leftoverfelix

  "I 't believe she didn't even e after me," Fern grumbled, rising to her feet. She'd been sitting on the beach long enough that the sand had started to annoy her, and the slow wash of the waves was little more than noise in her ears. Nothing seemed good or pleasant right now, and it irked her. All because of this... partnership, how it was out of bance.

  "It does seem kinda strange," Bernie agreed, arms behind his head. The bodyguard had been enjoying the sun and the surf, from all appearances. "She seemed pretty fond of you, if you ask me."

  "Well, I'm not asking you," she huffed quietly, the sand g quietly beh her boots as she trudged over to where the beaded and the dirt and grass and stoook back over. "But either way, we might as well go babsp; No matter what else happens, I want my books." At least then maybe I'll be useful. To someone else.

  Evehought tasted bitter as she started to asd the stoh just as they had this m, without an ounce of the joy or cheer of the first climb. Who would she be useful to, if not her partner? Would Ember care? Probably not, sidering she kept talking about payment and Fern's pockets were just about empty. Geoffrey? Well... perhaps. But it would still be awkward given that the two of them were long-time friends. And the guild definitely had no use for her.

  She hated the feeling that she didn't have any other options, realistically. That it felt like she'd been maneuvered into this er. A... Everything had been going so well, right up until that point. Until Ember forced the issue. But the healer was just the one whht it up, not the one who'd itted the absp; She looked over at Berhinking.

  "What would you do?" Fern asked. "I mean - if... Ravenna gave you back your will. Let you go. What would you do if you were free again?"

  The question stopped the bodyguard in his tracks for a moment. "Huh. Guess I never gave it that much thought, to be fair." He started moving again. "I've been so used to just taking orders from one person or a didn't strike me as all that bad of a thing, at least not once Miz Grace, uh, patched me up a bit. Didn't think it was worth sidering."

  Her jaw tightened. "I'm not going to let her keep you like this. So you should think about it."

  "Yes ma'am," he returned with a quiet ugh. "That's very kind of you, I appreciate it."

  She shook her head. "It's just... it's nht. No one deserves to be a prisoner in their own mind."

  "She what?!"

  Ember offered the two books, utterly uurbed by Fern's outburst. "Got kidnapped by a giant meical . Do I o say it a third time, or is twiough for you?"

  The fallen hero stared for a brief moment, and then took the books. Remarkable; whatever method Geoffrey had employed to copy them apparently reproduced them perfectly, down to the sturdy covers and the bright metallic lettering. If anything, they looked to be in slightly better shape than they had been on the shelf. "I mean - how? If you saw it happen, why didn't you do anything about it?"

  "I here on the baly enjoying the st of lunch, at least until the smell of the west tickled my nose and spoiled it. Then I grabbed one of the viewscopes and took in the sights. It's not as if I would have made it down the coast in time to reach her." Ember leaned ba her chair. "Maybe you should ask why you weren't there to do anything about it. Where've you been all this time?"

  "Does it matter?" she snapped back, feeling the ti little pang of guilt and trying to shove it down. "She's fine. I'm sure miss big-shot half-vampire dark mage with her own damn tower doesn't need some useless little..." She trailed off for a moment, and cleared her throat. "Anyway! She definitely doesn't need me to save her. The hell should I care about it? She do fine on her own!"

  The healer let the frustration air itself out for a few moments. "No. She'll probably die," she returned quietly.

  Fern gritted her teeth. "You're just trying to manipute me. Like she did."

  Ember waved the ent away dismissively. "Facts. Ravenna wasn't prepared to deal with the western poison that took you down. She has some knowledge of the nd I came from, but it's mostly historical curiosity. The thing that came for her, when it came for her, where it came for her, implies someone hunting her. It struot only when she was at her weakest as a half-vampire - if I uand it right," she added with a nod to Geoffrey, "but also, when she was alone. And, arguably, distracted."

  "You're trying to cim this is my fault, somehow?"

  She half-smiled. "Hardly. Just pointing out that whrabbed her knows what they're doing, and it's not a stretch to say she won't be able to manage by herself now that she's at their mercy."

  For a long moment Fern didn't speak, just closing her eyes and feeling the sea breeze whistle by. She took a breath a out, then again. And again. Trying to find some measure of peace, of stability, that eluded her.

  "I hate her for what she did," she finally said, and the words were bitter beyond imagination. They'd been twisting around in her guts all this time, after all. "I didn't want to say it. But - it's unfivable. I just 't let it go."

  "Okay. But you know she doesn't hate yht?" Ember returned, looking back across the table at her. So much depth in those half-circles of gold; perfect calm, the thing she couldn't reabsp; It was infuriating to look at her in its own way. "She even said she was sorry, after she basically fell on her own sword for you. Who knows what sort of life she's had that led her to a decision like the one she made?"

  Fern reeled as if struck, the echo of her own earlier angry words like a sharp sp in the fabsp; And the sting of these refused to go away after a moment, and the red mark of shame and embarrassment wasn't limited to the bounds of a single handprint.

  "You're the absolute worst," she grumbled, finally.

  The healer half-smiled. "I would be, if I just ignored you two. Now, do you want to save your partner, or not?"

  "Wake up, you bitch," shrilled the cattiest voice Ravenna had ever heard as what felt like a bucket of water crashed into her fabsp; Quite an aplishment, e to think of it; she'd had to deal with a lot of nobles over the years, but this woman sounded particurly spiteful. It sounded like she had a very personal grudge that had beeering for quite some time, if she had to make a blind guess, though no missteps of that caliber came to mind.

  It didn't bode well as a , to be sure; but at least she was alive, and that ted for something. Slowly, giving herself as much time as possible to adjust and tain full awareness on her own terms, she opened her eyes.

  Well, how quaint. She found herself in an actual dungeon, of all pces; stripped of her clothing, too, from the feel of the water trig slowly down her bare skin. Rude; but also, that left her without any of the backups in her coat she'd have had otherwise. She was stuck to the wall somehow, too, her arms outstretched in a T-position. A geug at one wrist offered her nothing but searing hot pain, and her eyes widened a little more at the feedback, despite her pns to affect drowsy half-sciousness.

  "I wouldn't try anything unless you like pain, which - well, knowing your kind, I guess that wouldn't e as a surprise."

  Ravenna tried to get her eyes to focus a little better. Something reventing them from doing so, and she really didn't like the implications of that, taken together with the impeccable timing of the attack that nded her here. Wherever 'here' was; certainly the decor, what she could see of it, wasn't any clues. Stone bricks with no windows and what looked like bare light fixtures - she couldn't be sure without more visual crity - meant she could be anywhere in the world.

  She took in a breath, slowly, and winced with pain as her body reminded her of the wound in her lower babsp; That would tention, and she couldn't tell what dition it was iher. "I suppose you want something from me?" she inquired, her affectation of weakness quickly being less show and more reality as merely speaking the words prompted another wave of misery.

  "Suffering, mostly!"

  Gods, what an awful voice she has; it certainly matches her temperament. "I daresay you've aplished that mubsp; Is t naked women a-" Fuck, that hurt; desding into a coughing fit, vulsing, her wrists and ankles burning with pain as they rubbed up against whatever restraints held her in pbsp; Absolute misery. She had to take a moment after that. "... A pastime of yours?"

  "Oh, no, you're a special case."

  How fortunate I am, Ravenna mused bitterly, holdiongue for a moment. Talking hurt too mubsp; Breathing did, too.

  "Only the architey downfall," the woman tinued, "the most heartless and ruthless criminal, the absolute worst and most wretched scum of the entire world, gets this sort of treatment."

  She couldn't help herself. "Are you sure you've got the right person?"

  The crack of the sp across her cheek echoed off the stone walls. She'd seen the blur in her vision move, but she hadn't been prepared for it at all, and the involuntary shiver sent her wrists into the restraints agaiing off a fresh wave of white-hot suffering.

  "I don't make mistakes," the woman hissed, "Ravenna Direfrost. Not any more, after what you did to me. To my husband-to-be! To my entire life's pns!"

  She tried to ighe stingi on her face, and thought of who this might be for a few moments. The Green-Eyed Devil had been busy in the east, to be sure, but ruining lives wasn't really her style, even if it was some arrogant noble who probably deserved it. Especially if she acted this way with the advantage in her court and no eyes to see her offenses; merely ying hands on another noble, even one as... questionably positioned as her, generally fell well outside the bounds of proper flict etiquette if it wasn't dohin the text of a duel.

  This, however, would utterly destroy the woman - in an aristocratise, at least - if news of it ever got out. Ravenna didn't like the logical clusions that poiowards; but then again, she'd also been moments from obliteration by that monstrous fusion of western teology and artifacts. As ever, the best option appeared to be the diplomatic route. And gods, did she ever hate engaging in diplomacy with these arrogant little tyrants, whether they held the high ground or not.

  "Still drawing a bnk, sorry," she half-sighed. "Could you be a little more specific?"

  This time it wasn't a sp, but an actual fist that drove into her ribs and pushed the breath out of her in a pained wheeze. On the wounded side, too, sending fire radiating out from her bad c through her nerves in all the worst ways. This woman could actually throunch - and nd it properly, too, albeit on a stationary and defearget. Fuck, this was more misery than she'd ever been put through.

  Well, physical misery, anyway. Having Fern walk out on her had almost dropped the bottom out of her heart. Ah, not the best time for that thought... At least she had a det excuse for the tears leaking out of her now.

  Oh, the lights were starting to fade. This was bad. She still had talking to do - she o figure out so many things. She didn't have time to lose sciousness right now.

  Ravenna's body reminded her that it was not her decision to make, and she slipped into darkness.