Chapter One: The Vengeance
The first thing Amelia noticed upon waking was the lack of pain. She had become so used to either the rotting ache of her disease or the sharp pain of needles that she had forgotten what it felt like to not be in some form of agony.
.” The last two words were punctuated with little jabs of the cutlass, now millimeters from Amelia's nose.Serena examined the office and her desk for any traps or missing documents. The desk drawers had not appeared to be opened and she could not see any telltale signs of lock-picking tools having been used.
Anathor had told her as much and had been notifying her of the spy’s activities the moment he had discovered her but she didn’t fully trust his recollection of events, especially as he could not tell her how the human had bypassed so many locked doors and guards to get into her quarters.
“I don’t understand, how can you, the guardian of this ship, not know how she got in here? You see everything.”
“Hmm…” the stuffed head mumbled. “The human was not here and then she was.”
“Did you see her arrive? The moment it happened?”
“No… and there was no change in the Aetherfield. Maybe if she was shifted here from another realm…but there are very few beings capable of hiding a realm-shift from my eyes, captain.”
Anathor was quiet for a few moments before continuing.
“And… even if I was fooled - there is no power that could fool the ship. If this human was a true threat to us then it would have expelled her.”
Serena raised an eyebrow. “A threat to us, or the ship? It has allowed assassins to board before.” Anathor didn’t seem to have a response to that - his connection to the ship was only slightly more reliable than her own. Serena waved a dismissive hand.
“Enough about the ship. Tell me again how she behaved when you first saw her.”
“She moved… as if she was unfamiliar with her body. She was hesitant in every motion, like your injured soldiers with grievous wounds. The human seemed delighted to find she could move. She did not behave like a spy or an assassin.”
Serena tilted her head to the side, tapping her horn with a finger in a rhythmic motion.
“And then?”
“She seemed surprised at her hair and body, and rushed to examine them in detail in the mirror.”
“Oh? First a realm-shifter and now a soul transfer? Come now Anathor, we are reaching fantastical levels of theory over a mere human. Tell me of the spells she cast.”
“A low-level defensive spell, silently cast so she should be at minimum a second circle mage. However, she canceled it not long after. Hmm… no it’s unlikely…”
“What? Speak your mind Anathor.”
“When the spell was canceled… the aether was unusual. There was no dissipation into the Aetherfield typical of a spell cut short. She could just be a talented second circle capable of reabsorbing the aether or…” Anathor trailed off.
“Or she could have cloaked it.” Serena finished the line of thought for him.
“Yes, and if she can cloak even a low-level spell, then there is a chance she knows the First Word.”
Serena pondered that for a moment. It was rare for a demon to be a Speaker of the Words, and even rarer for a human, and it was especially unlikely such a young human could Speak but… it was not without precedent. Suddenly a memory of the encounter sprang into her mind.
“Anathor, what is she doing now?”
“She’s in the cell uh… stretching.”
“Stretching?”
“Yes, captain, and now… she’s doing push-ups.”
“Whatever, does she have a cut on her nose? Any blood?”
“Hmm… no captain.”
Serena felt her eye twitch. She was a master of the sword, and she had definitely given that smug-looking human a poke with her cutlass. If she wasn’t bleeding then the chance that the human had a cloaked defensive spell active was suddenly uncomfortably high. Serena communicated her thoughts to Anathor.
“Time for you two to have another conversation. Not many leagues till we’re at battle stations”
“Yes,” Serena found herself nodding. “A little interrogation to answer some questions.”
“Hmm… try less interrogation, more conversation if possible captain… best not to have any of the Words Spoken on the ship, from either that mystery human or you.”