Book 4, chapter 13

Zee was jarred from deep meditation as Bastion climbed from their shared bedroll. Before he could escape, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him on top of her.

"Hey," Bastion said, surprise in his voice.

"Oh no you don't. You can't just leave, and take your heat with you," Zee said, holding him tightly.

"But, I'm hungry," Bastion replied.

"Well, I am cold, so you can't leave," Zee said, smiling up at him with an impish grin.

Bastion stared down at her, his curly black hair a mess. She reached up and ran a finger along the sharp line of his jaw, across the thin scar that marred his smooth, dark skin.

He leaned down, and kissed her on the lips, letting it linger, his lips soft, and warm. The intimate gesture was enough to make her melt, her heart fluttering in her chest.

It was just the advantage he was looking for. As smooth as silk, he slipped from her embrace, his movement so seamless and smooth it looked like he wasn't being restrained at all.

"That's not fair," Zee said, grasping at him as he slipped away, dodging her attempt to recapture him.

"You will have to be faster if you want to catch me," He grinned, showing off his perfectly white teeth.

She gave him a rude gesture, that only made his grin widen further. Zee sighed. Well, since her heat source was gone, she might as well get up and start the day. She stood, stowing away her sleeping bag in her spatial storage clasped around her neck.

There was a soft nudge in her mind as she picked up her scabbard, belting her sword around her waist. It was like a soft greeting as if the death spirit in her sword was saying hello.

That was weird. Swords weren't supposed to have a personality. Then again, it was a friendly spirit, so she couldn't really complain. Zee gave the spirit in her sword a mental pat on the head.

It seemed happy at the mental gesture, which should be a good thing, right? Pushing thoughts of the odd spirit in her sword aside, Zee did a few stretches to get the kinks from her back.

Sleeping on the stone floor was not comfortable at all, even with her Bastion-shaped pillow. She raised her arms above her head, her back popping several times in the process.

"Ahh, that is nice. So, what are we doing for food?" Zee asked.

Bastion rolled his shoulders, reaching down to touch his toes, his back cracking audibly.

"Not sure yet. Let's go get the others, I want to go out to a nice restaurant. I am dying to try something that isn't cooked in a galley aboard a ship," Bastion said.

"That sounds fun. Let's go." Zee said, her stomach rumbling at the idea.

The sky pavilion was an upscale restaurant built high on a plateau, overlooking the sprawling city of Verdant. From their shaded terrace, they could see the sprawling network of canals, neatly lined roads, and opulent mansions below.

The terrace offered a stunning view of a towering mountain in the distance, white-capped with snow, and even a crystal clear lake at its base. The lakeshore was dotted with the occasional mansion, built as a retreat from the city by noble lords and wealthy merchants.

The canopy overhead rustled softly, a gentle breeze filling the terrace with the pleasant aroma of flowers. Ringing the terrace were expansive gardens along the balcony railings and cliffs below creating a pleasant experience.

Fine dinnerware, pristine table cloths, and wait staff dressed in expensive suits. It was just what you might expect when coming to one of the finest restaurants in the city. The scions of nobles and high-ranking cultivators alike frequented this place, as only the truly wealthy could afford the staggering prices of the energy-rich food.

Despite dressing up for the occasion, Zee felt uncomfortable. She felt like the odd woman out, as she glanced around at the others in her group.

Allison, Malden, and Yukna looked at home amidst the finery, laughing and chatting. For some reason, Bastion handled himself in a dignified manner, taking delicate bites with one of his many spoons.

Even Greg looked refined, though she did note he was steering clear of the food in favor of sipping wine. It wasn't a bad idea. If she had a glass of wine in hand, no one would wonder why she wasn't eating. It's not that the food was bad, the opposite, she was simply scared of ruining her expensive dress.

It was one of Yukna's dresses, a form-fitting rich burgundy gown that she borrowed for the occasion. It clung to her waist and hips, flaring out at the knees in waves of fabric.

The gown left her shoulders bare and had a low-cut bodice that pushed up her chest. The dress was stunning, though it did reveal a lot more cleavage than she was comfortable with.

If not for Allison and Yukna dressing similarly, she wouldn't have dared wear it. Well, and the fact that the dress seemed to draw Bastion's attention every time she moved.

He couldn't keep his eyes off her, which made her only want to taunt him even more. A subtle lean towards him, maybe a bashful smile. She could tell it was working too, because his heart rate was through the roof, the sound picked up by her spatial ripple skill.

She had to admit taunting Bastion was fun, though it could only capture her attention for so long. From across the richly adorned table, stocked with steaming plates of exotic meat and cheeses she caught Malden's eye. He looked thoughtful, only half paying attention to Allison and Yukna's conversation.

Zee could relate. She had stopped paying attention a few minutes ago, as they delved deeper into the intricacies of Yukna's business.

Since last night, something had been nagging at her.

"Maldy, why did you come here, to Tartana I mean," Zee asked curiously, her soft voice hard to hear over the chatter of the princess and Yukna.

He blinked several times, focusing on her. "Uh, sorry what was that?" Malden asked.

"Why are you here?" Zee asked, more directly.

Malden glanced around, "I was hungry," He replied bluntly, taking a sip of wine.

She rolled her eyes, "I know that. I mean, why are you here on Tartana?" Zee clarified.

Malden's fluffy ears twitched, his expression hard to read. "What? Are you not happy to see me," Malden asked.

She set down her half-empty glass of wine, "It's not that. It's just that you are the crown prince, surely you didn't just come here for some sightseeing," Zee said.

Malden nodded slowly. "How astute.. I am here to buy some supplies, and even hire some mercenaries in case Iztara is invaded. It's why we are both here, and sooner than expected. There are rumors of attacks on outlying planets in the dominion. We need to make preparations in case we are attacked next," Malden said.

Zee bit her lip. "We were attacked about a month ago. They came through the teleportation hub and started killing people. A few hundred civilians died, but it was quelled quickly." Zee said, darkly.

Bastion piped in, "Supposedly the planet Gauk has already fallen. All connections to the planet have been lost or severed," Bastion said.

Malden's face scrunched up. "I heard about that, that's why we came so soon. We were worried our access to Tartana might be cut off before we could get supplies," Malden said.

"You are planning to stay and fight the Terlashar?" Zee asked.

"Of course I am." Malden said, "I am the crown prince, it is my duty to defend my people or die trying,"

"But, do you even stand a chance?" Zee asked, sliding to the edge of her chair, leaning her elbows on the table.

By now, the others at the table were listening in, waiting for Malden's response.

Malden's expression darkened. "I admit, after reading some of the reports, our chances are not good. Even if we empty the kingdom's treasury to pay mercenaries to come back to Iztara, I don't know how much it will actually help," Malden said, and for once she could see the weariness in his eyes.

For the first time since she could remember, she saw cracks in his usually confident façade. He looked worn out, exhausted even, a young man with the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders.

Realizing she had broached a touchy subject, Zee turned to Allison.

"How is Pikar and the rest of the nest?" Zee asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Ohh, right, you weren't around to hear about that. The nest is held up in a hidden valley a few hours from Carden. Some of them have even started working for Duke Drakus as part of his spy network," Allison said.

Zees' face scrunched up at the mention of that scheming duke. With the stealthy rift walkers under his command, she was betting his information network was better than ever.

"And what about those Barbadians, are they still around?" Zee asked curiously.

Allison shook her head. "Nope, they left home a month or so after you disappeared," Allison said.

"And what about our dear friend, Petrie," Zee asked, with feigned nonchalance.

"She went through the teleportation hub shortly after you left. I honestly have no idea where she went," Allison shrugged.

Zee let out a sigh of relief. She would have thought Petrie would hunt her down for stealing the heart of the planar space and running away like a bandit in the night.

As it turns out, maybe she dodged the proverbial arrow to the face. Who knew, maybe Petrie forgave her for the slight? Noo, on second thought, Zee doubted that spiteful woman would forgive her.

Yukna gave Malden a soft smile. "It might not be as dire as you think Malden. My business is booming, and I can probably get us some good deals on both weapons, supplies, and mercenaries through my business partner," Yukna chimed in.

Malden perked up. "Really? Who is this business partner of yours?" Malden asked.

Yukna glanced around the quiet terrace, towards a few tables with patrons who might be listening.

"Let's just say they are, well connected," Yukna replied evenly.

Malden looked curious but didn't press while they were surrounded by so many listening ears.

The serious conversation ebbed, switching to lighter topics. The food was delicious, the company pleasant, and the view spectacular.

It was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, just relaxing and conversing with her friends. For the first time in a long time, she could relax and simply enjoy herself.

She had a lot of worries on her plate, from helping Dern and stabilizing her inner world to an undead invasion. Not to mention Kur Zul, who still hadn't made a move, or more recently the helpful death spirit inside of her sword.

They were troublesome problems but they could wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow she would go visit the old geezer, and see if he had some advice.

The next day, Zee walked down a narrow, quiet corridor of the library, unable to stop grinning. Yesterday had been exactly what she needed, a day of relaxation with her friends.

Much of her accrued stress was gone, though not all. Her problems were still there, yet they felt less insurmountable now. A book flew overhead, joining some others as it flew off a shelf. Another gently slid on a shelf high overhead, while others were coming to and froe.

All the books were controlled by incredibly thin strands of energy, guided by an unseen hand. The strands of energy were Invisible to all who didn't have a potent sensory skill. To Zee, it looked like thousands of hair-thin strands of energy filled the library, all of them snaking through the hallways to a singular point.

This was how she found the old geezer the first time, by following the strands of energy. As always, the library was quiet, with the rustle of books and the soft thud of her boots being the only sound. There was only the occasion person perusing the shelves, though she did her best to avoid eye contact so as not to spark up a conversation.

Soon, even that much faded, as she descended several flights of stairs, entering the bottom floors of the library. Based on the undisturbed layers of dust on the floor, and bookshelves, no one aside from her had been down here in years.

Not even her own footprints in the dust remained from her last visit, which was pretty weird. Then again, this library was much larger on the inside than it looked. The old geezer in charge might be changing things up to screw with her, or maybe this place actually changed with each visit.

Zee pushed the curious thought to the back of her mind for later. Allison was here, and even Malden had come along. She was elated. The whole team was back together, plus Malden. Things were definitely looking up, she might be able to convince her team to go monster hunting, to harvest some souls for Dern.

Lost in her thought, she navigated the labyrinthine hallways, each of them lined with shelves of books some of which looked positively ancient.

She hadn't seen or heard anyone in about ten minutes when an odd sensation passed over her skin just as she rounded a corner. Her eyes snapped up from the dusty floor, as she sensed someone.

Leaning casually against one bookshelf was grey-furred Allevark with a long, fluffy tail dancing behind her. The woman was dressed in expensive black robes that were spotted with dust, looking like she had been waiting for some time.

Petrie's lips turned up into a vicious grin, exposing her needle-like teeth as she met Zee's eyes.

"Thought you could escape did you?" Petrie asked, her tone soft and menacing.

Oh shit, oh shit! Petrie had found her? How? Zee's mind raced, her eyes darting around the hallway, as she searched for a way out.

As if to quash that hope, immense pressure radiated from Petrie as she released her aura. It was suffocating and oozed bloodlust, the power far eclipsing her own. A tsunami of green energy flooded the hallway, covering both exits in a haze of toxins and blocking Zee's escape.

As she watched, the energy sizzled, melting the floors, fragile books, and the wooden shelves they were on. What's worse, she could feel space rippling chaotically around them, clearly the effects of a powerful domain skill.

In this unstable environment, she might be ripped in half if she tried to shift dimensions to the Tundra to escape. What's worse, she doubted she could simply phase through that haze using her wayward walk skill.

"Ahh, lady Petrie, what brings you here?" Zee asked, licking her suddenly dry lips, doing her best to hide the fear she felt.

Petrie's tufted grey ears twitched in amusement. "You know exactly why I am here. Give the heart to me," Petrie demanded.

"How did you find me?" Zee asked, ignoring the demand, trying to delay long enough to find a way out.

Petrie smirked. "Your friends led me right to you. They made me wait for months, which was such a pain. For that, I will have to make them suffer once I am finished with you. Now, stop stalling, where is the heart of the planar space," Petrie asked.

The threat of torturing her friends pissed her off, turning her fear, into anger. Why was she even putting up with this lizard shit? It wasn't Petrie who risked her life to get the heart of the planar space, no, this woman hadn't done a damned thing.

"I don't have it on me," Zee lied, subtly reaching toward the hilt of her sword.

"Liar. I can sense its mark on your aura," Petrie accused.

At this point, anything Zee said now would likely cause the sadistic alchemist in front of her to go on a rampage. Keeping quiet was also not an option.

"I can't give it back, I absorbed the heart of the planar space into my body," Zee said, knowing the admission might be signing her death warrant.

Petrie's brows furrowed as she took a few steps closer, seeming to peer through Zee. That's it, come a bit closer, Zee thought. Zee's hair stood on end, her skin prickling as Petrie used some sort of skill on her.

"What do you mean you absorbed the heart? How is that possible?" Petrie asked.

"I mean that it's inside my body. I couldn't give it to you even if I wanted to," Zee replied. In the blink of an eye, Zee drew her sword cutting upwards in a brutal arc meant to take off Petrie's head.

The alchemist moved just as fast, tilting her head to avoid the killing blow. Even still Zee's sword cut a shallow gash along her cheek, which was already festering with blue flames that were stained with the turquoise and black of miasma.

Petrie leaped backward, reaching up to touch the tip of her severed right ear. Petrie's expression turned positively murderous as her paw came back bloody.

"You shouldn't have missed. Now I am going to tear your heart from your corpse with my bare paws," Petrie snarled, her aura exploding outward.

Space roiled and fractured as a shockwave consisting of insidious poison radiated from Petrie. The bookshelves around them exploded, rock and chunks of wood showering the narrow hallway.

Heart racing, Zee reappeared to one side having only dodged because her spatial ripple skill gave her a moment's warning. Her sword hummed, a torrential amount of energy rushing into the pitch-black blade as she cut at the air.

The world river turned chaotic around her as a ten-meter-tall rip in reality clashed violently with a barrier that formed to defend Petrie.

Even infused with compression, Zee's strongest skill failed to pierce Petrie's barrier, though it did form a dense web of cracks. Zee wasn't sure who was more startled, herself, or the alchemist.

It should normally be impossible if an early E-grade warrior to break a barrier formed by a D-grade cultivator. Then again, Petrie was a noncombat class user, an alchemist not a fighter. What's more, Zee was not a bog common cultivator, able to kill peak E-grade monsters with relative ease.

Maybe she actually stood a chance? Taking those large cracks as an invitation, Zee launched forward, swinging her sword in a ruthless arc.

Petrie's barrier cracked further, sparks flying as spirit echo did its work, melting fist-sized holes in the barrier. Zee could feel the deathly spirit in her sword, as it gleefully flooded her skill with a highly corrosive energy.

Zee wasn't one to look a gift in the mouth, swinging as hard as she could. Zee's aura flared around her, placing an immense weight on Petrie as Zee infused it with a spark of compression.

Wanting to keep the pressure up, her sword shattered, several chunks of razor metal infused with blue flames and miasma shot forward to take advantage of the cracks.

Petrie fell back under the rapid assault, deflecting the shards of metal with a curved short sword that appeared in her right paw. Petrie might be a noncombat class user, but no one got to her grade without learning to defend themselves.

Bookshelves exploded behind Petrie as Zee's projectiles were deflected into them. The alchemist's surprise rapidly turned to annoyance, as Zee tried to skewer her while she was distracted.

With a deft flick of her curved saber, Petrie deflected Zee's sword, gathering energy in her offhand. Petrie kicked up in a blur, the clawed boot slamming into her gut. Pain racked her body as Zee was thrown down the hallway from the force of the blow.

Hitting the ground she tumbled, and rolled with the momentum, dust flying around her. Mid-roll, she sensed Petrie release her attack. Rolling head over heels Zee did the only thing she could think of at the moment. In desperation, she summoned Dern's suit of armor in front of the attack.

The silver and black armor formed just in time to block a lizard-sized ball of acid that Petrie lobbed her way. There was a loud splash, as the attack hit his armor head-on. Dern's form melted in moments before falling apart, slowing the attack by only a second.

Still, a second was enough time to activate wayward walk again. Petrie looked amused as Zee reappeared, just inside the toxic gas of the domain skill.

"Damnit," Zee cursed, her right shoulder sizzling as drops of that acid melted through her robes. She reached up and tore a chunk of her robes off, tossing it onto the floor.

A large section of the hallway was melting in a pool of acid, filling the hallway with a pungent odor. This wasn't looking good, Petrie was far more skilled than she had initially thought.

What's worse, Zee had tried to phase through that cloud of toxic gas and get to the other side, but Petrie's domain skill stopped her. Thankfully, she could still use her movement skill inside the domain. That little detail made something else possible.

"What? Never fought someone who had a domain skill like this?" Petrie taunted.

Zee's eyes narrowed on the woman. "That wound on your face looks painful, you might want to get that checked, it looks infected," Zee said.

Petrie scowled, reaching for several vials hanging in holsters on her belt. She threw three vials of liquid at Zee, each of them crashing into the walls and floor. The vials shattered, filling the narrow corridor with noxious gas. One whiff of that stuff made Zee woozy, her vision blurring.

Not liking the look of that gas in the slightest, Zee phased into the stone floor. It was extremely risky, but she was hoping there was a floor directly below her.

Her vision turned grey as she disappeared into the stone, going straight down. For several seconds there was only darkness her panic rising until she arrived on the third floor of the library.

She reappeared, her relief quickly fading as debris rained down. The roof cracked, exploding downward as a hole was blasted open.

Heart lurching in her chest, Zee leaped out of the way, pain blossoming in her back as she was clipped by a head-sized rock. Gritting her teeth, Zee scrambled down the hallway.

Petrie's amused laugh echoed down after her, as toxic gas flooded down the hole into the third floor.

"Why are you running? There is no escape now that I have found you." Petrie said, her voice echoing down from the hole.

Zee ignored the woman's taunting, her boots thudding loudly on the stone as she barreled down the narrow corridor. Fighting the woman straight up was out of the question, she needed to escape. Blinding pain blossomed in her back, as something slammed into her from behind and she was launched forwards, slamming into a bookshelf.

Coughing up blood, Zee clutched at her side, her ears ringing. Rising shakily to her feet, she noticed that another section of books and shelves was decimated, hundreds of torn and decaying pages scattering behind her.

Like she was on an afternoon stroll, Petrie walked from the noxious gas, her tail swaying playfully behind her. Zee blinked several times, wiping blood from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Petrie didn't give her the chance to regain herself. The alchemist's aura flared, just as Petrie's form blurred. Zee raised her sword, and metal clanged loudly, as their blades met.

Her hands stung, her arms feeling like they were going fall off from the force of the blow. Zee retreated, deflecting a rapid-fire series of sword strikes aimed to take off her head. The alchemist wasn't even attempting to use proper technique, using her superior strength and speed to overwhelm Zee.

Zee was used to fighting opponents who outmatched her in strength, but this was something else. Petrie's skill with a saber was mediocre, she was simply using her higher rank to bully Zee.

Zee was forced to fight with every ounce of skill she had, as Petrie used brute strength and D-grade speed to try and cut her down. Sparks lit up the library, their sword a blur of motion.

Petrie attacked like a savage animal, and Zee retreated deflecting the furious attacks as best she could. If nothing changed soon, she would be overwhelmed.

On the back foot, Zee pushed everything she had into her aura, infusing it with a spark of compression in an attempt to slow Petrie. The alchemist grimaced but didn't falter, her own much more potent aura pushing outward, crushing Zees.

Pain burned across her chest, as Petrie's sword drew a bleeding cut across her stomach. If not for the mist-like protections offered by spirit echo, she would have been gutted.

Arms throbbing, Zee struck back with everything she had, her sword a blur of razor-sharp metal. Their weapons collided with enough force to create shockwaves, scattering books, chunks of wood, and rock everywhere.

Zee's refined swordplay and skill in combat could only hold Petrie back for so long. One attack after another snuck through her guard, covering her in cuts that bled profusely.

Petrie wasn't unscathed either, with several bleeding cuts that burned with the blue flames of spirit echo. With her compression useless, Zee decided to change things up. Ethereal waves crashed around her, her skin steaming as the heart of fire beat in her chest.

She had been holding her second spark of insight back for the right moment. It was her only hope to catch Petrie off guard and kill her in one strike.

Zee caught Petrie's overhead cut, locking their swords together with her cross guard. It was a bad idea since Petrie's strength was far superior.

Petrie took the bait, and leaned forwards, pushing Zee's own blade back toward her neck. At the last moment, Zee released the hilt and Petrie staggered forwards passing right through her mist form.

Appearing right behind the alchemist, Zee spun, stabbing at Petire's back with a long, pitch-black spike. The obsidian spike was simple, yet it oozed malice, letting off a terrifying pressure. It was the profane weapon Petrie gave her to stab the heart and destroy a planar space.

Off balance from her own push, Petrie tried to dodge but was held in place for a moment by a burst of Zee's infused aura. Petrie screamed as the profane weapon punched through her barrier and sunk deeply into her shoulder.

The curse weapon hit its mark but missed Petrie's heart. The alchemist's aura blossomed outwards. A huge burst of toxic energy threw Zee all the way down the hallway into a bookshelf like she was shot from a catapult.

There was a loud crash, and an explosion of torn pages and shattered wood. The protective effect of spirit echo covering her body absorbed a lot of the impact, but not enough to save her from severe injury.

Eyes watering from the pain of shattered ribs, Zee clambered from the pile of books, wood, and stone. Coughing up blood she stagger from the rubble, using a wide bookshelf for support as she limbed away.

"Get back here! I am going to skin you alive," Petrie screamed, her voice filled with pain and rage.

Zee didn't listen, leaving her sword behind, stumbling down the hallway as fast as she could. The pain of shattered ribs was overwhelming, but fear urged her forwards.

All she could think about was getting away, to escape, somehow. All the while, she could hear Petrie coming after her, the woman rapidly gaining on her.

Delirious, on the edge of passing out from pain and blood loss she ran headfirst into a frail old man. He caught her as she stumbled, his expression worried as he took in her bedraggled state.

"You need to run old man, she is coming," Zee croaked, blood bubbling from her lips.