I hurried over to Martel, grabbing the back of his bonds.

  “Not a word,” I hissed as I dragged him with both hands, stuffing the list of Lord Montague’s titles into my pockets using my tail.

  The skin of my diabolism-tainted arm tingled, bits of crimson deepening in hue. Deepening out of anticipation.

  I tried to breathe more slowly even as I tinued dragging Martel. Remain calm Malvia. No need for violence just yet. There were rows of filing ets in here, plenty of room to hide until they left.

  Well, except that they would wonder where Martel is, but I could do something to that bridge when we came to it. In say, two minutes from the echo of their steps?

  “We are about to have pany,” I whispered to Martel. “Some of them are undoubtedly your friends. Others are definitely not, sinontague hads sent them. Probably to destroy this list and cover his tracks. And probably handle any wito that. Which means you and whoever they’ve roped into this as well. Probably ge into you on their way out.”

  That st bit ure jecture, of course, but anything to get across the idea that speaking up wouldn’t end well for him.

  He nodded, face paling a little. Maybe a bit too much? I didn’t want him to pass out. Then they would definitely know something strange was .

  “I’m going to cut you loose, and you o pretend like everything is normal,” I said. “If it goes well, I just leave, and no one knows I was here. If something else happens, just run. You uand?”

  A shaky nod was my only response. His face grew even paler when I pulled out a thin knife.

  Trust. Extremely shaky. Although even if he gave me away, I wouldn’t be in too much of a worse spot than if I didn’t free him.

  I sliced through the bonds, sidered giving him Lord Montague’s list for half a sed, then swiftly residered. I needed hard evideo give the others, and even if the two ing asked specifically for these, I’d think of something.

  Probably fire, but it would be something.

  Martel got up as I finished cutting his bonds, bag away from me as he eyed me uainly.

  We had little time. A miwo? I gestured towards the door silently, then moved further into the rows of ets, looking for a pce to hide.

  I probably should have verbalized some threat to not sell me out, but I didn’t o. He should uand that implicitly.

  Martel shakily returo his post, breathing deeply as some color returo his face. His eyes kept gng over to the row of ets I was hiding behind, which were more than a little irritating. Was it too much to ask for people to be professional about these things?

  I settled in at the end, produg a small mirror from a pocket. Not the best view looking at the refle. Still stealthier than stig my head around the end of the row of ets. By now, Martel had mastered his urge to stare at my hiding spot.

  The door opened, letting in the small group.

  Three people, an older woman in clothing simir to Martel’s, fnked by a pair of men in fine suits. The left one had an affable grin and red muttonchops, the right one a shaved head and a scar going across the bridge of his nose.

  Either shape-gers or hired toughs. Preferably the tter, but knowing my luck most likely the former.

  “Ah, Arstel,” Martel said. “We have guests in the records room? Most unusual.”

  The one on the left of the archivist smiled warmly. “We know. Most sorry to intrude on you. It’s just our mutual master has demands to make of us.”

  “The ?” Martel asked.

  “Ah, no Jacob. They are here on behalf of Lord Montague.”

  “Not our mutual master then,” Martel said, irritation in his voice. “Employer, yes, but the is master to all of us. Why have you e here?”

  “His lordship wishes to have a copy of his reade,” the left one said while the right eyed the floor, a scowl developing on his face.

  The Hells? Had I missed some track n I’d left there he ig up on?

  “Most unusual that he didn’t e himself,” Martel observed.

  “His lordship doesn’t have time to attend every little errand himself,” Muttonchop said, smile growing a little cenuinely loyal to the man or a ger upset at how much their charade was being questioned?

  “They do have the proper paperwork and his Lordship’s seal on them,” Arstel added reproachfully. “They are well within their rights to ask for them, Jacob.”

  Martel theatrically sighed. “Fine, fine. Let it not be said I’m unhelpful. Sentlemen, for interruptions to the routile me. Follow me. Lord Montague’s record should be at this et.”

  They were moving towards the ets now, close enough I pulled bapletely, relyiirely on sound.

  “Jacob, what in the Queen’s name has happeo your hand? You’ve got cuts all over it!”

  I’d fotten to put even a bandage over his wounds from when my teeth had nipped his flesh. I tensed up, reag for power even as Martel answered with only the slightest bit of hesitation.

  “It’s embarrassing to admit, I actally caught it between the door and doorframe. I was going to have it looked at, but then you three came in. It’s not a big bother, they are all shallow cuts. His lordship’s files should be here.”

  The sound of a drawer being opened, papers rustling, then a grunt of fusion from Martel.

  “His Lordship’s records for this month are missing. Strange, only the head archivist should have permission to remove these from this room.”

  “Has he?” Muttonchops asked.

  “Well, I haven’t been the only person on duty this week. Or today, for that matter. It’s possible Head Archivist Linden came in earlier to take the record. Why she would want it? I don’t have the foggiest idea.”

  “Is there no way to find out swiftly?” A new voiterjected sharply. The oh the bald head and the scar.

  “You could find the Head Archivist and ask her directly,” Martel suggested. “She might even be able to meet with the both of you rather swiftly. Then again, with these new security protocols, she might be rather busy at the moment.”

  “Unfortuhat,” Muttonchop said. “It leasure meeting with the two of you, but I think the two of us hahe rest of this.”

  “Oh no, you’d never be able to see the Head Archivist without one of us to escort you.”

  That sounded like my cue to step in.

  A quick peek into the are. Small owls littered the room, minor spirits of knowledge. A few gashes of red from my near-biting of Martel. Nothing else. Good.

  Well, this seemed the right time.

  Let us see what these two taste of, perhaps?

  Definitely not.

  A snap, a crackle. Fme sprouted ay tainted hand, bd red aing the surfaces touched by diabolism gleaming.

  Spirits fled, hooting in fear as something split the floor only in the are as I stepped forward into the light.

  “I’m sorry, I’m afraid with Mr. Hawkins in Watch custody, I don’t know any of your names,” I said as the two gers whirled, half-ged limbs reverting immediately to their human imitations.

  “Who are you?” The elderly woman asked in shock.

  The gers didn’t bother with talking. The muttonchop one swung their arm at me, the limb growing mid-swing till a twenty-foot limb swung at me like a fil.

  I fell to the floor, biting my tongue as I fell. Even falling on the side with the unbroken leg, my wounded limb felt like it had been stabbed. The fil arm passed overhead, the end smashing into ets like a mace’s head.

  No time to think. I gestured and fme spat in a line, hitting the bald ger. They’d been swiping at Arstel with a ging arm, the forearm ged to a bde made of bone.

  My fmes were faster, a bck tarry ball spshing against the side of their head. An inhuman keening filled the air as they filed, missing the archivist as their flesh burhe fire didn’t go out, spreading along their clothes.

  Muttonchop’s sed arm had formed into a coiled spear that shot forward at me. I rolled, biting my tongue as I rolled over my leg.

  The spear rammed into where I’d id, splinters of wood flying as it buried itself into the floor.

  I o end this quickly. As is they had the mobility advantage, and durability as well. All I had was the element of surprise and that would only buy some much time. The scarred ger still writhed as Hellfire burned flesh and cloth, but that would only st for so long.

  I sent a ball of the substa Muttonchop, and the upper half of his body bent backwards. In a fra of a sed, he’d pletely folded and the ball of fire spshed against the wall instead, setting everything it touched alight.

  “You little guttersnipe!” Muttonchop roared. “Why do you have to stantly mess things up for us?”

  I’m sorry, I was the one messing things up for them?

  I didn’t answer, instead firing another ball of Hellfire, aiming low this time.

  His arms turned into legs and he scurried away on all fours, body ref into a more dog-like creature. He ran out of sight, a sed fireball chasing him.

  Arstel and Martel were running too, around the still-burning bald ger and out the door. A good thing, since my efforts at nailing Muttonchops had only succeeded iing a quarter of the room afme.

  I grabbed a et, pulling myself up so I could get my leg underh me. It protested every inch of the journey, nerves screaming for me to stop as it dragged across the floor. Hoof and flesh-foot underh me, I tested my weight on the hoof.

  Fire nced up from hoof to hip, my vision shaking as I grabbed hold of the et. It was the only thing that stopped me from colpsing as I gasped out, sug air. The keening from the bald ger had stopped, but it still burned. Its entire surface was covered in fire now, flesh charred us touch.

  Had Hawkihe most powerful of them?

  Muttonchop rouhe er, charging forward. By now his ging turned him into a shaggy grey wolf who came up to my chest, mouth open to reveal dagger-length teeth. He charged forward, howling.

  I called on fire. This close, I couldn’t miss.

  Something rammed into the side of my head, grabbing hold and then ing around my neck. My tration broken, and the f fire in my palm winked out. I gasped, trying to breathe as Muttonchop finished closing the distance.

  My hand disappeared down its gullet as it took my arm into its mouth. My teeth closed down on my elbow. It pulled back, tearing strips of flesh with it as blood poured down and my pain became agonizing.

  I am not dying here.

  Fmes sprouted along my skin as I didn’t even focus on a point, just calling on the fmes. Muttonchop whimpered as fire poured out from the inside of his mouth, while the iron grip around my neck loosened.

  I stepped forward on a shattered hoof, the pain but an afterthought as my other hand seized Muttonchop’s wolf neck.

  “Perhaps if you don’t want your pns ruined,” I hissed, as fmes crept and roasted the flesh and fur. “Don’t mess with the Daughter of a Duke of the Hells, you vermin!”

  From the er of my eyes, the bald ger moved, charred skin turnihy as the sso of flesh it had used to e retracted. Had it mimicked the visual appearance of Hellfire? The fmes shouldn’t have burned out that fast regardless, but it had been a performahat kept me from paying attention to it.

  No matter. It had its own problems to worry about, as the filing ets exploded. Papers flew out, most of them joining to form little humanoid figures with tails, horns, and wings. Well, at least that answered what the Diabolism was juring on its own from my ws.

  Mockeries of me, apprentice? Your humor is not appreciated.

  I rolled my eyes and drew breath to answer, only to have it driven from my lungs. Muttonchops was ging even as he burned, and a single limb had kicked me in the chest. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to eay lungs. Wheezing, I tried to keep ahold of his neck, but spikes drove into my hand. I let g to scream with lungs too busy trying to recover from that kibsp;

  Muttonchop scurried, harried by the paper imps and dodging the fming parts of the room before ramming the door out. It snapped in half, and he disappeared, followed by his bald rade and the paper imps. The sounds of gunshots, yells, and a crag that robably are magic soon followed.

  Wheezing, trying taih, and grasping food handhold, I moved the other way. My left hand was a mess, flesh torn loose in strips. My vision shook, and the edges were blurry, and every step felt like a new spike was being rammed into that leg.

  I probably looked a right mess, and who kneas going to make it out. But if the two gers hadn’t been able to stop me, what could?

  Saithorthepyro