“These are cards,” Mordred said, waggling the deck in his hands with the patience of a seasoned teacher. “They have identical backs, but their other side is completely different. Each one is unique.”

  Lee stared at him.

  “They’re made out of paper,” Mordred said. “They aren’t a weapon. There’s nothing to be concerned about, I can assure you. In fact, no animals were harmed in the creation of these cards. I made them myself. Was quite the project. Took me several months.”

  Fist let out an exasperated sigh from behind Mordred. “Yeah. We were there for it. It’s incredible how what should have taken a day or two at best somehow managed to—”

  “Perfection cannot be rushed!” Mordred snarled. “Acceptance of mediocrity is the downfall of society. Do you have no concept of art? Of passion?”

  “Goddamn it, Fist.” Ace groaned. “Did you really have to flap your mouth? You know how he gets.”

  “Art is the purpose of life,” Mordred hissed. He flicked the cards in his hand. “It is the purpose for which all beings exist. To live. To die. Every aspect of our existence is art. It is our purpose to seek its creation. Those who can accept anything less than perfection are doomed to become nothing more than a stroke in another’s painting.”

  “Can we focus on the monster, please?” Fist asked. “This really isn’t the time. I’m sorry I called your cards stupid.”

  “You called my cards stupid?” Mordred exclaimed.

  “Now you’ve done it,” Ace said. “Shut up, Fist! We can’t have another incident. Do you not remember the previous—”

  “There is nothing stupid about art!” Mordred said. His voice was cold and measured, bands of ice wrapped around a deep-seated smoldering fury. “And we will discuss this later. Your lack of sight is less important than the opportunity that awaits us.”

  “Does this mean you’re not trying to fight me?” Lee asked, cocking her head to the side. She almost sounded disappointed.

  “And risk damaging the most interesting monster I have seen in a long time?” Mordred’s heart physically twanged at the thought. The chance of fumbling the opportunity to learn more about this unique creature… it wasn’t one he could allow for. “Before we’ve had a chance to learn about each other? Absolutely not. I must know more. Now, cards are nothing to be scared of. They—”

  “I know what cards are,” Lee said.

  She knows cards! Does that imply a group of similar demons that also utilized cards? Or was she exposed to them from human culture? I’m not sure which of those two options would be more interesting to me. Incredible.

  Mordred held the cards further out. He gave them a small shake.

  Lee edged toward him. There was caution in her posture — but not fear. She wasn’t scared of them at all. That wasn’t entirely surprising. After the chase she’d led them on, Lee was clearly more than competent.

  And my soul is shaped properly. Such a thing is a necessity when seeking out dangerous creatures. They can be skittish. It would be a terrible shame if I scared her away too early.

  Mordred extended his arm a little more.

  Lee plucked a card from his hand. She flipped it around and stared at it for a moment while Mordred watched on expectantly. Then her brow furrowed.

  “What could my star sign have to do with anything? What in the world is a star sign?”

  Mordred blinked. He grabbed the card from Lee and slipped it into his back pocket. “That was the wrong card. It’s for something else. Take a different one, please.”

  How did my dating deck get mixed in with—

  Fist coughed.

  Mordred’s eyes narrowed.

  You little shit. I’m going to wring you like a washcloth once I’m done here. I — no. No. I can’t let myself get distracted right now. This is far too important. She can read! And in common at that. And without any apparent difficulty. Easily more intelligent than the average human, then. Exposure to human culture is definite, though it seems Lee is largely unaware of courting rituals in Obsidia.

  Lee took another card and glanced at its face.

  “Yes.”

  “What does the card ask?” Mordred asked.

  “If I can read.”

  “Oh,” Modred said. He scratched the side of his neck. That was a bit awkward. The deck had been made to work with any semi-intelligent monster. Evidently, a few of the questions in it were a little too basic. He took the card back from Lee quietly. Then he flipped the cards over, flicking through them before pulling one out and handing it to her. “Here. This one.”

  “Couldn’t you just ask me the question at this point? What are the cards for?” Lee asked as she took the card with a frown.

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  Fist let out a snort.

  “Not a word from you,” Mordred snapped.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Fist said in an overly innocent tone. She was definitely getting too comfortable.

  “I’m not telling you this, either,” Lee said. “Why would I share my rune combination with a stranger? Much less one that’s been chasing me? That would be remarkably stupid.”

  It’s likely she’s bound by similar restraints to normal demons, but it seems she’s aware of them. Do all those descended from demonic traits have a similar limitation? What is it about their runes that causes them to be susceptible to capture by someone who can figure out their combination?

  “What about your core rune?” Mordred offered. “Not the combination. Just what it is. The manner of Rune someone bears tells magnitudes about who they are. Runes are a window to the soul, you know. You don’t have to go into much detail. But detail would be appreciated. What if I were to offer up a trade? I'll tell you my Keystone Rune."

  "A trade doesn’t matter much when you’re offering something I don’t care about,” Lee said. “I don’t know why you’re here or what you want from me, but I don’t have any interest in you.”

  “Hurtful,” Mordred said. “But entirely fair. I would be more than happy to explain exactly what it is we do on our way back to the capital.”

  “Our way back?” Lee’s eyes narrowed. “No. I have no plans of traveling with a weirdo.”

  Fist snorted.

  “Do you need a tissue, Fist?” Mordred asked. “Because it sounds like there’s something wrong with your throat. Perhaps you’ve fallen ill?”

  “No, I’m good. Don’t worry about me. Maybe you should ask the demon what her mating rituals are, given the fact that you’re already delving into her star sign. Maybe you’ll match up.”

  “That was an honest mistake,” Mordred snapped. “A researcher does not delve into such subjects with their studies. It is unprofessional.”

  “I don’t think there’s a single professional thing about the lot of us,” Ace said. “And the sooner you acknowledge that and stop trying to interview our targets, the sooner we’ll stop getting fined by the Church for failing our missions.”

  “I have never failed a mission,” Modred said. “My goals are simply different than theirs. It’s not my fault that they’re a bit too dense to gather that. They’re the ones that keep hiring us, after all. When a bear steps in the same trap twice, can the trap really be at fault?”

  “He might actually have a point there,” Fist said. “Maybe the Church likes wasting money.”

  “Are you going to eat that?” Lee asked, pointing at Mordred’s bag.

  “Oh?” Mordred asked. His head tilted to the side. “Are you hungry? Would you perhaps like—”

  “The poisoned meat you’ve got in there, yeah.” Lee nodded. “I was just going to take it off your body after I killed you, but this conversation has gone on longer than I thought it was and now I’m hungry.”

  Mordred blinked.

  Her sense of smell must be incredible. She was able to not only pick up on frozen meat, but also the fact that it was poisoned? And she still wants it?

  Mordred reached into his bag. He pulled the chunk of meat out and tossed it into the air. Getting a chance to see how Lee ate would answer a great number of questions. If she cut it apart, if she cooked it, how she purged the poison from it, there were so many different—

  The meat was gone.

  Mordred blinked.

  Then he blinked again.

  What?

  He’d barely even seen Lee move, but the large chunk of meat that had been flying toward her head had vanished. The whole thing was nowhere to be seen.

  Did she destroy it? No. If she did, why would she even have asked for it? This pseudo-demon is fast. Impressively fast. Especially for her rank. She must have eaten it, poison and all. Perhaps she’s resistant to the toxin I used. What a fascinating creature.

  “Thank you,” Lee said.

  Her eyes flicked to Fist — and, Mordred suspected, to the meals that she was carrying for all of them. But she never managed to say whatever she was thinking.

  Lee abruptly froze. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. Then her eyes went wide.

  She blurred.

  Mordred snapped his fingers.

  A keen whine filled the air as a shimmer of silver wove through the cave. A thousand thin strands of razor-sharp wire materialized in a pattern all around them, practically invisible within the darkness.

  Lee skidded back, her stance lowered as her lips peeled back to reveal two rows of razor-sharp teeth. She’d noticed the strands before even one of them had so much as touched her.

  Incredible reaction speed. Honed through years of battle, no doubt. I must know more.

  “I’m going to have to stop you there,” Mordred said, his smile fading away. “We haven’t finished our conversation, Lee.”

  “Your conversation doesn’t matter,” Lee said. “I’m leaving.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Mordred said. He tightened his hand into a fist, and the creaking of razor-sharp metal rose up like a symphony. “Not until I’ve finished examining you. Don’t try to run, Lee. My domain is infused into these strands. I’d prefer to examine you alive. Far more can be gleaned from a living subject… but I cannot allow you to leave without learning everything I possibly can about you.”

  Lee tilted her head to the side.

  Then she vanished.

  A streak of wind coiled past Mordred as she passed him by.

  He yanked the threads taut with a shearing screech. Magic carved through the air to collapse in around him like a dome. A flash of agony lit in the back of Mordred’s mind. He let out a snarl, equal parts surprise as pain, and spun.

  Nothing remained of Lee but the wind left behind by her passing.

  She was gone.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Fist said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen anyone slip right past your magic, Modred. A bit embarrassing, isn’t it?”

  Mordred stared out toward the storm raging outside the cave. He looked down at the threads littering the ground around him, the pain still burning at the back of his mind. Disbelief welled within him — but only for an instant.

  A scientist adapted to new scenarios. No knowledge was immutable, no option impossible.

  “She didn’t slip past,” Mordred said.

  “Sure looks like she did,” Fist replied. “I don’t see her anywhere. Do you?”

  “Lee is gone,” Mordred said. “But she didn’t dodge anything.”

  “What did she do then? Kiss you goodbye as she left?” Fist blew out an exasperated breath. “Or did you miss because you were too damn busy gawking at the shiny new monster?”

  “I didn’t miss either,” Modred said. He looked down at his hand, then rubbed his fingers together. “Do you have a soul-mend potion?”

  Fist blinked. “No. Why would I have one of those? We aren’t hunting Rank 7s.”

  “We’re going to need some if we’re going to catch Lee. Set course for Frostlake,” Mordred said grimly, spinning on his heel and starting back toward the soul. “That pseudo-demon escaped by taking a bite right out of my magic. I do believe my soul has a nasty little crack in it right now.”

  “Shit,” Ace breathed. “What kind of magic can do that?”

  “I don’t know,” Mordred replied. A smile stretched across his lips. “But I’m looking forward to finding out.”

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