Darkness embraced Tiffany upon drifting into a void, a strong current carrying her through an endless maelstrom. Fear gripped her soul in the aimless nothingness thrust around her until cold chains wrapped her tight, tugging her into a different tide—a secure eddy.

  The pool she entered was warm and welcoming, the chains carrying her away from some unknown danger to a destination only just beyond reach. Then, all at once, her direction shifted, drawing her back to the surface of some bottomless sea to be met by the rumble of thunder and a throng of terrified cries.

  Her passage through the abyss became clouded as a vision of her daughter flashed across her mind, proud and powerful, standing as her own woman, yet before she could savor her daughter’s growth, a black blade coated in venom sunk into her back.

  Unable to speak, poison seeped into her soul, digging through her very being to use the chain holding her fast as a tether. She knew it was dangerous for her daughter; she wanted to cut the links but couldn’t, a dark chuckle passing through her frantic consciousness.

  “You can fight me all you want, but the results will leave you broken all the same. Hmm-hmm-hmm. How broken do you want to be, I wonder? By all means… struggle.”

  Icy, instinctual knowledge flooded Tiffany as she was connected to her daughter’s Nexus, augmented and enriched to the Witchery Class; a chilling reality came from the wisdom imparted unto her from her soul’s upliftment, a power granted her from some deep, endless source within her daughter.

  To survive this creature’s attack, Tiffany had to open herself up and allow a pathway for it to travel through, allowing it to twist and ravage pieces of her soul in ways that made her want to weep. It would severely impact her sense of self and emotional temperament—yet she had to in order to protect her daughter from this thing, and her only hope was for Edmon and Elinor to understand. She didn’t hesitate.

  “My… to allow one’s maternal instincts, ethics, and sense of self to be corrupted without a second thought… You creatures are far more intriguing and sophisticated than I initially took you for. How fascinating. Good luck.”

  Heart and mind reeling from the passage of the corrupting entity, bliss took its place as she let go of her humanity, leaving a piece of this cruel creature to be imprinted onto her soul; she sacrificed what she was on the altar of defilement to become what her daughter needed.

  Illuminated orange irises opening as the entity slipped through her to her charge, Tiffany’s cool gaze drifted between the panicking ri’bot, humans, and undead as chaos took the ranks. Suddenly, Her Empress’ partially covered, naked body erupted in emerald flames, causing everyone nearby to freeze in bewilderment—access to the Nexus was almost entirely blocked for them all.

  In the rising turmoil, a smile lifted Tiffany’s lips as she pulled her muddy black locks out of her face and reached over to pluck Elinor’s phylacteries out of the mud, holding them protectively as the sacred relics they were.

  Edmon was white-faced while dropping to his knees beside them, disbelief in his eyes as Tiffany calmly examined the situation, momentarily fascinated by the orange glow that shone through her veins as The Empress’ powers continued to reforge her in the image of her new station as the Monarch of Witchery, taking on the title of the Witch Queen.

  “Tiffany, w-what happened to—”

  “Shhh,” she whispered, dismissing her former husband with a serene smile. The anarchy around her was music to her ears, and she still required a bit more time to digest their next course of action with the occult knowledge seeping into her soul.

  Her cheery gaze lifted to the giant ape overhead as all undead looked to her, automatically sensing her position within the Nexus, yet unable to communicate in the way they’d become accustomed to; in the absence of The Empress and High Queen, the Royal Court stood supreme.

  Straightening with her mistress held tightly in her left hand, Tiffany made a gesture to those nearby, promptly issuing orders since Butter and Elinor were incapacitated.

  “Quin, grab Edmon and shield him against your body—carefully, dear.”

  “W-What—Tiffany?!” he shouted in fright and bewilderment as the four-armed gorilla reacted without hesitation, snatching the man up to hold protectively against her chest.

  “Garu, force the assassin away from the camp and tell Mika to bring all the corpses of those the ri’bot clans kill to one location to be questioned later.”

  He saluted her before launching into the trees to begin his hunt, vanishing into the mist. Valdar processed the sudden role change in leadership; he wore a tight expression, his still-bleeding shoulder pooling liquid while watching her direct the undead with swift orders.

  “Audrey, be a dear and fetch a sandy-blonde American girl in the Delthax camp; she will be needed. And tell Adoncia in passing that I require Nicole’s support. Yours, as well, Valdar,” she winked. “Give me a moment to organize our ranks, if you would, Former Chief, and I will explain everything.”

  He glanced around, seeing the Roxim now taking over much of the perimeter defense as the clanless leadership fell apart under Mika’s undead torlim assault. “I will stay close and listen then.”

  “Wonderful! It won’t be long. Carlos, I see you’ve brought Roman—ah, I will get to you in time,” she promptly cut off the blind legendkin with a giggle, returning her gaze to the looming ape nearby.

  “Bring Edmon to one of the diesel crates and put him inside—you, Ivan, was it?” she questioned, pointing at one of the men Elinor had gathered to represent the humans.

  “Eh-y-yeah?” he mumbled, shuffling forward while holding his head, no doubt frightened he’d have the same fate as her.

  “Go with Quin and show her how to seal the doors to close him inside.”

  “Tiffany—what are you doing—no, where is our daughter?!” Edmon snarled from the gorilla’s unbreakable grip as the middle-aged Colombian man glanced between them and jogged after the towering monster without protest.

  Taking a deep breath, she sighed upon spotting Audrey and Adoncia communicating through her whiteboard. Being unable to speak through the Nexus was so inefficient, which was an effective maneuver by this nefarious entity that assaulted them.

  There was much to do in such a short period of time, but The Empress appeared to be putting up a decent resistance against the fiend’s sinister claws that sank into the artifacts she held.

  Tiffany motioned for Valdar, Carlos, and the blind man to follow her to one of the walls of the enclosure he’d made with the dryad girl.

  “Guide Roman to the edge of the area with us, Carlos. For now, we must gather ingredients from the jungle, and I could use your expertise, Valdar. Fortunately for us, this environment is teeming with high-quality materials.”

  Valdar’s brow furrowed as an escort of his warriors caught up to them, two fussing over his wound while following her. “Where is Empress Elinor?”

  Not looking back, she sighed. “Currently engaged in a spiritual battle against an entity trapped within your planet. She is standing her ground, but I must provide support to her as soon as possible. Once a temporary warding ritual is in place, we can work on something more… sophisticated to expel it, which your regional knowledge might be invaluable for.”

  Mumbles came from what she assumed was someone with earth-based abilities like Valdar. “She is battling the Whispering Shade—I have never heard of it having the power to possess someone?”

  A low rumble came from the elder’s throat, focus wandering from her to the maids she’d directed. “The Empress isn’t just any Mystic… It appears her powers can grant those she resurrects new Mysticism of their own. Does this have to do with the… cult was the word, I remember?”

  A sly twist came to Tiffany’s mouth at the comment; the former chief was quite perceptive and observant. “I am not familiar with many of The Empress’ actions before my resurrection, so the sooner we defeat this nasty little shadow, the sooner The Empress can retake control of the situation.”

  On their path over, she placed her free hand against her chest and directed a smile to the ri’bot. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Tiffany, The Witch Queen, and The Empress has raised me into the Royal Court, or among the highest commanding stations within her empire’s structure, to be the Monarch of Witchery. I am a master of the occult arts.”

  Valdar accepted a new replacement staff that another one of his acolytes brought him, using it as a support in their brisk walk. “Then I suppose I should bring you up to speed as to the connection between your empress and me?”

  “Oh, that would be quite helpful! I know bits and pieces from listening closely to The Empress’ explanation, but a more detailed account would greatly help my understanding.”

  Stopping near the edge of the enclosure, she used a small break in the wooden walls that hadn’t been completed to enter the strong wind and pouring rain outside, not bothered by the elements with her undead physique.

  Orange flames sparked in her hands upon snapping her fingers—witchfire. This handy tool was used as a multi-purpose tool in identifying the hidden and unique magical properties of the various plant life, minerals in the soil, and trees, and made some of the warriors jump in surprise as the water and gale had no effect on it.

  Roman remained by the wall, silently studying her with a frown while she passively listened to Valdar and pointed out specific materials she required to be gathered; Tiffany would have him explain what he saw before they left. It didn’t take more than several minutes to uncover the basics of what she needed, and she set Valdar’s Plant Callers to work on it with the warriors securing a perimeter.

  Blue tank top and brown shorts soaked, Tiffany plucked on the top to unstick the wet item while smiling thankfully at Audrey, who brought the curious blonde and a hair tie; Audrey was close behind with the nervous dryad and her translator.

  “Excellent work, girls! Can you—oh, so helpful,” she chimed as the skeletal maid moved to fashion her thick, butt-length hair into a low ponytail and gave the blonde a toothy grin. “We meet again, Esmerelda! How would you like to become a witch with magical powers?”

  Roman’s head snapped to her, brow furrowing with Valdar and two of his guard; the unusual blonde girl’s eyes widened with excitement as she swiftly nodded.

  “Ooh! Can I fly on a broom and turn people into toads?”

  It tickled Tiffany to see the teenager so thrilled to partake in the occult. “I just need to perform a tiny ritual to unlock the root of magic within you, so let’s see…”

  The girl gasped as she opened her free hand for a thick book to appear from orange flames, her other remaining sealed around her mistress’ diamond home. “Here, dear, hold this open to the first page for me, would you?”

  Everyone watched in astonishment as the excited girl took the black artifact with reverence, studying the complex golden etchings and seals on the cover with delight that enchanted it with many properties.

  “Do I get one of these?”

  “Hehe. You do, sweetie! How else are you supposed to record your experiments, successes, ingredients, and findings? We’ll make it together in a bit. Here we are…” Fire lighting in her hands, she transcribed the first spell inside the grimoire. “The ri’bot are gathering the ingredients I showed them. Your task is to organize some of those ingredients precisely how I’ve illustrated here.”

  Her head bobbed while scanning down the simple instructions. “This is the best day of my life! I’m going to be a witch! Yes, yes, yes!”

  Practically skipping to the pile the toads were making to begin the work, Tiffany turned her attention to Nicole and her translator, bending down to speak to the twelve-year-old.

  “Do you want to be a hero and help people—help The Empress, who is keeping you safe?”

  The girl shyly nodded after the nervous man translated it, glancing at the blonde teen humming to herself and swaying with her tune while separating ingredients; she motioned to one of the warriors for his knife, using it to reference the book in what patterns to draw and how to link them.

  “Oh, it’s nothing like that, dear,” Tiffany chuckled. “No, all I need from you is your unique plant-growing gifts to mature a few underdeveloped or out-of-season items. It may be a bit stressful for you since you won’t be relying on Valdar’s guidance or the Plant Caller’s own prowess, but he tells me this is something he cannot do, and I have confidence that you can accomplish it from his explanation of your part in this protective dome. Can you do that for me?”

  She sucked in her mouth, uncertainty flashing in her cute eyes, but she nodded again, saying she’d try.

  “Such a strong girl!” she cooed, smoothing out her mossy hair and making her smile. “All you need to do is follow Esmerelda’s instructions. Just like you have powers, she’s going to get some too, so you’re not the only one!”

  Nicole looked thoughtful at the comment, hesitantly moving to the location with a backward glance at Valdar; the elder gave an unsure thumbs up, mirroring what the girl had done earlier to tell him she was okay.

  “Wooh!” Tiffany straightened, clapping her hands and smiling at Adoncia. “I need you to go fetch me two complete skeletal hands from the ri’bot that were destroyed earlier in the Roxim camp; it must be a left and right hand.”

  Her skeletal head bobbed, and she jogged off to accomplish the task, mouth tightening upon seeing a potential issue: the Clavex had long already taken almost all of the fabric, including clothes, for their bartering goods.

  It meant they didn’t have nearly as many humans as the other camps, and from Elinor’s explanation of their rocky relationship with the High Priestess, she didn’t want to cause a blunder by stepping on toes without knowing The Empress’ plans regarding them.

  The next best option from something of very fine grade for the temporary warding ritual was something personal to the caster. Her tight eyes dropped to her shirt; naturally, a sacrifice of something Elinor would frown upon, no doubt, but that was what was required to elicit the proper emotion for the ceremony.

  Sighing, she pulled off her tank top, revealing her black bra and making Audrey’s skeletal frame stiffen before motioning toward the goods in an attempt for her to use something else.

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  “Hehe. This is well worth the price to save The Empress,” she said, holding the soaked article up to one of Valdar’s warriors. “Hold the bottom, and if you could be so kind as to cut it around… here,” she requested, motioning. It was just high enough to be uncomfortable to show the underside of her bra; the only reason Tiffany even cared was due to how Her Empress would react.

  Audrey seemed begrudging in the task, likely uncomfortable for the same reason since Elinor was very protective of her mother, but followed the order, pulling it tight for the confused toad to make a swift, clean cut.

  She replaced the partly destroyed tank top and flipped her ponytail out before having the warrior split it in two again. Finally, her part was finished, and all the pieces quickly came together; her first priority was Her Empress.

  Moving to Esmerelda, she studied the girl’s work; this wasn’t for her magical awakening but to buy her time to gather the proper ingredients for something more substantial.

  “Hmm. A bit shaky on the hands, dear, but… it will do for now. Unfortunately, I am going to have to ask all of you to give me some privacy for this step—yes, including you, Esmerelda,” she added to the girl’s depressed sigh.

  “My ritual is next?”

  “Indeed!”

  “Okay. Oh, Nicole, come with me—we should do some more material gathering!”

  The translator hissed as she motioned for them to go into the storm outside, but the dryad appeared to enjoy someone somewhat near her age wanting to do something with the girl’s plant-based abilities, impressing Tiffany that she’d already memorized what they looked like through her study of their surroundings. She was brave—or stupid—enough to eat alien fruit, after all.

  Nicole nodded, telling the man he could linger by the wall since the weather didn’t seem to bother her. She seemed concerned for Esmerelda’s health, yet the blonde laughed it off while tugging her away to begin their adventure.

  Tiffany lingered on the pair, vision narrowing. My change in personality and temperament is quite drastic… I’m using Esmerelda when there is a high likelihood she will die from this ritual. Her talent is real… All my knowledge in ecology is before my fingertips, and now I am gaining an understanding of this planet’s flora, too? So many teaching possibilities in the future, and what good is a teacher that cares nothing for their students? Food for thought, she hummed.

  Valdar sent one of his warriors to watch over them while rubbing his chin and studying the etchings on the ground. “I will grant you privacy for this, but I will ask for clarification as to why.”

  Tiffany wasn’t sure he understood the meaning of privacy in that regard, but as someone who had likely had authority for a long time, he probably wasn’t used to secrets in his clan, or it wasn’t a part of his culture; either way, she gave him the only response she could.

  “That is something for My Empress to disclose; it is not my place.”

  “Ahh. I can understand that. I will ask her, then.”

  He made a sweeping gesture that brought all of his men away, leaving only the undead as she swiftly got to work.

  Snapping her fingers for witchfire to spark to life, she scooped up a few mushrooms from a pile, extracting the liquid to coat a yellowish moss called Snaptoe.

  One had to be careful with the plant since it got its name from the hidden barbs within that carried a powerful poison that had very similar symptoms to Yellow Fever and required the Plant Caller’s careful touch to remove. Apparently, many a ri’bot had died from not exercising caution in the areas it grew.

  Spreading out the two strips of her tank top, she spread a line of mud across it with her thumb and crushed what remained of the dried mushrooms over it as Adoncia returned with the two skeletal items.

  “Perfect timing!” she beamed, tossing them in her fire; they twitched, guided by her magic, as the digits linked together to form complete hands, binding the moss to the appendages.

  Gently holding up the cloth, filled with the mixed mushroom dust, as Adoncia stepped away to give her room, Tiffany carefully extracted the liquid from a nearby flower to layer the bones with the powder while mumbling the incantation.

  “Spore and body of two mixed Lesser Panacea toadstools, coat this vessel with the mark of thy protection.”

  She lowered the flame and shifted her legs to a more comfortable position to place the cloth on the connected ritual Esmerelda had carved into the wood-like floor, placing Her Empress and High Queen’s diamond bodies on separate palms, each earing to their proper side. She twisted a few cut stems into a rope and began the short warding ceremony.

  “Close thy protective fingers around my masters; defend them against the blight that seeks to corrupt their spirits.”

  Weaving her magic into the mushroom-dust and moss-coated skeletal hands, she watched the symbols flash with orange light, rising to imprint on the cloth and bones as the spell wrapped around the fingers.

  The yellow moss’ pale glow increased with the pink toxin it carried now flowing down the fingers as the hands closed around the diamonds, orange fire causing the unified symbols to shine on the closing fabric. Finally, she twisted the top and took the cord she’d twined to bind them into warding hex bags.

  Done… That should buy me at least eight hours to come up with a cleansing ritual.

  Studying the floating wards, she frowned, now taking the time to probe further into the dark energy assaulting her mistresses, nose creasing upon noticing a third party.

  So, this Scarlet Hand performed an enhancement ritual to strengthen the Whispering Shade’s reach. The simple solution would be to take The Empress high into the atmosphere to weaken his influence and snap his connection, but we don’t have that luxury at the moment, which means…

  Rising to her feet, she brushed off her knees and took the bag to tie them to the loop of her belt before motioning with a finger for her book to jump into the air, hovering before her.

  Carlos, Adoncia, and Audrey fidgeted nearby, making her giggle. “Yes, The Empress and High Queen are now protected for the time being.”

  Relief came to their sagging bones, and Tiffany flipped to the next page, her flames licked the parchment to trace formulas and ingredients she’d need while reflecting on the things around her, developing her next ritual—it wasn’t going well.

  I don’t have a potent enough linking element… Just carving it in the wood won’t provide the structure I need. While I can seal it in my grimoire, I need salt, blood, and stone. I’ve bought us time, and there are some potent ingredients here to act as… No, I need something living… A dying sacrifice to draw the entity into.

  “Hmm.”

  Using the second and third pages as a drawing board to tweak the steps and potential ingredients, she reflected on the best environment to obtain them; it was possible in a jungle environment, but the storm could be a hindrance.

  Valdar appeared to see she was done with the ritual since he returned with his guard. “Success?”

  “Indeed!” she chimed, turning to him. “However, I need more. Do you—”

  Tiffany paused as the Nexus returned to life; the fiend was loosening his grip in some places to put more pressure on others, making her smile when Quin’s shockingly feminine voice came to her.

  “Queen Tiffany, how is The Empress?”

  She is doing better than I hoped, it seems.

  Valdar caught her expression, following her focus to the giant ape near the containers, who was keeping her former—and quite upset—husband caged. “Do I what?”

  Her vision shifted to Esmerelda and Nicole as they returned, the soaked and shivering blonde smiling ear to ear while holding a bag full of ingredients and making Tiffany pause.

  “One moment, if you would.”

  Quin, are there any volcanic areas in the valley?

  Everyone’s focus snapped to the giant ape as she held up one of her arms to point them to the north. “Kel’mal’tha is built upon a tectonic divide.”

  Ooh. Mysterious! Mika, are you finished?

  “Yes, Queen,” she grunted, and Tiffany’s eyes sparkled when she saw the sinew and muscle beginning to grow on the woman’s skeletal frame; she was leveling up and had increased her Grade.

  Excellent! Keep Edmon sealed up for now. Provide him some food and water, Adoncia. We are going on an adventure! Quin and Garu, I require you both; we are going to this volcanic area. Is there a place with mud pits and colorful pools of bacteria?

  Quin suddenly didn’t sound so confident. “Umm. I… think so? As I understand it, I have been dead for some time, so things could have changed.”

  We shall see!

  Her attention returned to the eager and energetic girls, welcoming the pair back while using her witchfire to remove the water from the girls’ bodies in seconds; once they were totally clean—as if just taken a shower—Tiffany clapped her hands together with a chime in her voice.

  “Are you ready to join the Coven Circle as my assistant and maid, Esmerelda?”

  “Mhm!”

  “Where would you like the brand? It doesn’t matter where, but it will be some time before you can utilize your magic without it, meaning, if it is damaged, you will be cut off from your powers until an Intermediate Apprentice can reconnect the seal.”

  The girl blinked, lips drawing in while scanning her figure. “Umm… probably on my inner thigh, then, since it’s probably a place I’d try to take care of.”

  “Not a bad choice! It is going to hurt—here, bite this piece of wood.”

  She took a deep breath, determination on her young face while nodding and taking the stick she offered, clamping down on it before pulling up her shorts.

  “Ready,” she mumbled, closing her eyes.

  Flames forming the magical seal to bind the girl’s will to the spark of magic hidden deep within her soul, she took the circle with its six thin, petal-like patterns inside it to the blonde’s skin, making her flinch and whimper as it was searing not only into her flesh but her spirit—it only took a moment.

  “Done!” she chimed, snapping her fingers to extinguish the flames.

  Face red and puffing out hot air, tears were in her orange eyes as a light inside them seemed to flicker—a sign of the girl accessing her magic as it settled in—yet there was a pained smile on her lips; it still took several seconds before her jaw was slack enough to remove the stick.

  Tiffany had already moved on to other avenues, though, Quin and Garu heading toward her as she addressed Valdar. “We need to make a short field trip up north!”

  Swiftly discussing what she needed, Valdar wasn’t thrilled to traverse such a large distance—thirty-two kilometers by his measurement, or how it was translated to her—through Clanless territory and in such a storm, but Tiffany assured him it was needed, and she only had seven and a half hours to accomplish it.

  Valdar couldn’t risk leaving for such an extended period, and Tiffany figured they’d move faster without him in any case. The issue would be the assassin since they were likely still keeping a watchful eye now that Garu had returned; apparently, she was a slippery one.

  Not wanting to waste time, Tiffany gave orders to keep things orderly and vaguely explained to the humans that their savior was currently battling some malignant force deep within the planet and would be victorious shortly.

  Engaging Roman, she frowned as he gave her the short and sweet gist of what he saw, making her frown.

  “As I saw it, the secondary force of the orange toads made up of their elite core is now involved with the Scarlet Hand without their chief being aware… All of this was a plot to not only weaken Elinor’s hold over you but make you attack them in order to have an excuse to come in force rather than wait since Elinor is… preoccupied.”

  Tiffany cocked her head, pondering his analysis; Butter and The Empress had likely suspected as much, which was why they had standing orders not to go on the offensive. In the end, the information didn’t matter much to her since her job was to bring it to her superiors and offer her advice.

  “Very well. I’m sure The Empress will have words for you in time to come. You may go now!”

  He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before giving her a side-long, blind stare as he took off his glasses to show utterly white eyes. “I will wait for you to return with your master… You’ve changed, which is not what I expected. How The Empress responds will determine my future.”

  “Hehe. Presumptuous, but okay,” she mused, waving him off.

  She placed Gwen—the redhead she’d saved as Elinor’s mother—Gloria, and Virgil in charge of the humans in her absence. Quin scooped Esmerelda and her against her chest with a few items as Garu scouted out ahead, keeping an eye out for a specific furry beast he could mark for the gorilla to capture alive when they found their ritual spot.

  Taking to the trees, the ape used her free two legs and hands to swiftly navigate the dense jungle with its colossal trees and thick vines that were perfect for the quen’talrat. Mostly protected by the beast’s surprisingly gentle body, she made sure the teen had a jacket to help break what rain and wind did get past the gorilla’s cupped hands.

  Liquid pooled to a certain extent, soaking their bottoms, but it wasn’t that terrible for Tiffany as the hours passed and the ape navigated the dark, stormy jungle, night setting in. She couldn’t see a whole lot beyond the thick veil of mist, but eventually, they made it to some kind of clearing, and her hopes were verified—they’d reached this world’s equivalent of Yellow Stone National Park.

  Geysers, hot springs, mudpots, travertine terraces, and fumaroles would be everywhere in this region, giving her a massive pool of diverse thermophiles and minerals—it was a witch’s paradise!

  Dropping a quivering and fatigued Esmerelda in a cave Quin found, she quickly got to work extracting the necessary ingredients from the pools. Even her natural Defenses and undead physiology could be damaged by the acidic and superheated liquid, so she was careful in her approach, using Quin’s long arms to hold her over key areas as she fished for materials with Witch’s Fire.

  She squealed with excitement upon discovering methylmercury: liquid metal with endless uses for witches. It was a byproduct of the bacteria in the pool and was practically liquid gold for rituals.

  Taking a healthy amount while sorting through the millions of different types of thermoacidophiles, she was saddened to see many of the complex parts of the ecosystem dying; a slight change in temperature could kill all of them, and the storm was doing a number on the colorful layers, but she found everything she needed.

  Garu discovered the large, furry creature she required, with Quin going to wrestle it back to the cave—she needed it alive—and noted that the assassin was hovering nearby, keeping tabs on them, but Tiffany made sure to have a little gift in case she did attack them—courtesy of Esmerelda as she waited for Tiffany to get the proper ingredients; a proud moment for the girl and her first hex.

  To add to her delight, the girl had explored a bit—brave or stupid didn’t matter to Tiffany; the girl was expendable, after all—and she’d found a heated, quite poisonous stream that was also filled with many minerals that the new witch had used with her far weaker Witch’s Fire to extract salt, calcium, and sulfur from.

  Finally, we can perform the ritual.

  Drawing the complicated, advanced ritual that took up more than five square meters, she had Garu cut the belly of the whimpering animal Quin kept in place to extract its pumping organs; using her magic to keep the cells alive, she placed them in opposite circles with the piles of salt.

  To complete the preparations, she set her book at its center, spreading the methylmercury across the parchment, and placed the two weakening hex bags housing her two mistresses atop the second and third pages; this seal would be held together by her grimoire and make it impossible for anything weak to moderately powerful to infiltrate the Nexus again—a firewall of sorts.

  Pointing the tired but happy apprentice witch to a large circle to kneel inside, she breathed in deeply and wrote in the air with fire the words for the girl to repeat with her. Tiffany would handle the channeling itself and only needed a secondary witch for the resonance effect. Esmerelda only had to remain conscious and continue the chant until the ceremony was complete

  “Repeat with me… By eight paths of blood—linked with the base of bone—powered by life; extract the evil found within to purify the host and return it to the soil from which it came.”

  The air hummed as a pressure shot from the seal, and the lines burst into orange light. Both diamond earrings lifted off the ground with her book, and though it couldn’t be seen by the naked eye, Tiffany could sense the dark entity being extracted as she directed the magic.

  “Darkness lost, and purity gained; protect these sacred artifacts with impunity that will ward off all infestations.”

  Half the pinkish-white salt around the octagon slowly turned black. The resonance in the air between them gradually increased, releasing a stream of wind that howled through the tunnels, making Garu and Quin back away a few steps.

  The air condensed into a gale, scattering the excess materials they’d gathered throughout the cave and whipping their hair into their faces. Each white line of calcium spiderwebbing with black symbols, and the magic infused the design into the stone floor.

  “Bind this spell with liquid metal and in the witch’s tongue—be cinched in the pages of an eternal artifact.”

  Using her magic, she wrote the spell in her grimoire with the methylmercury, the organs starting to wither as the linked vitality they still held was consumed along with the withering animal, flesh desiccating. The now dark salt dispersed with the wind as the octagon ritual sunk into the floor, blackening the stone three inches deep with its design.

  After several more seconds, the wind and vibrating air died down; her grimoire closed, ritual complete as the now-exposed diamond earrings slowly dropped to the leather cover. Esmerelda swayed and collapsed, losing consciousness, yet there was a smile on her pretty face from the high of channeling so much magic.

  Tiffany took a deep breath before dropping to her butt and stretching out her neck. “That was a bit more intense than I thought it would be,” she moaned, still feeling the coursing magic rushing through her veins as Garu moved to support her.

  Bringing her free hand up, she watched it tremble for a moment. “I haven’t experienced channeling that much energy before; it’s to be expected. I am fairly young, despite the prowess The Empress infused me with.” A bright smile lit her cheeks while studying the blonde, hair obscuring her face. “Sadly, she’ll be chasing a high like this for a long time without results.”

  “It’s done?” Quin whispered, moving to the edge of the faintly glowing design, which was burned into the stone floor.

  “Yes, The Empress is free… We’ve won.”