Curselock

Chapter 53: Abandoned

Leland snapped his fingers nine more times before he finally stumbled back, his head spinning. He groaned with horrid nausea, his lifeforce dwindling with threatening speed.

“Kneel before—”

His words abruptly ended as a wrinkled manicured hand met his shoulder. Leland quickly spun, finding Boor.

Shaking his head, the butler leaned in and whispered, “We will lose if we fight her. She’s stronger than all of us put together.”

Glaring at the Huntress despite the spinning room, Leland found an unafflicted woman. She bore no grimace, no pain, no emotions, really. She simply watched him with a quizzically raised eyebrow, like a mother watching their child do something improper.

When she realized Leland wasn’t attacking anymore, her gaze suddenly changed into something urging a challenge. She wanted him to continue, to fight her, to throw everything he had and more at her. She’d win and she knew it.

Leland saw it in her slight smirk. It wasn’t hubris, it wasn’t ignorance. Her gaze was absolute, like if there was a battle, she could guarantee herself and only herself to step from the inn’s rubble.

Still, Leland’s heart blazed with anger and self-loathing. Not being powerful enough to kill his friend’s kidnapper, even if it was a Royal Inquisitor?

Ridiculous. Shameful. Belittling.

The ground beside Leland split open as a soul of the Damned sprouted into this dimension. He felt the hand on his shoulder tighten. He wasn’t sure if Boor was fearful or trying to warn him, but frankly he didn’t care. The room was spinning, and he needed a reprieve.

The soul sat on one knee and kept its ghostly head down, offering its arm up to Leland. The young Warlock accepted his minion’s offering without taking his eyes from the Huntress. Green blended through the air as the once alive lost soul merged with his own. Energy quickly invaded his body, ending the wobble in his step and the rotating walls.

The soul of the Damned didn’t instantly fade away. It tilted its head at the Huntress, finding her gaze falling upon it. Its ethereal jaw slacked up as five other souls made their presence known. They pulled themselves up through the boundary, only revealing their scornful eyes. Each stared at the Royal Inquisitor.

“Enough. Thank you, but that is enough,” Leland commanded, sending his summoned back to their realm but not before catching each of their fiery eyes.

Boor’s hand eased off his shoulder.

“You know,” the Huntress said slowly. “Attacking a Royal Inquisitor is grounds for imprisonment.”

“So is kidnapping,” Jude snapped.

Leland didn’t shake his stare. “And let's not kid ourselves. My spell didn’t break any of your bones. I didn’t so much as cause a single crack.”

The Huntress laughed. “Honest, at least. I think you get that from your father.”

Glenny was the one who reacted next. He pushed into the room, dragging Leland and Jude along with him. He then shut the door, leaving the Inquisitor in the hallway.

She recoiled at that, honestly stunned. At least, until she broke the door from its hinges.

Jude tsked. “Add property damages to the charges against her.”

The Huntress looked to him then to Leland. “What happened to you two? Weren’t you supposed to be the one to get angry and Leland was supposed to be the calm one?”

Shrugging, Jude said, “I counted to ten, Leals did not.”

Again, the Huntress found herself utterly stunned. By mere children.

Lady Onryo, who had been watching the whole scene, asked, “Who is this woman?”

Alkin answered. “Mother, I’d like you to meet the Royal Inquisitor known as the Huntress.” He then turned to the subject matter. “I apologize, I don’t think I ever learned your true name.”

“Isobel is fine,” she said. “And it is nice to finally be with the civilized.”

Glenny scoffed at that. “You kidnapped me, remember?”

She didn’t argue the point.

Blinking rapidly and scoffing herself, Lady Onryo calmed herself before saying, “Inquisitor Isobel, may I ask what is going on? We were not expecting Inquisitor interference for another week or so.”

Before she could answer, Glenny cut her off. “Oh, she’s not the ones you sent for. In fact, the Huntress here has been in Shoutwell since we arrived. Meaning, she’d been here since before you sought help.”

Lady Onryo raised an eyebrow. “Has she now? And why, as Shoutwell’s only noble House, am I only just now hearing about her presence?”

“Because she would rather—”

Isobel gave Glenny a look that shut him right up. She sighed, looking back to the Lady. “I received your plea for help, yes. And I have been helping, just not alerting you.”

“Oh?” Lady Onryo said. “And what have you been doing?”

“I don’t have to expla—”

“Yes, yes you do. If I remember correctly, I am a noble House leader. And House estates have to pay a premium tax for Inquisitor dues. So, I would argue I do have the right to your explanation.. Especially after my city has been overrun with cultists and countless murders.”

The Huntress chewed her bottom lip. “I have been gathering powerful allies.”

Lady Onryo scoffed. “And who are these allies?”

Glenny answered that one. “That would be me, Leland, and Jude.”

“Amongst others,” muttered the Inquisitor.

“Ah, and Boor,” Glenny said with a shrug. He then found a set of eyes glaring at him.

Lady Onryo carefully looked between each occupant of the room. “Right,” she said. “So, let me ask you again, Royal Inquisitor, what have you been doing since my plea for help?”

Isobel hesitated and eventually answered, “I have been gathering allies. Yes, these three boys and your butler are the only ones I had been able to scout before other events took my attention. But I should also add that I’ve already located the location of the cult’s strong hol—”

“The sewers were empty other than a few dozen low ranking members,” Leland supplied.

Recentering herself, Isobel continued. “The sewers were not the location of the stronghold. They were, yes, but not once they claimed enough eyes to wake their master. The cult has a history of moving to open flat areas, ones with plenty of clear space. They needed enough space to hold a ritual.”

“So what? The markets?” Jude asked.

“That could have been a location, yes. But I think the city’s legislative square would be a better choice. Only a single tree and fountain to remove, not a few dozen wooden booths.”

“Does that information even matter at this point?” Lady Onryo asked. “As I’ve been informed, it is likely the Sightless King has been awoken.”

The Inquisitor nodded. “Yes, at least his vessel has been.”

“And what is this vessel?” Boor asked.

“A husk, a fake. Something that can hold his immense power long enough that he can forge his own true body.”

“So we have time?”

Shaking her head, Isobel said. “Not really, no. It will only be a few days before he will be virtually unstoppable. And every passing hour he will get more powerful. So, we need to kill the vessel sooner rather than later.”

Jude frowned. “No Inquisitor backup then?”

“Correct. We simply cannot wait for them.”

Lady Onryo said, “What’s the plan then?”

“Simple,” the Huntress said. “I alone am powerful enough to defeat the vessel in single combat. I just need fighters to keep the other cultists off me, specifically the woman in white robes.”

The boys shared a careful look. It was then Leland saw the red glimmer in his friend’s eyes.

“Your eyes—”

“I’m fighting,” Glenny spoke over. “His power no longer restrains me. I adapted to it and can use it.”

Jude shrugged at the statement. “I’m in.”

Still, Leland was hesitant. They had only just got Glenny back. The false belief that Glenny was dead still weighed on his mind. He had already said they were forsaking Shoutwell the moment Glenny was taken back. But now?

Leland conceded to his internal compass and nodded along with Jude.

“Three of four,” the Huntress said, turning to Boor. “What do you say?”

Lady Onryo spoke before her butler could. “Boor is not participating. He has already done enough. The rest should be handled by a Royal Inquisitor. I urge the boys to heed the call of battle. Leave the war to those being paid to die.”

Jude didn’t count to ten. “Wow, you really are a noble!” He turned to Alkin. “Please do not grow up to be like her. Please.”

Alkin sputtered, looking between his mom and friend.

“Watch your tone, child.” Boor warned, pointing a finger directly into Jude’s chest.

Leland stirred at that. “Don’t make me wither that finger of yours. Again.”

Boor hesitated at the threat and backed away.

Lady Onryo didn’t waste any more time and gathered Alkin and the silent Mavi. She strolled out of the room, Boor following a moment later. Before she fully exited, she leaned back through the busted door frame.

“Good luck, Huntress.”

Isobel didn’t grace her with even a glare. A tense few moments passed before she spoke to the boys. “I hate nobles.”

They agreed with varying levels of enthusiasm. Leland, however, turned to Glenny. “What do you mean you ‘adapted’ to the Sightless King?”

Glenny’s eyes sparked at the question. “Well, after I was kidnapped, Isobel explained an aspect of my Legacy that I didn’t not know about. M-my mother probably was waiting to tell me after I became a Legacy of the Chameleon, but you know… Anyway, it turns out I can adapt to certain things. Foreign powers being one of them.”

“And that makes it so you can use said power?”

“More or less. Less for right now. I need to train with it more.”

An idea came to Jude. “Wait, wait, wait. If you can adapt to foreign power, if we find a Legacy of the Mind, can you adapt to their power and read minds?”

Glenny hummed at the question and deferred to the Huntress.

“I will be the one to lock you in prison if you ever try that,” she said. “Unless you are willing to join the Inquisitors. We’d love to have an atypical mind reader.”

Glenny ignored the prospect and asked, “What are we doing about the Sightless Cult?”