Maybe that was the intention. Maybe not.
Either way, it didn’t matter to Ali. She didn’t have any plans to stick around.
When she turned her eyes back to Brother Maynard, he wasn’t talking. His eyes were locked on Ali.
She licked her lips and swallowed.
After a moment, he finished what he had been saying. “…we’ll sever. But your foes will be fierce and ruthless. Most importantly, they’ll be unknowns. The Source will be analyzing the necromancer’s constructs. We currently believe that they will behave as regular flesh golems, but be prepared to use your own judgment.”
At least it isn’t raining, Ali thought as her mind wandered away from the speech once again.
She felt her before she saw her. A warm, comforting feeling centered around the skull implanted within her chest. Ali started to smile before she caught herself.
Brother Maynard cut off his speech a moment later. As one, he and the nuns turned to look down the street.
A giant stood out, silhouetted against the dark alley.
As one, the inquisitorial squad’s eyes burned white. All of them raised their arms.
All except for Ali. She hadn’t even connected. There was no point. Nothing they did would be able to harm Lady Ylva.
Ylva proved that by raising an open palm. She clenched her grip and tugged.
As one, the burning eyes died out.
Gasps echoed around the assembled inquisitors. Two fell to their knees. One, a certain Sister Beck, actually threw up.
Only two were unaffected. Brother Maynard did not possess the necessary implants to connect. Ali did not connect in the first place.
“Your magic was a gift. A privilege. Privileges can be revoked.”
Ali watched out of the corner of her eye as Brother Maynard’s crystal thaumaturgical focus slipped down his sleeve and into his hand. He twisted the crystal and pointed it at the demon.
Water formed around Ylva, encapsulating her.
He intends to drown her? Ali actually started laughing, drawing a few looks from the nuns. Several of them had pulled out their spare foci, but none moved to attack.
The outside of the water capsule frosted over with ice.
From within the water, Ali could see nothing had changed about Ylva save for a slight quirk of her head.
Brother Maynard was not finished. He conjured several sharpened rods of ice and plunged them into the sphere.
One pierced through Ylva’s arm. Another entered her stomach and exited her back. Both legs were pinned to the ground by two more.
All-the-while, Ylva did nothing. The only movement was at the corners of her mouth. They tipped downwards.
Ali shivered, barely noticing that several of the nuns had followed Brother Maynard’s lead in piercing the snow globe. No fire or lightning, they weren’t taking chances with melting the shell. They stuck with stone and extra ice.
Ylva could escape. Ali knew she could. This was a daughter of Hel for God’s sake! Ali had done her research since returning to the Elysium Order. She knew what those touched by Death could accomplish. If Ylva possessed even a sliver of her mother’s power, she should be able to wade through the assembled chapter of inquisitors without a scratch.
So why didn’t she?
Was she actually that weak?
Or… no. Ylva had turned her eyes to Ali.
They stared. A wordless communication passed between the two.
And Ali realized the truth. That probably wasn’t even the real Ylva. Some effigy in her likeness was trapped in that bubble.
No. This was a test. For her.
Ali broke eye contact with Ylva to look at Brother Maynard.
And she hesitated.
She held no particular love for Brother Maynard. He had all but admitted that there were no plans to rescue her after she was captured. She had been left for dead. Or worse.
But that wasn’t unexpected. Ali held no special position. A new internal affairs inquisitor could be trained as her replacement. They had probably already started before Ali returned; a few others had died in that failed assault and would have needed replacing. What was one more?
Ali’s eyes twitched back to Ylva.
Just in time to watch a rock enter the front of her skull and exit the back of her neck. Her eyes never wavered from their position on Ali.
The nuns and Brother Maynard continued pelting her with projectiles.
The demon–for she was, without a doubt, a demon–had tortured her.
Brother Maynard had never done that. At least not so obviously. Some of the punishments for various transgressions in the order skirted the lines.
If Ali considered for a moment, Ylva hadn’t actually hurt her. Ylva’s presence had always been a comfort. She stopped the turning, and the clicking. So long as Ali remained cordial, Ylva gave her a reprieve from the wheel.
Really, all the torture was her own fault. Ali had to be restrained. She was a danger to others and herself. All the time she spent refusing Ylva or otherwise annoying her–which inadvertently led to the wheel starting up–had been entirely her fault. She was still berating herself about the time she spat in Ylva’s face.
And wasn’t the situation now the exact same thing in reverse? Ylva was taking a beating. Being punished–no, punishing herself for what Ali forced her to do inside the torture chamber.
Within the ice-covered sphere, Ylva smiled. A kind and understanding smile.
Ali smiled back.
Ylva wanted her to be happy. Whatever choice she made.
A few giggles escaped Ali’s smile as she turned her eyes towards Brother Maynard.
With a thought, Ali connected to the source. Power and information flooded through her veins.
There it was. The information about her target. “Subject: Brother Rudolph Maynard,” she said.
Several of the nearby nuns turned her way with wide eyes. A few realized that she had connected and attempted to connect on their own, if their clutching at their chest and falling to their knees was any indication.
Ali paid them no mind as she continued to read aloud from the source. “Crime: Transgressions against the property of Lady Ylva, daughter of Hel. Response: Termination.”
Brother Maynard, so concentrated on attacking Ylva, turned to Ali only after she had finished her announcement. His eyes started narrow. They widened as he raised his focus in her direction.
It was too late.
The holy flames that Ali had conjured were upon the Elysium monk in an instant.
His screams resonated with Ali’s uncontrollable giggles.
Ylva wanted Ali to be happy. She made her choice.
She wanted Ylva to be happy too.
— — —
“So,” Catherine said, breaking the ice.
She allowed herself to smile at her own internal joke.
On the streets beneath them, Ylva’s ice ball shattered. A mostly whole and healthy Ylva joined up with the mad nun in mowing down the inquisition. The show was somewhat fascinating to watch. The way the nun continued to laugh while killing her former comrades… she was beyond broken.
Whatever tricks Ylva had done to avoid having her skull crushed had piqued Catherine’s interest.
She quickly squashed her curiosity. As a succubus–and not even a ‘real’ one at that–there was nothing Catherine could do to match something like Ylva’s power.
Again, her mind wandered back to that question Eva had asked.
What options are available for you gaining ‘power?’
The girl didn’t know what she was talking about. A lesser succubus didn’t just become a real succubus. Learning the paltry magic tricks used by mortals wouldn’t change her into a higher tier of being. Nothing she ever learned could ever compare to something like Zagan and his ridiculous ability to alter reality itself.
The only thing that was within her reach that might surpass Zagan was her being touched by Void himself. And that was so far out of her reach that thinking about it was nothing more than wasted time.