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.
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.
There were rumors that Zagan, along with several others among the royalty, were gods and goddesses of Void, but Catherine did not believe that if only because they weren’t powerful
Shaking the thought from her mind, Catherine realized that she hadn’t followed up on her little icebreaker.
She glanced up at her–
“Why are we here?”
Golden eyes flicked over, meeting hers.
Catherine went very still until Zagan turned back to the battle below.
As soon as he did, she let out a soft sigh of relief and withdrew her cellphone from her pocket.
She had made the most amazing discovery not five days prior. A most fascinating method of distracting oneself from any ongoing duties–such as being dragged out to some no-name city to watch a few nuns die.
