‘’You’re dying?’’ Nikolai asked in surprise.

  Kaelith nodded, her eyes firmly locked on the table. It wasn’t that she seemed timid; rather, he recognized the expression of someone who had come to terms with things, if not happy about it.

  ‘’Yeah, it relates to my path… It is sort of the natural progression, I suppose,’’ she said, her voice resigned.

  Nikolai hesitated, then asked carefully, ‘’You mind explaining it a bit more?’’

  Kaelith took a deep breath and nodded. ‘’Suppose we’ve come this far, so why not… Honestly, I don’t usually talk about this stuff with anyone. Only a few people know at all.’’

  Nikolai patiently waited for her to continue and watched quietly as she unconsciously put her hands in her lap and grasped the dark robe covering her legs.

  ‘’I am a necromancer… Lurk, he is a minion I created years ago, then extensively evolved him through a series of rituals related to my path… It takes a toll, you see. Has a price… Essence…’’ She explained, still not looking up, seemingly lost in her own world as she talked.

  ‘’It wasn’t much at first, but as I grew stronger and went through the stages, my magic demanded more and more. Now, I no longer regenerate my essence naturally, and for some reason spells like your drain don’t work for me, I tried. So yeah, I am decaying…’’ She ended the sentence with a long sigh and looked him in the eye, waiting for his reaction.

  Nikolai nodded slowly. ‘’I see… I won’t claim to understand, because I really don’t, but it seems a bit strange to me. Why would a path kill you? It doesn’t make sense.’’

  Kaelith smiled, but it wasn’t a happy one. ‘’I won’t die, not exactly. From what I’ve learned from others on the same path, it is more of a change, I suppose you could say. Once my essence drains away, I will undergo an evolution of sorts… become something else.’’

  ‘’Something else?’’ he probed, now really wanting the full story. He wanted to say he might be able to help, but wanted to hear her first. He was wary too, not because he didn’t want to, but because something told him his Fae side might act up if he tried.

  ‘’A lich… That is what I will become, an undead. I will still be me, mostly, but my physical form will become… monstrous.’’

  Nikolai leaned back, trying to digest what she had just told him. He had thought his own situation was grim, but listening to Kaelith… what she was going through was just plain cruel: a slow decay into becoming a monster? What the hell kind of path was that? Did whatever system, god, or entity controlled these paths just plain hate her?

  Nikolai sighed. ‘’Well, shit…’’

  She chuckled. ‘’That is one way to put it…’’

  Nikolai debated with himself for a while before coming to the only real conclusion he could. He had to help her, didn’t he? He had just met her, but just as he had healed strangers at the hospitarium, could he ignore someone obviously in dire need right in front of him?

  The answer to that question was clear: no, he couldn’t. Not only would he feel like an asshole, it would be morally wrong. Obviously, he had no guarantee it would work; she had tried things on her own. But if there was a chance…

  Knowing what he was about to do might have unforeseen consequences, he cleared his throat. ‘’I might be able to help…’’

  Kaelith’s eyes snapped to him, filled with a mixture of desperate hope and a deep fear of hope itself. She hung on his words but was deeply afraid to do so at the same time. ‘’Say that again…’’

  Nikolai met her eyes steadily and leaned forward. ‘’I told you I have dual affinities, and I discovered I can do things, deeply irregular and uncommon things. I might be able to help, but I cannot guarantee it; I will have to test it first.’’

  Kaelith’s breathing became labored, and she looked like she was about to faint, but her eyes never left him. Her tone became very serious. ‘’Nikolai, if you are just giving me false hope…’’

  There was a certain amount of threat in her voice, and Nikolai tried to remain calm. She was clearly much more powerful than him, and her emotions were running rampant.

  He shook his head. ‘’I am serious, Kaelith. I might be able to help, but…’’ He felt those scales again and wasn’t sure he liked what they were telling him. ‘’It will have a cost…’’

  She was on her feet in an instant. ‘’I will pay it! Whatever it is, I will pay it!’’

  Nikolai held out his hands in a calming gesture. ‘’Please, let’s test it first. I will need to gather essence first; we need to find a monster or something to…’’

  ‘’LURK!’’ Kaelith barked suddenly, cutting Nikolai off.

  The big undead man came striding over fast and stood at attention behind Kaelith. She gestured to him. ‘’He has enough; take whatever you need!’’

  Nikolai looked at the armored figure, then stood. ‘’You sure?’’

  She nodded firmly. ‘’Very!’’

  Nikolai walked around the table, now a bit more stable on his injured leg, and put a hand on Lurk’s arm. He cast Lesser Drain and felt a small surge of essence coming through the spell. He looked at Kaelith in surprise, and she smiled, though it seemed a little strained.

  ‘’I removed his resistances temporarily.’’

  Nikolai nodded, then cut off the spell. It would be enough for a test. He gestured for Kaelith to sit and dragged his own chair over to sit next to her. ‘’Give me your hand; take the glove off.’’

  She nodded and pulled the glove off. He was only a little surprised to see that her nails were a bit like claws and a deep, dark purple color, almost black. He took her hand; it was cool to the touch. She shivered slightly, and he glanced up at her.

  ‘’Sorry…’’ she said bashfully. ‘’I don’t really have much contact with others…’’

  Nikolai smiled. ‘’It’s fine. Now, I am going to reverse my drain spell, pushing the essence into you. I am not sure how it will feel, but I have done it successfully before. I will only push a little in for now; I will explain why if it works, okay?’’

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  Kaelith nodded, her eyes locked on his hand.

  Nikolai placed his other hand over hers, then closed his eyes. He wanted absolute focus for this spell, and carefully, with only a wisp of mana, activated it, pushing only his light affinity into it.

  For now, he didn’t try to push any essence into the spell, but simply probed Kaelith for a little while. She squirmed a bit, obviously uncomfortable.

  ‘’You have the dark affinity, that much is clear. I am using the polar opposite with this spell, so it will likely not feel great,’’ he said, not opening his eyes.

  ‘’It’s fine…’’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘’It stings a bit, but I will live.’’

  He nodded, then cut everything else out, his entire focus on the task at hand. Despite her acceptance, pushing through her affinity’s natural resistance to the light proved difficult.

  When he finally succeeded, Kaelith whimpered in pain, but Nikolai didn’t hear it; his focus wouldn’t allow distractions now.

  He reached into her and felt it… Her insides were in a state of active decay, a slow rot taking her over from the inside. He wanted to cry at her state, but pushed such feelings aside.

  Slowly, oh so slowly, he pushed a tiny controlled stream of essence into her through their connection. The change was immediate. Kaelith’s whole being shuttered and took in the essence like sand absorbs water in a desert.

  It drank it up and began working immediately. It wasn’t an enormous change; in fact, it was so small that it was only because he was looking for it that he noticed.

  The decay was pushed back the tiniest bit, and his very soul shuttered with relief at the success.

  Slowly, he cut the flow, then cut off the spell.

  When he opened his eyes and looked up at Kaelith, streams of tears ran down her cheeks, and she looked at him with desperation and hope, and it made his heart clench.

  He nodded. ‘’It is possible.’’

  That was all he said before she wrapped her arms around him and started to weep, her whole body shuddering with it. Hesitating at first, then with more confidence, he hugged her back tightly. She cried for a long while, and he tried his best to comfort her, just staying like that.

  There was something there, something between them. Not in a romantic way, but more like both of them had found someone they could be open with, perhaps even someone to lean on.

  Nikolai had felt so alone since coming to this world, and despite having only just met her, he couldn’t deny his own emotions. This woman, so strange and mysterious, felt so safe to him, like an old friend who would never judge you but simply offer support, just because.

  It was beyond strange, but that was how he felt.

  After a while, Kaelith got herself back under control, and she looked a bit embarrassed at her outburst of emotion, but Nikolai simply smiled.

  He poured them both some more tea, then sat back. She still shuddered occasionally, but the tea seemed to calm her further.

  Finally she sighed. ‘’Wow… I… I had honestly given up, Nikolai… I can’t help but think our meeting was fated somehow… I will have to thank that bitch Azila.’’

  Nikolai burst out laughing. ‘’I suppose you will have to, yeah.’’

  They both laughed, and the tension of the moment eased.

  She met his eyes. ‘’You said there would be a price…’’

  Nikolai nodded, his mood souring slightly. ‘’Yeah, there has to be…’’

  ‘’Fae law?’’ she guessed.

  Nikolai was surprised at her words, and she giggled. ‘’Your kind might be very rare to meet, Nikolai, but there are plenty of stories. Never make a deal with a Fae, right?’’ She smiled.

  He sighed. ‘’Right, exactly. It isn’t that I can’t help you, but something like this… From the perspective of the Fae, my perspective, I am giving you a life, Kaelith, and the price for it will have to be equally significant.’’

  She nodded. ‘’I suspected it would be something like that. Wait, does that mean you can’t heal someone without taking a price for it then?’’

  Nikolai frowned. ‘’Damn, I hadn’t thought of that…’’ He considered the question, then shook his head. ‘’No, I think I can still help people, but… Yeah, it is strange. What I am doing for you is different, I suppose; I will be fundamentally going against whatever rules are imposed on you by your path, and for that reason, the price is steep. I can’t explain it; it is sort of instinctual. I could do it without it, but it would have consequences for me. Can’t say what they would be exactly, only that it wouldn’t be good.’’

  He paused, then sighed. ‘’I suppose I will have to gauge each situation independently… Sorry.’’

  She shook her head, her smile bright. ‘’No, don’t apologize. I said I would pay it, so name your price.’’

  Nikolai looked inward and considered a number of different scenarios, carefully feeling for that scale’s tipping point.

  He tried with gold, runes, even having her kill someone — that fucking illusionist who had kidnapped him, for example — but none of it felt enough. He kind of already knew what his instincts told him he needed to do, but he really, really didn’t want to.

  He opened his eyes and gave her an apologetic look. ‘’Sorry, Kaelith, I can really only come up with one solution to tip the scales, at least for now.’’

  She didn’t hesitate. ‘’Tell me.’’

  ‘’Servitude… Absolute loyalty… For as long as you live… A life for a life…’’ He said those bitter words, and they felt like acid coming out. He wanted badly to punch that Fae king in the balls repeatedly just then.

  To his shock, Kaelith simply nodded. ‘’I accept.’’

  His eyes snapped to hers. ‘’What!? No, I can’t ask you to do that!’’

  She grinned. ‘’Nikolai, I want to believe I am a fairly good judge of character. Well, perhaps not, but signing such a contract with you doesn’t bother me. Let me ask you this: would you force me to do anything I didn’t want to do?’’

  ‘’Of course not!’’ he said firmly.

  ‘’Then I see no problem. For many years, my purpose was survival; if that disappears, then I will need a new one. Perhaps you can be that purpose; your goals will be my goals, it isn’t that unusual in my culture with.’’ She said in such a cheery tone that he wanted to protest, just on principle.

  Instead, he just nodded in defeat. ‘’Sorry, Kaelith, I don’t see any other way.’’

  As he said that, though, he had an idea. ‘’I can set the terms, though; there is leeway there.’’

  Kaelith perked up. ‘’Oh? What do you propose?’’

  Nikolai considered for a moment, then nodded. ‘’How about this: you will go into bound servitude,’’ he started, but winced at the words. He pushed through and continued. ‘’Your loyalty to me must be absolute; the cost of failing to do so will mean a loss of all your essence, all at once.’’

  Kaelith urged him to go on, so he did. ‘’In return, I will supply you with the essence you need to stay healthy and free of decay. Also, I will swear on our bargain to never force my ideals upon you, nor force you into any action you do not wish to perform. I will not seek to change you, nor manipulate you in any way.’’

  He felt for the scales in his soul, adding the additions to the deal, and there was just the tiniest bit of wobble before it stabilized, and he grinned. ‘’Yes, this bargain is acceptable.’’

  Kaelith considered his words for a while, and he appreciated that. It was only right that she thought things through before making such a commitment. Finally, she met his eyes and with a smile said, ‘’I agree.’’

  Nikolai nodded, then after a brief hesitation held out his hand. She took it, and he felt the bargain take effect; the bond between them solidified.

  On top of her hand, an intricate web of runes briefly appeared, then vanished, and he suddenly had a sense of her. He could feel her sitting there in front of him, and more importantly, her condition. It was as bad as he had felt before. He couldn’t see her emotions or anything like that though, which was a relief.

  She too looked at him with wide eyes. ‘’Wow… This is… Just wow.’’

  Nikolai nodded, a little dumbfounded. ‘’Yeah… Didn’t know that is how it would feel. You okay?’’

  She smiled the most brilliant smile yet. ‘’Yes… Master!’’

  Nikolai knew she was teasing him with that last word, but bloody hell, it made his insides squirm uncomfortably.