.

" What do you mean? " Asked Trisha, glancing down at her hands.

"She means the time piece on your wrist." Replied Noah sternly.

Trisha stares at her wrists at first, not registering the time piece. Her eyes went wide. How did she get a time piece? As she tried to remember, her recent memories came back slowly, as though something was holding her thoughts captive. Trisha yelped just then, realizing what that damned Victor was doing. She fumbled and with a shiver of revulsion the silver and gold plated time piece clatter to the smooth steel floor.

Trisha shudder, taking a step back, and it was as if a vale was lifted from her mind.

" I didn't even know I still had it on." said Trisha scowling down at the innocuous expensive item. The Bishop sauntered over and stare down at the timepiece for once, smiling up at Trisha.

" You did well, congratulations, you passed the first test." Said the Bishop.

" What do you mean by the first test? There are more of these tests?" Asked Trisha, her limbs trembling at the thought of a monster invading her mind. She couldn't help but repeatedly run her hands through her curly hair in an effort to get rid of the tingling running along her skin. She felt as though ants were crawling all over her skin and biting her.

" Of course, don't you see all the shelves? Each of those boxes contains a demon." Said the Bishop, gesturing to each of the rune carved metal boxes.

" By why are they labeled differently? What is the difference between a minor demon compared to a major demon? They are both just monsters who will try to corrupt my mind, right?" Said Trisha, not trying to hide her frustration.

" If you knew that question, the church would have a serious problem indeed. The demon, you know as Victor, is classified as a minor demon. You won't notice the difference in appearance. The fundamental difference is how the demon expresses their power in the world. " Said the Bishop.

" But Victor didn't attack me with runes. He ran at me with a sword and tried to attack my mind using just formless mana." Replied Trisha, furrowing her brow.

" Exactly. Minor demons need time, planning and a vast majority of their power to channel mana through their host. If a minor demon is incompatible with their host, then their host hinders their ability to use of mana." Said the Bishop in a lecturing tone.

" I think I understand. It's like drawing water from a well using a spoon instead of a bucket?" Said Trisha.

" Not exactly, but your comparison is not far off. Anyway, now that you know what it's like, I expect you to wear that time piece until the end of the day. Return to me this evening and offer the item tonight to pass the test." Said the bishop. She gesture to the time piece lying on the floor.

" That's absurd, my lady. The guard will attack her if they sense there is a demon trying to influence her." Said Noah. The mere idea of a loose demon inside the church was absurd. To think the Bishop would suggest such a thing.

" Don't worry Noah, you are aware of my primal skill. No one will sense the demon unless I want them to." Replied the Bishop confidently.

Trisha backed as far from the two arguing lovers as she could, touching the exit, trying and failing to open the smooth door. The words, primal skill, rushed through Trisha's mind. The skill known as a primal skill was by far a grand master mage's biggest weapon.

" Your primal skill, what are you going to do to me with it?" Asked Trisha.

" But why now? Why would you risk something like this?" Asked Noah, cutting Trisha off.

" Because I believe the demon leading the Darva on their assault is a demon of dread. You fought the demon in Drent what do you think, Noah?" said the Bishop seriously. Noah paused, as though in recollection.

Noah scoffed" The demon was far too weak to be that rank of demon. The only information that supports your claim is the demon is here in its own physical shell." Replied Noah.

" Exactly! That hasn't happened before. Well, at least not to my knowledge." Said the Bishop, gesturing to the empty shelf in the corner labeled dread.

" It could just be a coincidence. And as far as we know, the church has seen no demons of dread since the fall of the archimage." Said Noah.

" What do you mean by the fall of the archimage?" Asked Trisha. Everyone knew that was a myth. No human could gain such power.

" I know what you are thinking. The archimage is a myth and legend. What I know is that there was a person who gained massive power and created some of the most complex and powerful objects to date. Some even lasting until today. My point is you would need someone who can match the power of an archimage to fight on equal terms with a dread lord." Said the Bishop seriously.

Trisha fidgeted, twirling her hair. She really didn't care about some mage who was long dead. But the Bishop and lord Noah seemed to believe he or she existed. And Just the thought of a demon that powerful sent shivers down her spine, she couldn't even content with a minor demon.

Trisha listened intently, realizing that she would probably never get another chance to learn so much about demons again with a war on.

" I received distressing news today from an old Comrade of mine. He said the leader of the Darva is a demon. Not in human form but from what I can tell it is the same one I fought in the city of Drent. From Kellar's report I believe in time this demon can grow to the rank of a dread lord." Said lord Noah, appearing as though he was forcing the words out.

The Bishop nodded for once, agreeing with lord Noah.

" Who is this friend of yours, Noah?" asked the bishop.

" He is a mage in the army. Have you heard of Kellar flame caller?" Asked lord Noah. Trisha's head spun as the two bounced from topic to topic. Trisha felt as though her head was going to burst with all the questions.

" I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him. Is he a commoner, or a disavowed noble?" Asked the Bishop.

" No! He just prefers his mage title over the title of lord. He is actually the youngest brother of the duke of the northern reaches.

" The son of a duke, it's a shame he is the youngest brother. A master mage as a duke would much more advantageous for their Dutchy then having a mere novice mage as the current duke." Said the Bishop.

" Kellar would rather live as a vagrant then be a duke." Reply Noah, cracking a rare smile.

" No matter, I'm sure we can coerce him to help us with our demon problem in other ways." Said the Bishop.

Trisha furrowed her brow at the words of the bishop. The woman was already scheming on how to make Kellar do what she wanted and they hadn't even met yet. Trisha could respect her for her thorough planning, if not for her kindness.

" Don't you have a lot of priests and inquisitors to hunt demons? Why do you need some mage who is in the army?" Asked Trisha.

" If you haven't noticed, there is a large Darvan army approaching the city of Wyndham. They kill every single human in their path." Said the Bishop.

" Why doesn't the king do something about it?" Asked Trisha.

" The king is doing just that. He is preparing an army to meet the advance as we speak. But the army needs time." said Lord Noah.

" I wanted lord Noah to lead the army to meet the Darvan advance, but the sitting duke of the northern reaches demanded his eldest son lead. If it weren't for the fact they are in his duchy, I think the queen might have refused him." Said the Bishop, massaging her temples.

" I'm sure the young man will do just fine. And besides, three of the queens of Royal knights are accompanying nearly a dozen mages to protect the city of Wyndham." said lord Noah.

Trisha sat wide eyed as Noah calmed down the bishop.

" All right Noah, I know! I am just worried. That demon has already led to the fall of one city and doesn't look to be stopping now. If we don't do something about that creature surely another city will be lost." Said the Bishop.

" Then let's continue your apprentice's training. I have news that might cheer you up. I received news from the city of hurst in the kingdom of Pentir. My spy has sensed demonic essence leaking from a secure room." Said Noah, grinning. The Bishop smiled for once, an unusual expression for the usually calm and collected woman.

" Finally! Have they checked the room yet? "Asked the Bishop, practically bouncing in place.

" I gave our spy a deadline. With the ongoing war and the increasing reports of demons in the kingdom we can't take this investigation slowly." Said Noah.

" What if they killed the spy? You won't discover anything, "said Trisha.

" Don't worry, my dear, you will go to investigate and put an end to this demon summoning in a week. And besides, the spy is disposable." Said Noah.

Trisha blanched down at the timepiece laying on the floor as it called to her, begging for her to pick it back up.

She once again felt the demon's power as it tried to push her into picking it up. Trisha scowled, wondering if the demon felt pain.

" Well, go on, pick it up. Once you get started, then I want you to escort me to my comrade, Kellar. We are going to be laying a trap." said Lord Noah mysteriously.

Trisha doubted her own intellect. How could she possibly remember all the lines of intrigue? First there was an army led by a son of a duke. Then there was a spy who Noah seemed to think was disposable, and now Lord Noah was talking about setting a trap for something. Trisha shook her head. How was she going to remember all of that? Especially with that accursed victor around her wrist. Not to mention the fact that the church was blatantly breaking more laws than Trisha's old thieves' guild did. Morals aside, at least she was paid far more silver than when she was in the thief's guild.

Discust filling her, Trisha reached down and picked up the vile time piece. The Demon Victor seemed to be angry with her. It filled her with the urge to hit her own head on the wall. Scowling, Trisha pushed back, forcing the demon from her thoughts.

Feeling as though she were signing her own death warrant, Trisha clasped the leather strap around her wrist. Or as the Bishop called it, accepting the demon.

Trisha turned towards the exit, hoping someone would finally set her free. She watched the Bishop expectantly. The Bishop approached Trisha all the while, a deep thrumming built making Trisha shake. Her senses screamed at her to run, but there was nowhere for Trisha to go. The metal door locked her in place as the monster known as the Bishop raised her hand. Trisha felt as though the woman had suddenly grown. The immense pressure radiating off of her was overwhelming.

Trisha watched, unable to so much as blink as runes spiraled around her, forming around her entire body and then shrinking until they settled against her skin. The runes were oddly colourless, which made Trisha even more anxious. She expected to feel pain at any moment, but the runes and the heavy thrum of power faded just as quickly as they started. Blinking, Trisha looked at her arms and then at her hands. She couldn't feel the demon's presence anymore. That was chilling. She knew she should be able to, but she couldn't tell it was anything other than a timepiece. So that must be the Bishops primal skill?

" Well, lord Noah, what do you think? Can you sense the demon trying to possess her?" asked the Bishop as though her use of power was effortless.

Lord Noah approached Trisha until his face was a mere foot from Trishas. He stares intently, making Trisha shy away.

" As you said, my lady, I cannot sense the demon at all. Its actually disturbing. To think that a demon could hide in plain sight and we wouldn't know it." said Noah shuddering at the thought.

" I of course, would sense the deception. There is no need to worry Noah, if there was such a demon I could feel his presence." Reply the Bishop in a comforting tone.

The Bishop seemed far too confident, but Trisha couldn't disagree. She felt like a bug and the Bishop was a cat ready to pounce.

Trisha sighed in relief as the Bishop opened the smooth steel door. Trisha had no desire to see anything else in this room. She was interested in the object on the pedestal in the corner, but didn't want to ask what that was for. She really didn't want to give the Bishop any more ideas.

" Where is this comrade of yours?" asked Trisha as they departed the vault. The books lining the walls captured Trisha. They drew her to one in particular. A malicious thought struck her. She should take it. If she used that book, she could gain immense power. Trisha forcefully pushed the thoughts away. She shudder, the spine of that particular book was labeled demonic sacrifice.

Trisha had no desire to see what that meant. She swallowed as lord Noah approached the bookshelf and took a book for himself. Hopefully, lord Noah wasn't planning on using it on her. The gods must curse Trisha. How did she get herself in this position?

" What is that book for?" asked Trisha, swallowing hard.

" We are going to be meeting up with Kellar, and what book?" asked Lord Noah innocently. Trisha opened her mouth to say something, but caught on.

The exit shimmered, and they stepped outside. Sighing in relief, Trisha breathed easier, gently massaging her aching side. From the Bishop's office she watched the wall to the vault shimmer, locking back into place, each of the twenty runes flashing before they disappear.

" Dont forget the challenge."said the Bishop as Trisha headed for the exit.

" Of course not! How could I forget I have a demon talisman on my wrist?" retorted Trisha. She, of course, was only saying that to reassure herself.

" Meet me in the courtyard tomorrow. We are going to be meeting up with Kellar out of the city." said Lord Noah.

" Of course. Do you want me to bring Eliya and Greg?" asked Trisha.

" Yes! We are going to be doing some dangerous things. And the forced contract already binds those two." Said Noah, smiling a smile that Trisha was concluding needed to be punched from his face slightly wrinkled face.