The moment of confrontation between a fear unseen, but felt, can be as insufferable as the mind had always imagined it to be. It can also be as liberating as finally getting something you had been avoiding, over with. Once the monster stands before you, you can crumble or you can keep going and leave it behind you as you stare at the opportunities made by the absence of fear.

I had seen monster of bone, of flesh, a mixture of scales and claws with teeth that moved like eyes and tongues that were the equivalent of skin on beings that bled as they walked or grew as easily as they breathed. I had fought many and won, had lost my fair share, and had death wrap around my throat like a cord as they tightened it to their amusement but there was a gruesomeness to Venom losing control over his human charade. His skin tore as easily as the wrapping over a Christmas present, fluttering to the ground with a weightlessness that did not emulate real flesh. There was no blood, but as he clawed at his face as if to scrape at something annoying out of his way, and revealed nearly translucent skin that was rapidly hardening as it shimmered silver, blotches of white that became more prominent and then solidified in color, I shuddered. I could not blink, I couldn't even lift my chest to breathe as I watched him near me in animalistic lunges.

Animalistic. Yes, that was it. His hands were outstretched to me, outstretched fingers arching as they connected, five fingers turning into three thickly compacted claws that continued to grow curved. What had been long and graceful limbs vanished as his body expanded, dropping him to the ground, but not slowing him as he continued to change. I took one step back out of shock and then another as he continued to approach with wild eyes. The calm gold I had grown accustomed to was but a mere ring around his pupil as red took over with little green flecks sprinkled about, but those too were beginning to vanish as his skull cracked and popped, growing and expanding in length.

Multiple curses filled the air as a snap sounded out and then we were all falling into the dark. Another enraged snarl filled the air, and my ears and chest vibrated with the sheer force of it. I could not see him, but the snapping sound of his teeth, made it feel like he was closer than before. My arms flapped around wildly just as light showed from below us and I bent my knees and braced for impact. I landed awkwardly and hit the ground on my side as the air in my lungs left me in a painful gasp, my ribs were definitely bruised. Something heavy scuttled and shuffled nearing me and I knew immediately without looking up what-who, it was but before I could move, hands slipped under my arms and stood me up.

"I told you to take care of yourself if you didn't want him to lose it." Viper snapped, glaring over at her brother who was going back and forth between taking a step forward and backing away, but still trying to slide closer. It was impossible to see any similarity between him now and the Venom I knew.

We were inside the tower. I knew just by the stone walls that boxed us in, we were in what looked to be an open dirt field. Multiple large craters filled the ground, scorch marks and broken wooden fragments littered the ground, but other than that we were the only ones here. The Master of the tower must have teleported us here once she saw him, no matter how powerful she was, Venom's weight would have put up too much of a strain in his aggressive state. He was larger than a two-story building and still growing, his head shaking side to side as horns began to grow atop of his head. How had he managed to hide that form?

"I'm fine." I choked out as he stilled and turned his head slowly until his eyes landed on me. His pupils expanded and then shrunk, the thin line of black watching me. My appendages curled at the attention. The quickening of my heart as it tried to climb out of my throat, to distance itself from the body the animal had grown interested in. Venom's nostrils flared, a wet hiss filled the air. My next breath showed in a huff of cold air.

Viper's head snapped over to give me a pointed once over, disapproval and something else making her hiss. "We are going to have to discuss your definition of fine later." She motioned over to the large lizard-like creature at the corner that could swallow me whole. "Go calm him down."

"Me?" I spluttered, feet already sliding back. She sighed.

"He's not freaking out over me." I looked from her to the creature in the corner that was starting make a low vibrating sound, his white called belly shaking as he crouched, the room shook. Both sides of my head throbbed, I stilled at the sensation of something slithering around my legs and jumped further back. I looked over at him but there was nothing to give away if he had done it. Of course, it was him, it had to be.

"What the devil's horn is he!?" I shut my eyes for a moment, yes it was just us and the tower master. Well better just her than a group of wizards interested in direction and who knows what else. "Have you brought dragon folk here? Tell me you haven't stolen a hatchling."

"He's not a hatchling," I muttered, hand flying to my forehead as I watched Venom shudder and shake, his transformation not yet complete. His back arched in a painful-looking way as his skin split, dark spikes began to grow down his back as a tail began to grow out. Oh damn it all, he was still growing. He was on all fours now, his head shaking back and forth atop of his long scaled neck as his gigantic, sharp mouth opened wide, a gurgling sound came forth from him. His mouth was nearly as large as his head, the separation of his jaw from his skull made it seem as if a clothes mouth grin was in place when he closed it.

"Whatever he is, get it under control or I will." She threatened, she appeared at my left, her hands already raised in front of her as she watched him with calculating eyes. Viper disappeared from in front of me and towered over the Master of the tower, a storm of an expression as her black eyes grew and stared down. The Master of the tower jumped back hand steady, but a new weariness to her.

"Oh really?"Viper hissed in a daring purr, taking a lithe step forward and slightly crouching as her hands came up and long claws extended over her human nails. "How?"

"Viper." I griped as he stared at me, long tongue lashing out before going over his teeth as he snarled. He took a step forward. I didn't have to understand that his mind was not fully there to know he was locked onto his prey and had decided it was me. I couldn't run and even if I had somewhere to go, the Master of the tower likely wanted to contain this situation. Even if it meant I was contained with it. I gritted my teeth as my mind raced for choices.

"You handle him, I'll watch her." she called out, focused on her own "The sooner you get that done the sooner we'll be back on track."

Her attention elsewhere left me uncovered and within Venom's sight as he neared me slowly. His eyes flickered behind me for a few moments as he angled his body to the side, his limbs crossing over one another as he turned while watching me. I kept my front to him as he continued to get closer. I knew what he was doing, I had fought enough for legged creatures to recognize what his objective was. Separating me from the rest. Viper refused to move, but I didn't trust the way the Master of the tower was starting to eye both of them. We were in her domain, if she so wished she could separate us all and that was not a part of today's plan. Nothing had been going according to plan lately if I was honest. I ground my teeth into my lip as I watched him near and the callous begin to turn into resolve in her green and yellow swirling eyes.

"Venom," I called out cautiously, raising my hands in front of me and waving them as if he had lost any focus on me. He showed no sign of hearing me but still, I called to him again. He only continued to angle his body in a way that tried to separate me from Viper's side. At one point, hissing at her.

If I did as he wished he would corner me on one side of the building, but his back would be to the Master of the tower and as uncomfortable as I was with being cornered by him, the thought of her at his back left a nasty taste on my tongue. Viper would watch her, and distract her, but neither had a strong resistance to magic and unless Viper decided it would be easier if she killed her prey, the longer this situation continued the worst it would all come to get. I had to do something, I knew it, instinctively and physically. I had to move now. I was wasting time thinking instead of doing something. But I was stalling. Of course, I was, facing what I had always feared most. I was fighting more than just flight or fight, more than the shaking of my knees as all the strength I had kept me upright and breathing roughly.

Venom was in his natural form, the predator that hid behind small smiles and charming wordplay, the man that carried a hair tie on his writs for when I needed one. That man was a calculating creature that picked up and understood customs and norms that were the complete opposite of his existence. It wasn't that he sympathized with those weaker than him or that he was interested in coexisting in peace and so he behaved soothingly to assure people of his control. He struggled with it, the hunger, the strength, to not frighten someone with his voice alone. He did so for survival, to not be hunted by all others, and for me. I wasn't blind to that. Those reasons made a strong base of his foundation but the creature before me that snapped and hissed at me for not moving, but inched closer had none of that composure, none of that restraint to ease anyone, not even me. I had often been tormented by one question when it came to Venom's interest in me. What would happen when he no longer decided to play nice?

"Venom," I tried again, imploring for something resembling intelligence that was not instinct to take over. He hissed, low and throaty, almost like a warning as he began to rise. Was the ceiling tall enough? Viper took a step away from me and I nearly reached out to bury my hands in her hair and show her the grip of death.

"Don't," I said through clenched teeth as Venom took immediate action of trying to wedge himself in the gap, I slid back despite the tightening of my back, warning me of the terrible choice I was making.

"Give him what he wants and he'll calm down." She called over her shoulder as she maintained eye contact against the swilling pair in front of her. I couldn't tell if the Master of the tower was waiting for an opportunity to strike or if she was just waiting to see how this would all play out.

"Easy for you to say," I muttered, sliding back even more as he half-turned his body and wedged his tail around Viper, effectively cutting me off from everyone else as he began scuttering closer to me. I was here, in front of him, what else could he want other than to eat me? Or take me in a hold that could obliterate my body?

I half turned my head to look behind me and felt my stomach drop at how efficiently he was closing me into the stone wall. I was already trapped in this space by the length of his body, but if he continued this I'd be pinned by him to the wall and I wasn't about to trust his perception of distance right now. I went within myself and fumbled for the bond, took hold of it firmly, and pulled. He stopped for a moment but then continued. This was bad. How was I supposed to bring him to the forefront when he already was!? He was in control, he was doing exactly as he wished, cornering me! This is what made Venom so damningly dangerous in my opinion, how do you reason with a creature whose instinct and intelligence is a blurred line that ceased to exist when they feel the need for certain behavior is no longer needed? I continued to pull at the bond, maybe I could pull some semblance of a conscious. He slowed at first and then seemed to pay the sensation no mind. The audacity of this-!

"After all the fuss you gave me for you only to ignore it at the end?" I snarled at him, continuing to pull on what felt like an endless rope. If he was going to behave like this I had a better chance of knocking some sense into him. Or whatever it was that made him Venom.

The master of the tower might not know who we were, but if I borrowed anyone's power here, it would give her a pretty good idea. I would still need the usage of her wizard so killing her was firmly removed from the option block, but if I did show her what I could do would I have to take up her work offer if it was still on the table?

"Though beast he may be, he is still a male," Viper said sadly. I bit back the nasty retort and glared at the beast before me.

"Could this be a lover's quarrel?" A piqued voice asked.

"No." I answered at once.

"Yes." Viper confirmed.

"We weren't fighting." I snapped, inching away from Venom's curling tail and then changing directions as he turned his head. I'd take the tail over teeth any day.

"You were kind of awkward before we got separated," she argued.

"We talked it out." I brought my right knee up and unclasped what I had around my ankle, doing the same for my left. Both thin chains swung from my fists as I began to wrap them around each fist quickly. They were thin, but made of vampire steel, so they would hold for a long period if I used them right.

"Of course, you'd go the violent route. You won't be able to beat him into a better mind frame, I mean you could, but I have a better suggestion if you want to save on time and pain."

"Oh yeah, and what is it?" And why hadn't she offered it up faster? Suspicion and doubt nagged at my ears as I waited for her answer.

"Cuddle." I looked over at her with a dry face as she stared back seriously. I turned back to look at Venom and brought my hands up to my face, fists tightening up, switching to a stable stance as I held the small amount of ground I had. If I were to get on the other side of him and he rolled over-

"I'm serious! Go for peace, watch, he'll calm down. He's just reacting like this because he saw your prom queen Carrie cosplay and lost it."

"He'll heal fast." I said to myself. Venom was strong if I wanted to go for lasting damage, but if I wanted to put him in any submissive hold Viper was a better choice of power. I would need to get her to look at me first, but if she knew what I was going for she wouldn't cooperate.

"Damn it, trust me on this. I know him, and you do too. You know he would never hurt you." I frowned. Frustrated with the light feeling her words gave my stomach, the honesty of it. "Not even out of his mind."

The creature looked nothing like the Venom I knew, not even close to the half-human formed shape he took at times, this was him in all of his truth. Scales, claws, and destruction. It was impossible not to be afraid of the sheer blaming white scales that covered the muscles that rippled and strained as he moved, the claws that dug into the ground to pull himself closer, shaking the ground as dust flew up around the deep groves he left in the earth. The gold, red and green eyes the size of half of me, verticle black pupil focused on me, expanding a little before retracting again. The wet snarls that came from sharp and jagged teeth, strands of saliva that pooled around them, a tongue that lashed out every now and then. All that violent sheer force and he was...just trying to inch closer.

"A leap of faith," I said shakily, my nails digging into my palms before I forced my frozen fingers to uncurl, the action was difficult, but nothing compared to what I was going to have to do. "If he crushes me-"

"He won't."

"...tell him I forgive him." I took her silence as a confirmation before I dropped my arms and then simply did the one thing I had been trained to never do. I let myself become vulnerable.

I turned my back to all of them, squeezing my eyes shut. To brace for a strike. To make it easier on me. To not see what I was doing. For my own comfort as I walked over to the wall. Before I walked into the wall I stopped, turned, and slid down, ignoring as a large body shook the ground with its quick approach. I counted the seconds as I felt death loom over me, a different type of ache at the center of my chest. My eyes stung as my breath left me for a moment, something bubbling and clawing at my throat as I began to shake. I wrapped my arms over my legs, my fingers digging into still-tender flesh, but the sting was the only thing that kept me grounded even as everything in me screamed at me to stop.

It felt like I was dying on the inside. The box shook, protesting, the winter within me stormed and ravaged, trying to break free. I dug my nails deeper into me and counted the seconds as my mind imagined a full-toothed mouth hovering over me, ready to swallow me whole. As the seconds passed and silence reigned over it all. I opened my eyes. Outside of myself, I was surrounded by a wall of white and silver scales, a strange mixture of cold and warm air. Slowly, I lifted my head.

Venom had shrunk some. Just enough to maneuver his body easier, his tail wrapped around me closely without actually touching me before it continued around me and on the wall, outlining me in white. His head lay atop of his claws to my left as he watched me silently. It was a shock being too close even if I knew what to expect, my body froze even as my mind continued to race. He blinked once, twice and then his pupil expanded completely as he inched his head closer. My heart took off, my pulse beating against my skin, my throat, the beat of my heart vibrating in my ears. He stilled for a moment, but did not stop, only slowing down before carefully, like I was made of the shell of an egg, he nudged me with his nose. Of course, I tipped over and landed on his waiting tail, which he wrapped around me. I let out a choked screech as he stood and ran for the nearest corner, I gripped at his tail as it coiled around me, the muscle closing in on my rib cage. I looked for Viper so I could get one last glare in.

I jerked hard when he landed on the ground and got comfortable, then I was lowered in between his two front claws, right next to his head. I made a stiff attempt to slide from where I was as soon as I landed on my feet when his tail landed firmly behind me, like a gate, now locked and in place. He stared down at me from his right eye. My shoulders were stiff as I once more turned my back on him and slid down to the ground. A huff of air handed on my head. I saw nothing over his tail but I heard every word of the conversation that took place further away from us.

"I told you so," Viper called victoriously.

"Since he's still in that form I do not believe you can call victory. She merely gave him what he wanted. This does not count as calm." The tower Master argued reasonably. She was right, if anything this was a trial, where error meant there would be no phase two.

"Look at his face, does that look aggressive to you?"

"....." I shut my eyes and I shook my head at her. Beside me, one of Venom's claws gingerly rubbed up against my blood soak shirt repeatedly. I was impressed by how careful he was with his claws, I mean it still felt like I was being smothered against a tree but still, it was impressive.

"He wasn't the cutest of the bunch but you don't have to make that face at me. Give him a moment to assess her for himself and make sure she's not gravely wounded and then hell be back to his not-normal self."

"He doesn't look like a dragon." I tensed at the suspiciousness that was evident in her tone. Venom's belly shook as he let out a low vibrating sound that gave off clicks every few seconds. His claw dropped lower as it poked my legs. I moved it away by the third poke. He stopped.

"We're of a similar family branch," Viper said casually.

"How similar?"

"Still in the 'D' section." If I could pick up on her amusement I was sure the Master of the tower could as well.

"What does that mean?" I waited for the answer as well. I recognized that if I weren't in the position that I was in now I would have found this conversation humorously.

"It means we're still dragon folk." she lied effortlessly. I let out a sigh. Venom let out his own sigh as well. I glared at his tail and reached for the bond, pulling, sure nothing would come of it but was surprised when I was met with resistance.

"Venom?" I called out softly, looking up. He blinked down at me, so I pulled again. This time he gave it his own tug. My body went limp against him as I was pulled into my mind and then dragged into his own.

His mind was a landscape of nature. Last time it had been winter in a blizzard and now it was a heavy, thunderous rainfall in the middle of the ocean as waves rose and crashed violently against one another before being pulled down by the victor. I held very still, not sure what it was that kept me above water and not wanting to go under. The sky was an endless inky black, only the constant thunderbolts that filled the sky from far away and sometimes nearby, illuminated the sky to show dark blue clouds and purple hues at random. I looked down as cold seawater lapped up at my boots. I was standing on a large flat rock. That still wasn't very comforting. What was supporting the rock? Where was Venom? Even though this was his mind, if I called out, I was uncertain of what could respond to my call. I suppose I would have to risk it.

"Venom?" My voice came out shaky so I cleared it and tried again, breathing in deeply before I belted out his name, screaming it over the thunder and crashing waves. "Venom!"

'Hurt.'

I twisted around trying to find the source of the sound that rang out clearer than all the sounds that went around, the voice that sounded nothing like the man I knew, but the melancholic feel to it, sounding just right. Forgetting about my fear of the structure of the rock I stood on I trudged ahead, fighting against the harsh wind, and peered from over the edge.

'Dying.'

I could see nothing for the longest of times, no matter how much I squinted, so I ran around to the other side, following the edge of the rock until I dropped to my knees in desperation and nearly dove my face underwater. Rain pelted at my back, but the chilling temperatures of the water were like a shock to my head. The shock of the change of temperatures forced me to lunge back as I took in a piercing breath that sounded more like a whistled gasp. I panted, hands behind me on the slick rock as I stared at the water.

'Again.'

The torment in his voice made me push forward and back onto my knees which cried in protest at the hard surface they pushed against. I took hold of the edge with a knuckle-aching grip and dove down again. This time, I knew what to expect so I only shuddered as I opened my eyes and looked around.

'Blood.'

The voice wailed again. As I had suspected, there was no base to the rock, it was just floating on the surface. I peered under it to see a world of darkness and swirls of bubbles. The faintest light shone down below as thunderstruck nearby. I lifted my head slightly to look ahead, but the darkness made the sea its abyss.

'Hurt.'

My feet kicked as my lungs burned, my head filling with blood at such an awful angle, but then from below, something moved opposite of it all. All I caught was the long shape of something withering, curling in on itself. Light flashed from above me and the bottom of the sea shone with a shimmering silver close to white.

'Dying.'

I flew back and took in multiple breaths as I stared at the water below. My body shook, my clothes heavy from the water, but my head no longer felt the heavy rain. I stood up on tired knees and placed my hand on them, panting as I stared at the ground. I focused on my breathing, slowed it down, and then took in a deep breath before taking another before the air was even partially out and stood up. I walked over to the edge, looked down, and then dived with my arms over my head.

'Again.'

Pins and needles against my skin, I held back the gasp that wanted to leave me in the shock of the temperature and just continued to swim down. Kept my sights straight ahead, lest I let my imagination get the best of me of what else could be in these waters. Venom's world was much more grounded in primordial nature than mine. Even trying to chant 'It's all in his head' was no help in soothing me. The mind was just another weapon if used correctly.

'Blood.'

I could see him then, swimming aimlessly in a circle around nothing but himself, like a serpent twisting in on itself. I swam as close as I dare but now what? I was within his mind as he had wanted me to be, but he had left me on the rock while he cried down below. This couldn't have been the sight he wanted me to behold. I reached for the bond and pulled, unsure if that would do anything but willing to give it a try. When nothing happened and my air supply was lowering dangerously fast I gave him one last look before heading back up. The water stirred behind me, the rising water that fluttered below my feet, my eyes widened as I looked down to see him rushing at me at with frighteningly fast pace. There wasn't much to do in the water as he flew past me, the force of his pace twisting and hurling me off course as I was carried off by the waves made by his body. I kicked about, trying to right myself with closed eyes as the thousands of bubbles stung at my eyes. He continued swimming around me now, knocking me off course whenever I thought I was righted, my body twirled and sunk in whichever direction he so pleased, catching me in his ensnarl. When I was somewhat right and he had become still, I tried to find my sense of direction to find I had none.

No light source, no sense of up or down, and soon no air. My temples burned and my chest came alive with a supplication for air. Something brushed up against my back, large and smooth, bumping me forward so suddenly that it knocked the remaining air out of me. My hands went to my mouth as if the action would retain what I had just lost. I looked around wildly for a flash of light from above as desperation and fear clawed at me. What would happen if I died here? I did not wish to find out. Again he bumped me, and out of frustration and panic, I screamed underwater, bubble coming forth.

"STOP!" The sound echoed so clearly, I sunk a few inches as I froze, the sensation of water not filling my mouth prompting me to risk growing as I took in a deep breath. Relief filled my body before my mind could process the fresh flow.

A small bubbling laugh spilled from me before I cupped my head and just let the sounds continue to pour even as I stared wide-eyed at the large body coiled around me in this darkened cold space. I wasn't drowning or dead. I threw my head back and laughed maniacally before all sound and movement ceased from me as I just stared around me halfheartedly. Where was he? Where were his eyes? I could feel them on me.

"Venom." I call out. I did not recognize my tone of voice. I was too tired to be kind, too worried to be serene. The body around me moved, slithering and uncurling as his eyes peeked from in between an opening to my left. His eyes were light and illuminating flowering in the dark as they glowed a familiar gold, with small flecks of red and green at the edges.

"Mykela." I let out a sigh of relief at the smooth hiss of his voice. There were a lot of things I could have said, but all that I found myself asking was;

"Are you okay?" I waved my hands around me, now that I had air and my body had grown accustomed to the temperature, it was a somewhat enjoyable atmosphere.

"No." he breathed out solemnly. I nodded. I was starting to get an understanding of his composure by his eyes alone now. The more gold he showed, the more I knew the Venom I could speak to reigned over his instincts.

"That's alright."

"Coming from you I'm not sure how to take that." I pursed my lips, not about to press that matter.

"What, umm." I was unsure how to continue. " Do you want to talk about it?" I offered awkwardly.

"Would you be willing to listen?" Surprise colored his scales, and a glimmer of the slightest bit of rainbow traveled down in a spiral of his form. The light cast from his own scales bounced behind me, illuminating the space he created for me to hover in.

"I'm here aren't I?"

"Yes," he breathed out. "You are. Why is that? Aren't you afraid of me?"

I looked elsewhere. "I-I don't...know."

"Why you are here or the latter?" From farther away, a flash of light went off before disappearing. We were further down than I thought.

"I'm here to try and help you, but as for the fear I suppose me being here means I am not so afraid of your form anymore."

"But you are of me."

"I am weary but," the more I spoke the more my jumbled emotions became thoughts I could understand and the moment of epiphany came upon me. "Oh."

My fear of Venom had been valid, he had done everything I had come to fear, but not exactly in the way I had come to expect from him. Even in his lost state of wildness, all he had wanted to do was be close to me, to check on me. Here too, in his saddened state of mind, he had managed to snap out of it to get me to breathe in phantom waters. None of his actions had been something I could expect from him because the next thought shamed me, but it was that I had only expected the worst to happen. As always, I braced for pain and misery. I didn't need to dig too deep to know why, but now the truth sat in my stomach like a heavy stone as I watched him, both of us in silence. Instead of questioning me for my sudden lack of words, it was as if he knew I was working through something and merely waited for me to be ready to reach out first. Like always. Like he had always done. My fear of Venom had been valid, but so was his love for me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"...do you know why you are apologizing?" he rumbled softly.

I nodded, looking up to meet his scrutinizing glare. He read the sincerity, and perhaps even the guilt on my face as his eyes widened fractionally before he hummed.

"Well, then I accept your apology." he said easily.

"You don't know what it's for." I pointed out. The sound of his laughter, not withstrained or muffled filled the space, it was as easy as the sway of the water.

"Nothing you've done to me has warranted me to want one from you, so if you have given me one it is because you feel it has weighed heavily on you. If I can help remove the burden by accepting then that is easy to do."

"You are a good person Venom." And I am sorry to see how long it took me to accept that fact.

"...you aren't just saying that to get me to change back, are you? Because I do not think I will take kindly to this deception."

I couldn't help the free laughter that came from me. I shook my head back and forth, grinning at the irony of it all. I was finally opening up and he thought it to be a lie. I could see where the sudden change could seem like a trick, but still, I was trying. "No lie, I promised to try, remember?"

"I'm not that nice of a person," he mumbled lowly, almost confessedly. "I too hold negativity and can cause harm." Why did he sound petulant to my ears?

"I know. No need to try and convince me on the matter." I got back to business, I wasn't sure how long we were in here for but far too long already by my count. "But really, do you think you could change back now? I'm not comfortable with leaving Viper with the Master of the tower."

He said nothing for the longest moment, then his body twisted around me, tightening as he leaned forward, his head parting through his body. I wasn't afraid of him, but it was still intimidating. I pushed back until I was against him, he stopped in front of me.

"Did she hurt you? Was that why you were bleeding?" apprehension filled me at the bellicose tone he used. Why did something about his voice give me chills when the water already felt like ice? "Was it her?"

I stared at him fixedly, somehow sensing it would be harder to stop him from making an attempt on the Master of the tower than if Viper went for it. If they teamed up, I would be screwed. "No, I just had a nasty run-in with a few mirrors. I healed myself with the healing potions I had on me, but there was nothing to change into."

"You bleed a lot." he said dissatisfaction clear, I gaped at him. "I don't like it."

"There were a lot of shards. There's nothing to worry about now, I'm fine." Excuse me for having a normal blood supply.

"Your definition of fine," He shook his large head, pulling back as the water began to bubble from below. I looked down as a whirl of white began to approach us fast, his body began to disappear as my own was pulled like a heavy tied had come out of nowhere. "I'll be the judge of that."

I tried to swim to where he was, but when the bubbles caught up to me I brought my arms over my face at the strange sensation. It was like warm water bubbling all over me, massaging me as it carried me away.

"What does that-" I tried speaking but before I could finish my sentence my mind was shocked out of his space with a firm shock that left me dazed.

I could make out voices speaking around me, but I could not focus on their words, it all sounded like jibberish as I slowly gained the sensation of my toes and then my feet. It felt as if my whole body had fallen asleep at an awkward angle. As the pin and needles sensation grew, I stiffened not trying to make it worse as I realized, this was more likely due to the blood loss. I had been working on adrenaline and when I was pulled from my body, everything caught up and now my mind was becoming aware of it all. I groaned, hating this full-bodied sensation. Something tightened around my torso, dragging me up against another firm sensation. I lifted my head slightly, blinking repeatedly as blurry objects began to take form.

The first thing I saw was the ground, I focused on a dent until my eyes sight was normal and then looked up at the long pale limb, covered in faint white scales, then I looked down at my leg. Thigh, knee, calf. All muscle and long, but most obviously, not mine. I wiggled my foot. The foot at the end of that long pale leg did not follow the motion. I blinked and looked elsewhere as my eyes slowly widened, my brows inching up to what felt like my hairline. I commanded my arm to move, to flit myself up, but it only flopped around uncoordinated, I took hold of whatever it was that was slightly curved and tried to apply pressure to rise, but all I managed to do was grip it weakly. Everything under me tensed. Tensed? Hmm, soft but hard. Then I noticed I was rocking, no, there was a rhythmic back and forth like someone breathing under me.

I turned my head back around to find a pair of gold ones looking down at me. Venom was back in his human form and was using those human limbs to hold me to his chest. I was pretty sure, my hand was on his waist. His outgrown white hair was disheveled all over the place, hanging over his eyes as he smiled down at me, not holding back. No fangs poked out from his lips as he brought a hand up and brushed something off of my face. Why was this moment more terrifying than when I decided it was perfectly fine to dive into unknown waters? I looked down as I basically slammed my head into his collarbone and groaned. He grunted, tightening his hold on me.

"Rest now, we'll handle the smaller details." He leaned down to whisper softly into my ear. I shivered and muttered something incoherently into his smooth skin. "Shh." I felt a hand land in my tangled hair, patting a soothing path from my head down my neck and onto my back. I melted.

I tried to fight the days of refusing to sleep to save time, the blood loss, and the mental exhaustion but on his fourth run down my back all I could do was let go now that I knew I was safe to do so around him.

* * * *

Rather than waking well-rested, I found myself in an even tighter grip than the one I had slumbered into. Waking up into problems seemed fitting for me, so I didn't even bother trying to break out of his hold and sighed instead. He tightened his grip around my throat an infinitesimal amount before opening his hand slightly. He was half sat up with my back to him. I did a quick evaluation of myself and our surroundings. Not that I didn't trust him, even wrapped around me like an angry python, but it was habit.

Physically I felt as normal as I usually did, sore muscles, small aches, and a strain on my chest. If he had held me during my sleep then he moved as I did because I felt no discomfort of position. I don't know if that thought was something I was supposed to accept so easily. My skin felt soft and clean, which meant I was out of what I had been wearing since I felt only silk and chiffon on my being and was very liberated in the legs department. I narrowed my eyes at the exquisite artwork done to the ceiling of the draped large canopy bed I had figured we were on. I was definitely wearing something of Vipers. I had pajamas. These were not it.

"Venom?" I called calmly, glancing over to the side. The curtains around us were pulled open at the sides, deep purples and dark greens. There was a marble cream dresser further away, a red chair to the side of the bed with my bag.

"Mykela." He hissed out unhappily. I lifted my head slightly to see a large mirror on my left, I couldn't catch a good sight of us. I'm not sure I wanted to. I laid back down.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Since nothing was on fire and I doubted the Master of the tower treated her prisoners so kindly, it couldn't have been too grave.

"Viper changed you out of your bloodied clothes."

"Do you not like her choice of attire-" I could vehemently agree there too and I was yet to see what she had slipped me into.

"She saw your wound." His cold clarifying words stuck me still. He lowered his tone as he whispered accusingly into my ear. "It's spreading faster." There was barely restrained anger and something else in his voice.

"I was going to tell you." Even to my ears, that sounded like a terrible excuse. He scoffed. "I was. Later. Or now, since we're already at the tower and can get someone to look at it."

"It's not as if I am surprised you would keep it to yourself, but after all this time you continue to just-"

"It is not that I was hiding it from you two because I did not trust you, I just wanted to lessen the strain if you were too-"

"So concerned you are for others when you lack the same treatment for yourself. It is our choice of how we feel-"

"Well pardon me for caring." I snapped, attempting to cross my arms over my chest and instead going over his bicep.

"No." He replied quickly

My mouth opened. "No? You don't forgive me?"

"No, I don't." he was resulute.

"Well, why not?"

"Because to accept it now would be a lie, so I will inform you in the future when I have changed of opinion."

When he put it like that it left me with little room to argue. "That sounds fair."

The room continued in silence as I went over our fast argument. Replying it all made me huff out angrily, but then I chuckled and laughed softly as I shook my head. He shifted behind me, I could feel his curious eyes peering down at me.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked cautiously. I shrugged.

"It's not the worst way to wake up. We're in the tower, right? Where's Viper? What happened while I've been sleeping?" I rolled out of his hold and onto my side, and he let me go easily. I turned back around to face him, putting my head on my hand, elbow on the bed.

Venom was in his usual unusual choice of clothing. I wasn't sure what he wore from the waist down but from the waist up he wore some loose white billowy night blouse, a long V-neck that made me follow the trail in curiosity to see if it would ever actually button close. When I got to his waist and my question remained unanswered, my brows lifted, my mouth moving side to side to resist the upwards tilt I felt coming on. My eyes trailed back up, following the ridges of hard muscle and lingering on the occasional scale that lay where skin would be. I was wearing silk and yet his skin looked softer, I rubbed at the pads of my fingers when they twitched. When he did not answer me I looked up. Burning gold shone brightly in the absence of his shrinking pupil. He shook his head softly, shaking the strands of hair that framed his face, the ends nearly translucent and glowing white.

"How indecent you look at me." he reached out with his hand, taping my chin twice. "How indecent you make me feel." Warmth blossomed as I narrowed my eyes at his sly smile.

I smirked at him. "You are perfectly dressed for indecency." I pushed up until I was resting on the headboard next to him. "Now please answer my questions."

His expression fell, but he did as asked.

"After you succumbed to exhaustion, Miss Florence was more than willing to show us to our accommodations after witnessing my slip of control. Viper took it upon herself to change you while I spoke to her about the importance of secrecy to which she displeasingly remarked that we were a distrusting group of visitors but that you had already gotten her to agree to your own dealings earlier and to speak to you on those details. You have only slept for three hours, so I would take it as a personal favor if you could at least lay down for another three," he gave me a look that I ignored. He looked away and muttered something, his hand covering his face to muffle out the words. When he turned back I lifted both brows. "Of course not. It is a quarter to eight so if you wish to have a meal, it's been hinted to us that the residents of the tower are on the nocturnal side so eating late is encouraged. If you wish to call for Miss Florence she said that ringing that, would alert someone that would inform her of your inclination for a conversation with her." He motioned over to a long bronze threaded rope by two large doors.

"Did she give any mention to her wizard of choice for us?" He was shaking his head before I was finished with my question.

"No specific details. I think she is waiting for something before she gives us what we require from her. On one hand, I think my true nature riled her interest since when she was not conversing wit me, Viper had to bear the weight of her curiosity. We've agreed to be vague in that regard until we know more, but that woman is persistent. On the other hand, I suspect it is you that she is waiting for. I do not suspect she knows who you are, but there was a glean to her odd eyes I did not like."

"You shouldn't call her eyes odd," I admonished softly, looking over to the rope by the door. The room wasn't all that large but it was spacious enough to be more than a guest room. It was a little too well taken care of in my opinion to just be where guests stayed. Perhaps she was serious in her offer to have me work for her. "I should get dressed then. Wait."

I turned to look him over, I scooted off of the bed before turning around to glare at him, hands on my waist. "Whose room is this? Mine or yours?"

"Ours." he brought his hands behind his head, bright eyes steady on my face. I don't know what I'm wearing exactly but the chest dip I feel makes me sure his eye contact was purposeful. "Turns out when you want minimum eyewitnesses the best thing is to use less space."

"If sharing a room is needed then why are you my roommate and not Viper?"

"Miss Florence seems to think you and I are lovers." he lowered his voice and widened his eyes in false pretense, whispering as he leaned forward. "She must know something we do not. Do you think she is psychic?"

"And you didn't clarify while speaking to her did you?" his side glance as he looked around the floor wasn't that of a guilty sign, but a staling one. He tilted his head back and forth like a balancing beam unsure of which excuse to use, I'm sure. The floors were cold, but stained wood that gave the room a certain type of feel, which I was certain was for lovers. My lips pressed together as I waited.

"It must have slipped my mind," he said finally, bringing a hand to his forehead he winced. "I too was resting with you, my mind wasn't at its sharpest."

The gull on this man had me giving a disbelieving smile as I just shook my head at his unflinching ability to come up with excuses while looking at me with the knowledge that he was doing so and had no shame to continue. "So I assume Viper will be sleeping here as well then."

"She turned the offer down on account of needing more legroom." he smiled apologetically. "I hope you understand."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, eyeing myself in the mirror as I passed it and went to grab my backpack. It had survived, what a joyous reunion. Yes, I was definitely wearing something of Vipers. She even put me in the robe that came with the dress. I grimaced at the nasty dark bruise on my chest so front and center before disappearing under the lacey-oh god this thing hid nearly nothing. I ripped my clothes out of the bag with gusto and went into the door across from the bed. The bathroom was better equipped than the one from the IN we had been staying at. A golden tub, cascading shower head in between an actual morphed waterfall that jutted out from the wall, a floor-to-ceiling mirror wall that showed every angle of the white stoned floor, and burgundy red walls with black outlining. A dark green lounge chair surrounded by decorated plush pillows and a side table with cups and drinks of choice. I looked across the room to check to see if the toilet would be made of gold as well. Thankfully it was not.

I made use of the bathroom, taking a fast shower and getting all of the dried blood out of my hair. Being clean, really clean came rare when on the run and in hiding. I wasn't sure if it was to follow the flow of the room or if the rooms gave what the person staying in would want most, but I used the oils generously. My hair had been through hell and back and I wasn't usually vain, but it was driving me mad watching the heat get to it. I rubbed the tips of my fingers on my scalp, and the ends of my hair, feeling the water hit my back. A small mercy to whatever was to come. By the time I came out, my hair felt softer and if there was a pep in my step then it had to do with being clean. I found Venom at the end of the bed, cross-legged with his hands on the bed behind him, his head back as he stared at the ceiling blankly. I tossed the offensive garment on the bed and stood in front of him.

He had changed into a large knitted white sweater with a low V closing with white oak buttons that hung off of his frame and had apparently opted to wear nothing else beneath it. He wore his usual favorite dress slacks, cream in color. From his first button to the exposed skin of his chest, I traveled upward with my eyes at the subtle muscle that showed, his long neck where wrapped around his throat was that white leather he had worn previously. It wrapped around his neck three times before being tied a the back, the excess hanging. My eyes followed the curve of the leather, the way it rubbed against his skin when he breathed, and then up the striking jawline and upturned soft lips-

"Hungry?" he mouthed, the corners of his eyes slanted in good humor. There were signs of him running his fingers through his hair, slight disturbances as it laid back.

"Not particularly," I answered looking away and pretending to fix something at my waist. Neatly trimmed nails on long fingers took hold of my hands and tugged gently on my hands until I looked up in question.

"Are you not nervous at all?" he peered up curiously, slightly tugging at my hands until I took a step closer. "We might be meeting someone who can actually get the curse off of you."

Ah, that. I pondered over his question for a moment, really weighing the situation. There was no excitement, or fear, no real strong emotion to lead me to any belief I felt anything at all other than weariness for what was to come. We would either find someone useful or we wouldn't. If things did not work out then we would only have the option to continue forward, like always. If luck was on my side then I would move on from there. I did not want to waste time with what could be and what I would hope to happen. When it came down to it, whatever took place would gain my full attention. I wondered if I was being so nonchalant about this because I did not want to have false hope. False hope could be much more crippling than a mortal wound.

"I do not feel any particular..." I trailed off as his face took on a sad hue and reworded my answer without thinking about why I wanted to do such a thing. "I think, I am waiting to see how it goes," I said stiffly. He nodded encouragingly. There was something embarrassing about this moment that had me shifting in my spot. I pulled my hands free and walked over to the cord and pulled on it twice.

No time like the present to see if I would have a future. It did not take too long for a knock on the door to come. I was a little taken aback to see a familiar guiding us, but only because I hadn't seen one in so long. The right blue, yellow-eyed cat was no doubt the tower Master. It guided us with leisurely steps and arching back down the vacant stone halls and to the right where a foreboding red door awaited. It passed through without a care as I knocked twice and awaited for the go-to. When it came before I could grab hold of the door knob a masculine hand came from behind me and pulled effortlessly. There we found Viper already sitting in a lone chair on the left from the Master of the tower, cleaned, legs crossed, and sipping tea. The office was grand but jam-packed with books in different stages of existence, papers on the floor, pinned to walls, and on any and every flat surface with multiple scrawls or writing on them. The desk that faces the front door had stacks of books and papers that towered higher than the high chair behind the desk itself. I think the only deflectable surface was the table between the two sofas that faced each other and even that table was filled with snacks, powders, and liquids and I am certain there were some things that were not supposed to be mixed right next to each other.

"Welcome, tea?" The Master of the tower offered politely, green and yellow eyes swirling over the rim of her own cup.

"I shall pass, but thank you."

"Very well, shall we jump directly into the cauldron?" she motioned for me to take a seat right across from her, so I planted myself, Venom took the chair across from Viper.

"That would be greatly appreciated."

"Now, who are you exactly?" her cup made a resounding sound once it hit the plate, something that brought the mind to full focus. "I'll admit that I wasn't too concerned for who you were when I decided to do Robert this favor since I know him to be a reasonable man, but I've seen too much to think he simply sen over someone harmless. I will help, but I think it's only fair I know who I am dealing with."

"Is it just me you are interested in knowing about or?" We faced each other with telling smiles, she glanced off to the side with a tilt of her head, shrugging lightly.

"You do keep fascinating company around," she admitted.

"I've had to decline becoming an experiment at least forty-eight times already." Viper tisked, her foot bouncing rapidly in the air. She glared over to the tower Master, agitation clear as her tongue lashed out and shook in fury. I blinked twice. 

"Discovering everything there is to know about one's self is so much more educating when done in depth." her sickly sweet tone made no progress on softening Viper's opinion.

Viper pointed a finger at her. "Look away from me crazy woman, I refuse."

Green and yellow eyes turned to the silent Venom then, questioning brow raised. "And you sir?"

"Not interested." he replied without pause, not even looking her way as he looked around the room. The master of the tower did not look too put out as she then turned to face me, fingers interlocking. 

This would be tricky. I was bound to have to tell her and if not her, the wizard she would introduce us to more about the curse and unavoidably, about me. The biggest issue was how I went about it. I could drop my name and wait for her to investigate herself, but if my name was suddenly brought up only troublesome consequences would come to occur. I had to find a way to hint at my background before I let my name slip. I wasn't just guilty by association. I was undeniably guilty. I had to proceed cautiously and hope the master of the tower was cunning enough to read in between the lines and make a conclusion that was favorable to me.  

"Which leaves me with only one inquiry to follow. One with actual answers."

"Is the room secure to talk?" her brow twitched, clear offense to my question showing in the way she leaned back.

"The entirety of the tower is." she bit out before continuing with composure.  "But yes, my office is well informed for sensitive conversations as it appears we will have."

It was with great care that I chose my next words. "I hear you are not a fan of the Council. Is that true?"

Her smile was all edges, teeth, and claws and that was the impression I got from the form of her lips alone. Her unusual, expressionless eyes stayed true to their mystery, but the air around her grew charged, tense. A silent warning. The room stilled as everyone became immensely aware that anything could go wrong. But this reaction of hers was the exact one I was hoping for. Just mentioning them made her tense.

I nodded in understanding, a mask of sympathetic understanding. I was once on at the end of their sword too before becoming the one who wielded it so brutally. "They do have a way of leaving a twisted impact on whoever is unfortunate enough to land in their sights."

"That is one way of seeing it." she hadn't blinked since the moment I said their name, her lips barely moved, but her pronunciation was crystal clear, each word wielded like a shard of glass.    "Did you have such a moment?"

"Rather than myself," I pretended to think over my words. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Venom's disapproving stare. He knew what I was up to. "You could say I was used to exploit a lot of little twisted moments."

"Used to exploit...that's a rather guilty set of words in this context." her composure was impressive, she did not fidget, or show whatever it was that she was contemplating as she studied me with a blank expression. What made her so impressive, made me slightly worried. She wasn't firing off questions, which was a tell sign of her own impression on us, me, already.

"I would consider it the right words to use then." she looked off to Venom who had given a disagreeing hiss. "I say this because I think telling you who I am might lead to a misunderstanding."

"It is my understanding that you hold a complex relationship with the Council, but you are telling me this before you tell me who you are because your name holds some meaning. You couldn't be one of their pawn pets or the criminals they enslave, Robert would have refused to help you otherwise." Time to throw out the bait.

"Though they might be separated and sectioned off, named and trained, to the Council there's not much of a difference in what or who they use." This caused her eyes to sharpen. She had caught on at once at the implication of my words. The Council, by their very nature, was not a group of people you ever wanted to get to know or admit to being around for long enough to think you knew them. 

"You speak as if you know them personally." did her voice become distorted just now? My ears warned as alarmed straightened my backbone. 

"In the past, I'm not so sure now, but I'm sure there are some things that have remained unchanged." Let her make of that what she will. Of course, I did not expect her to take me for my word but since I was here asking for help and secrecy... "You haven't recognized me on your own yet which means you might not have heard of me."I lifted my eyes to meet her's properly for the first time. 

I held still as the excitement in my body caused my hands to tremor as I gave into the pull and met her eyes, deep with my being fell and pulled at her, and I felt her power fill me as my eyes began to change, an odd sensation as they swirled. My mind split, keeping focus on what was going on around me as the other part analyzed her power and its usage.

Her power was like standing on an electric wire over a vast empty pond void of life or greenery. It cut into my feet, but the sting enriched me with an unnatural tranquility of expectation. I had no physical body to see and yet I knew it existed in this plane, and every twitch of my finger was a ripple on the surface of the pond, but it was like watching water come alive to the power of sound vibrations. It jumped, thrummed, leaped, but it was not liquid. I dipped a toe into the pond below me and realized at once this was her power in complete form and the electric wire was what she used to pull from it. If she were to dive into all of this...I'd expect her to show everyone why she was the Master of the tower, but it was questionable if she would remain sane to all of this reactive power. Her world was calm but her waters nearly begged to for the surface to be disturbed. I bent down and touched the wire with my hands and the outside world turned into something different through my new eyes. Bright colors dulled, dull colors grew in vibrancy and the magical particles that touched this world and its people were painfully easy to read. At once I understood that the reason her eyes swirled was that she was constantly going in a state of on-and-off reading off of her two sights, most likely the easiest compromise on her eyes even if it meant a stain on her mind. Her normal sight allowed her to see as any other, while her second sight informed her of things even the sharpest of senses would miss. 

I felt a tug of companionship. Just because one had it at its fingertips, and could wield it when one wished, did not mean they were supposed to. Or that there would be anything left of them if they did so. Yet, it was also a risk to try and ignore what was rightfully meant to be used. It was a fine line to walk and she had seemingly taken that very literally. Her power was immense and her options on how to wield it vastly. Creation was the easiest but there was already a rhythm to her power I was yet to see so I was not sure what it meant. She clearly had no problem with controlling the labyrinth so puppetry and matter manipulation was something I guessed too then there was the change of scenery but that all felt like we had dropped through the roof and landed elsewhere. It felt different from teleportation, but whatever it was that she did I was still too new to the new forms of usage of magic.

At the present moment, my words brought her genuine confusion, a line appeared above her right eyebrow, but as soon as my eyes mirrored her it cleared away to alarm, disbelief, and then instinctual flight. I say the last because her hand shot out in my direction not a moment later as a thread of direct power tried to coil around my throat. I dipped my foot into her power and dissolved it before it reached my neck. It fell away like foam. She stood and stepped back, right through the couch, and raised both arms, face carved in stone. To his credit, the only thing Venom did was grip the armrest of his chair while he gave the tower Master a blood-curdling glare. Viper snorted before bringing her cup up to her mouth. 

"Hi, I'm Mykela Debrouhs, formerly known as the Council's Huntress." I reached out like her with one hand in the air and let a thread of gold make its way to her neck as she had tried to do to me, but I let mine travel slowly so she could watch the control I had over the same power she used. 

Her eyes flickered from me to the hovering string in front of her repeatedly. Raising her arms she brought a finger up and poked at it. She flinched before staring a moment longer at her own attack. Jaw clenched she inhaled sharply before a polite smile took over and she confidently waved her hand in front of her, dissolving it all as she took a step forward, through the couch, and sat back down as if nothing had happened.

"Your name does sound vaguely familiar, but what I do recognize is the power of the Huntress. Many a time have I heard others who had plotted against the Council utter thanks to not having to face their beloved pet." If her words were meant to antagonize me they missed the mark. I smiled modestly. "Pardon my language, but should you not be old or dead by now?"

What was it with my age that was the first comment they felt was needed to comment on? 

"Though she looks young, she is old and cranky." my head snapped over to Viper's not-so-slick commentary.

"Should you be speaking when you are older than me?" I bit back with a smile. Her lips parted before pinching close.

"Touché." she muttered looking away.

"Last I heard there is a reward out for you." Hopefully, the tower wasn't in a financial problem or I would be the solution. 

"Thus the secrecy."     

"Traitor something, if I'm right." she lifted a hand to her face, tapping on her chin. Her aura wasn't as stable as her, magic flickered and dissolved around her in bright blues and purples, with hints of flaming greens. Was this a representation of her emotional state? Or was she choosing her next attack? If I prepared a defense against her now, she would see as I would when she struck out, but if it wasn't an attack then she might take my defense as offense. Should I take a hit? 

"A helpful title when wanting to prove to someone of my dire state of need and the end of a truly awful relationship. Personally, I do not wish to get involved with them again."

"The split does not seem to be mutual." she murmured thoughtfully as the fierce aura around her began to die down. I still did not release my hold on her power just in case it was a front.

"Exactly." I grinned viciously. The seconds ticked on as she fixed on me intensely, I held still and shared back with as much confidence and conviction as I could muster. It seemed to pay back as the left side of her mouth lifted in a slight smirk.

"If I help you, you will owe me." I tilted my head to the side in acknowledgment. Her hands flexed. "Work for me," she demanded.

"No." taken aback she grew rigid.

"You have a price on you and you need help, I would be the right person to take refuge under." her tone grew harsh, eyes daring me to disagree. "Saying no would be foolish."

"I do have a price on me and I do need help, but I would say that what I know and what I can do are worth more than the reward for handing me over. Most importantly," removing all pretenses of ease from my face I replied in just a harsh, if not warning tone as she had tried to use on me.  I bowed here, she would try to forever force me with threats and I was not going to partake in that. "If you have a grudge against anyone in the Council I'm the best person to keep a cordial relationship with."

"Because you know them best-" she scoffed.

"Because I know them at their worst." I corrected sharply. "You said so yourself, a beloved pet does not require a public facade or a kind hand to get them to kneel. Surely you have your reasons to hate them, but any attacks you wish to throw their way are more than likely to fail because they are so well surrounded by the talents they collect and control. Even if you do achieve the rare well-landed strike, it will not fester as you wish and when they retaliate your world will burn to ash as they collar you to their side."

"You've already contradicted yourself, you said you do not know if they have changed. How am I supposed to believe anything that comes from you will be useful for me now? Don't get me wrong, I see your value, but I would be the foolish one to take you by word of mouth." It was true, in her position if she tried to wield me as a weapon and I turned out to be nothing but a dull dagger, she would lose much more than I. 

"Even if her information is not recent, her reputation precedes her so you know what she is capable of working alone." Venom intercepted forthrightly, clasping his hands over his lap as he stared her down with a slow-growing grin, that was filled with predatory fulfillment. "Now that she isn't alone, well, that would make whatever task she has at hand easier for her allies."

"And both of you would join her, regardless?" The Master of the tower eyes Venom before trying to gauge Viper's reaction. My brows twitched at the feeling his words gave me. I knew Viper's answer without having to listen to her. 

Companionship, not out of duty or guilt, or even reason. Could someone be so overly overwhelmed with underwhelming emotions about something that they knew but could not accept before? This was not a building sensation that wanted to explode from my chest, but a slow sensation of realizing the warmth on my shoulders came from a blanket that had long been laid over me while I focused only on the cold of the outside world. 

"We've been with her for too long to leave her when things are about to get fun." she chuckled before continuing on with a fevered opinion. "Besides, even if she has us I think you would like to be the one to deliver a decisive blow for whatever they have done to wrong you. You would do good to invest in her information and mentality of deviousness-" I opened my mouth to ask what she was implying, but decide against it and shut my mouth. Venom looked away with a small smile. "-and manipulating the odds against her in her favor. I mean I don't know much of Masters of towers, but if she managed to come here with two creatures you can't even identify then you would miss out sorely for whatever other mysteries she could bring forth."

I stared at Viper's sly smile, impressed by her own deviousness for situation manipulation. Using the tower Master's lack of information and control on this situation in our favor. She had just laid the perfect trap out, now I just had to toss out the bait.

"Are you familiar with the rules pertaining to trying to raise a Morning Star? Or have they already changed?" I asked. The sudden change of topic had her half turning my way, eyebrows drawing in slightly.

"Of course, I know of it, no witch, wizard, or creature past a level seven clearance can attempt to raise one," she replied unpleasantly, haunty.  "What of it? You're not going to tell me the Council has broken their own rule of judgment in the past, are you? I would believe you but it wouldn't be anything too shocking since they seem to think they are the only exception to their own rules."

"Good, I can skip the, ah." I was about to begin when a clearing of two throats made me toss an apologetic smile at them before I explained. "Raising a Morning Star is the official name of trying to summon a being of below or above, to do so would bring the calamity of a magnitude agreed by all communities to be punished by the purging of your whole race. It is different from demon summoning because it calls to try to bring forth a direct descendant of the main demonic bloodline, the ruler of hell. Trying to raise from above, the all-seeing creatures of divinity would be almost just as worse since in their laws we are all in some form or another seen as tainted beings of imperfections. They would purge the majority of us all before going after the demons, so it is really a loose situation for anyone to try."

Summoning the devil and his kin and you lose half the population, summon the beyond sky-bound entities and it was like eyeing the reset button. 

"Yes, that is why the human population is as low as it is now, they are barely returning but the punishment of receiving no gift, being the easiest to hunt, seems worse than death to me. They should have just remained gone, they're unfortunate to live in a eat the weak world." the tower Master tsked, shaking her head, a resemblance of pity on her face as she shook her head and sighed. "Perhaps elsewhere they would have thrived, their greed certainly pushes them to impressive, if not foolhardy achievements. What are you hinting at?" her eyes narrowed on me.  I let my hold over her power slip to ease the tension of what I was about to bring up.

"So that's why humans are so rare here?" Venom murmured, this comment caught her attention, she turned to look at him with suspicious interest. 

"Here?" she repeated. I sighed inwardly, I would have to explain that eventually if all went well and I had someone look over the curse. I was not looking forward to that. 

"The Morning Star ritual requires a large collection of souls, pain, life, and all the right spells. The number of people that know of the things needed for these rituals is under twenty." I continued, regaining her attention, but not her interest as she continued to eye Venom every now and then as she spoke. 

"Because the Council has confiscated all books and culled all people who knew of it, those who survived are sworn under secrecy and monitored. Are you implying that you know what is needed? Do you have that information?" she was not pleased by her own question, the corners of her mouth turned down on her impassive expression, she held still but buzzed with energy.

My head tilted to the head in wonder. "If I did would you wish to know?" If she wished to know I would tell her, but I did not wish to participate. 

"....no." she answered after a terse moment of thinking it over. Her reply was slow but sure. "Knowing that information would mean a death sentence." 

"Your right. I do not know of the spells, just the process of preparation." I confessed easily.

She jerked back in her seat, eyes widening fractionally as her mouth fell open before the words rushed out of her as she began leaning forward in alarm. "Wait, why would you-they really attempt to raise a Morning Star? You do not just jest for me to side with you?" 

"They do all sort of shady things they smite the public for even speaking of, but this is not the important issue here-"

"How is attempting to raise a Moning Star not important? This would mean they violated all sorts of treaties and codes of their oaths, not that haven't already, but this would be perfect to use against them."her hands slammed on the table as she nearly climbed over it to shout in the softest voice I had ever heard. She studied me before standing abruptly, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked down with distrust. "But only if there is solid proof of this? It's been too long for any of that to be proven true. This is the issue, you know much but it is of the past."

"Even so, would this not work to ado the public if they learned the Council risked having them all wiped out?" Viper brought up, leaning on the arm of her chair, head on her hand as she watched with glittering black eyes. 

"They are masters at dissolving public unrest and cutting off the legs of whatever protest makes its way to them." The tower Master replied impassively, mind elsewhere as she stared at the ground for a moment.

"Is there no one above them? Who do they answer to?" Venom then asked. 

"Each other." the Master of the tower answered once more before her head lifted as she focused on the discussion once more. "You say you have been with her for a long time, but you do not seem to be very informed of who she...worked with." I bit back the grin, she was very astute. 

"Like I said, a box of mysteries this one," Viper said dryly. She turned to stare at me with a contemplative look, her mouth moving side to side before she spoke. "You know the preparation for what is needed for such a ritual. A large quantity of souls and pain and all that jazz. Obviously, it didn't work since she didn't seem aware of it, but then my question is, did it fail or was it stopped before it could be fruitful?" Was she aware of the trap I was trying to set or was she genuinely curious herself? Either way, her loving of the matter, made the tower Master turn to stare at me with burning eyes, shadows appearing over her face as she tilted her head down.

"By knowledge of preparation, were you speaking of it in an educational form?" she asked softly, a lethal energy that soiled like a snake ready to strike. "Or first-hand experience?"

"Spill," Viper whispered, leaning forward towards me, hands motioning for me to continue, hands moving in circular motions around one another.  "You've got me on the edge of my seat and I'm only half following." 

I looked at the tower Master for a moment before looking down and then to the side at the silent, but watchful figure of Venom. I couldn't tell if he was purposefully expressionless or if he simply had no judgments about what was going on. The latter I knew to be false, he was breathing too shallowly, his stillness a match for the master of the tower. They were all waiting for the answer. I rubbed at the tips of my fingers for a moment, a memory of cold and pounding footsteps sounding off vividly as my box shook hauntingly. I opened my mouth.

"I have..." I looked up blankly at her. "a lot of blood on my hands." The words did not strike me with guilt or pain, there was nothing and that might have made it all the more worse to know it. How cold had I grown? Not to the monsters I had hunted, but of the moments when I had been forced to become one? 

"Who was it? Who attempted such atrocity? Where did they get the souls from?" she snarled, her face scrunching up as she spit the words out through clenched teeth. There was no natural wind within the confinement of the office, but her blue hair fluttered and danced to the emitting energy she was putting off, each strand coated in power. 

"Was it from the prison where you were kept?" Venom asked carefully, his voice dead. 

I shook my head. "No."

"Where?" the tower Master demanded again, taking a step forward, standing in the middle of the table, cups, and all the other things she had on the surface. Her hands were clenched

"Sometimes quality is preferable over quantity. That was the conclusion Overlord Devlin, Gaviel, Avrit, and Coptik." Saying their names made chills race from the base of my spin upwards to my hairline, a trickle of unease as if just saying their names would summon them. It was not as ridiculous as it sounded, but not as plausible. It was a lingering effect of the fear that had been ingrained into me while I was under their hands.  

"They were all in on it." the Master of the tower choked out stumbling back and falling back into the couch, head falling to her hands as she spoke more out loud than at us. "Those bastards are supposed to protect the peace of chaos, not stir it to their whim. Where did they get the souls from? What do you mean over quality?" she suddenly looked up, strain painting every inch of her being.

I pinched my lips together tightly for a moment, jaw clenching as a strong sting struck me in the middle of my face, my nose tingled as I blinked and looked away. When I turned back to face her she had a startled expression as if she knew my own reaction meant that the answer would be worse than anything she could ever imagine. She was right. She was so horribly right.

"There was once a group of individuals the Council responded to." I confessed in a whisper. My voice still sounded loud, but the hollowness of my words felt wrong. I had no right to be sad.    "Because they were the pinnacle of all magic."

"No." she rasped out horrified, her eyes swirling faster as she shook her head back and forth in denial. "No, no, that's-"

"The Royal House of Sisters of Sybil." 

"Hold your tongue!" she screamed standing once more as her power engulfed her hands all the way to the elbows, over her robe with potency, Venom stood but I raised a hand as she just stood there glaring at me with shaken eyes. "How dare you mention them in such a disgusting plot of treason. Even if the Council is of perfidy and vile structure, to act against the royal house would be unthinkable, unfathomable, and impossible. They were the heart of it all-"

"And the Council was just lucky enough to survive the Black Candle because the Sisters chose to sacrifice each and every member of their family for the survival of all casters, leaving us in the hands of their aids who were the sole survivors of a destruction that took all three main families, the branch families, twenty-eight sworn guards, thirteen watch men, six coven surrounding their territory and all familiars?" the callous way with which I tore down her denial, the way her face fell as my words struck her made me continue on bitterly, laughing humourlessly as I gave a self-loathing grin. "Yes, they were very lucky to survive the very attack they launched that night.

"You were yet to be in their hands when the House of Sybil fell, so how would you come to know of all of this?" she shot back aghast, torn as she questioned me. I could only imagine her shock. I had little time to process before I had to participate in the awful act.

"That's where your name came from, isn't it? Huntress." I turned to Viper. She did not turn away from my barren stare as she stared back with her own darkened eyes, void of judgment I wished I had seen even if she did not know exactly why. "They had you hunt any survivors of that night that managed to slip through their fingers." 

The sounds of justled leaves twigs snapping beneath weight and pleads filling the air, but I knew it was all within my mind, for a moment, my sight went dark. The moon high in the sky but its light was not enough to shine down on those in need of it, but perfect enough to do things for which no one wished to have seen in any light. Cold sweat gathers on my forehead, breath heavy as I panted in exhaustion and more, slick, everything was slick. The ground, my shoes, the leaves, and the ground. The tip of my nose was frozen cold, so I couldn't tell if it had rained previously or if it would, or if it was all the blood in the air. It all smelled the same at that moment. It all felt the same. I rubbed at my fingertips, snapping back to the present at the dry and calloused feel of it. 

"Is there any proof other than your words alone? The castle is gone, no bodies remained on scorched ground, no one has ever come forth to speak on the matter, and if they have they were already silenced." her hands slowly lost the vibrant thrum of glow that voted her as she brought one up to her forehead, rubbing at it without care, stray blue hairs falling over her face. "This is, this is something that would shake every community if true. All powerhouses would be forced to band together to come against the Council."

By removing the House of Sister of Sybil they challenged the head of all creature origins, the oldest of all beings would not stand for it, and their heirs would not be able to overlook a possible threat regardless of the dealings they had with the Council members. There was only so much that could be overlooked in public and then behind closed doors. Alliances that might have been impossible in the past would have a chance to form anew now. 

"The disappearance of the castle itself is the proof, the markings are not gone, they are visible through the phantom eye and the proper spell to raise a recreation of that night. Yes, there is a recording." I confirmed to her astonished look. It was the height of stupidity, but the brilliance of defense. "They each have one to use against the other should anyone of the Overlords wish to attack the other with it, each second copy manipulated to show only what they wish, but damning enough to bury them all if all copies can be brought forth. That is how I know of all of the details, I had to be briefed in order to know how the targets managed to escape, what trails they might have used to disappear, and who was most likely to aid them."

Her eyes narrowed on me as she jabbed a finger in my direction. I tried not to read to much into her expression. "That would make you a traitor to our own people. They were our rulers and you-"

"Did not have a choice." Venom hissed cutting her off, still standing, towering over her as silver scales climbed from out his collar and up his neck to his lower jaw. His eyes flashed hints of red, pupils contacting before settling into slits, faster than I had ever seen from him his human teeth sharpened. "Do resist the urge to cast judgment."

"Death over betrayal sounds like a choice to me, many have made it before. You are stating that a majority of the Council responsible for casters and mana participated in a horrendous crime to remove the Royaly House of Sisters of Sybil, the very heart of magic, and all for the failed purpose of using their lives to attempt to raise a Morning Star. A majority of the servants of the Council might have already perished, but all are dead and those then deserve to be tried for their involvement. The very fact that you dared utter such words and then confess to participating in the hunting of surviving members is-" she cut herself off as she stared at me before settling back down and crossing her legs, fixing her robe as she spoke in a much more subdued manner. "But I was not in your shoes and I am sure there is much more I will come to learn from you Mykela Debrouhs."

"So can we look forward to a cooperative partnership?"  Viper spoke in an ominous voice, not hiding it as she stared with ire, her hands planted on the armrests as she leaned forward slowly as if ready to launch herself across the room. Or across the table.  "Or will this be where our cordial relationship ends?"

The threats in the room did not go noticed, the tower Master turned to gauge both siblings in all of their imposing figures, a cruel line to the tilt of her lips, brows flattening out before she turned to stare at me, her smile dying off as a composed expression took place, her head tilted up as she stared me down, unperturbed by the two that waited for the wrong move to make their own. 

"Answer me two things."       

"Only if I have the answer to it." 

"Is the rest of what you know of the Council, their actions and secret planings as damning as what you have just told me?" I looked off to the side, considering the top secrets I could prove, those I could use to stir trouble, and the ones best left unburied. The Council exploited for their benefit, they certainly were rooted at the roots, but there were a few things they handled better than others. Getting rid of trouble, for them, and playing it off as if it were for the safety of the public, was one of their talents. Was it sane to give props to my captors? Probably not. 

"To a lesser degree, but still as impacting on their positions." I said.

"Lastly, if you did not need my help, would you have never spoken on this matter to another?" My lips parted at the question before I closed my mouth in a tight-lipped scowl. I disliked this, this icky feeling in my chest at the words she expected me to say and what we both know I should be saying.

"I can not answer that simply. I would have used what I had to when I had to. The right answer would have been to speak on what I knew when I learned of the truth even if it meant my demise, but morality and right and wrong were taken from me long ago and so all I was left with was reacting to the present."  I leaned back comfortably as I fixed her with a look. If she wanted honesty then I would deliver it. "I know of my sins, the weight of consequences, and the effect of what was done. I have never denied what I did, but I will not bare the weight of a situation I did not plan and was dragged into. Make of that what you will."

The measurement as we took one another in wasn't that of testing out whose will was stronger, who would bow out, or even about the promise of a priming fight. She was looking for something of character, trying to figure me out by the words I spoke now and the truth I revealed earlier, how the siblings treated me and what she should do to get as much usage out of me as she could before having to come to the decision of what to do once I was no longer useful to her. If we hit it off, then perhaps she expected a genuine friendship if any of my words called to something within her that she could recognize. The fire in her had long ago died down and now all that remained was calculation and the tranquil clarity I had seen when I first taught sight of her. No hint of emotion bled threw her face, her hair that had gotten messy earlier had seemingly returned to its tamed state, not a hint of discomfort as she sat in front of me. I wondered if that mean that the real show of her personality would only come forth if she was taken off guard. If so, we were somewhat similar then.

"All spell cast is a choice made," she murmured, nodding subconsciously as she blinked and refocused. "I apologize if I came across as judgemental, but such sensitive information was overwhelming when I was not expecting such information." 

"I understand," I said before pausing and asking the main concern. My back straightened, shoulders squaring. "So? Where does that leave us?"

I let her have the silence she needed as she got her thoughts in order, her finger tapping at her lap for less than a minute before she answered.

"I will call in the wizard to take a look at your curse, you will get my full support and my tower in return for all of the information you can give me about those bastards. I understand the secrecy of your name not being brought up, but I will be contacting all those I trust to a conference on what you have just reviled to me," she stated unflinchingly, not willing to compromise on the matter. As expected. My fingertips trembled, and my foot twitched. "Such matters can not remain unpunished."

"So long as I do not have to partake in such meetings and my name is not ever brought up, you can do as you so wish." I conceded. 

" I look forward to the change we will bring forth." sitting up she held out her hand for me to shake.

"Please feel free to keep me from any such events." without looking down I took her hand in a firm grip. She smiled at my words. The siblings relaxed at my sides, Venom sat next to me this time as he sat.

"Oh, I think it's too late for that," she said slyly, before turning to look over at her desk and calling out. "Maliok. Go bring Harold."

The blue familiar cat made a sound that came from under the desk, stretched, and made its way to the front door, passing through it with one last 'meow' before its tail disappeared along with it.

"How is Harold?" Venom questioned looking over to where the cat vanished with an interested brow. 

"My wizard of curses."