Misyl

  The arrival of the latest bounty hunters—two large Tiger Beastkin—was almost an insult. After the brutal efficiency Yana had displayed on Lem, the fact that only a pair dared show up on Misyl made everyone laugh.

  Yana had already figured out the properties of her new magic, Shadow Light, and cast it on herself, DD, and Heli. This spell cloaked them in a reflective shadow field; no matter where they walked, even in full light, the reflective properties made them essentially undetectable by standard sight.

  DD and her newest familiar, Heli, the Shadow Demon Dog, watched the Tiger Beastkin silently walking down a corridor of their rented home. DD was training Heli, ensuring the Novice understood his low level, the proper application of his abilities, and the priority of Yana's protection. The consensus was immediate: the youngest and most inexperienced needed to go out and learn. Heli was ready, willing, able, and so eager to engage that DD almost decided to restrain him. For the Marked Demon, this skirmish was not a fight, but an essential lesson in combat theory and execution.

  The Tiger Beastkin, nervous, turned a corner and hit a fifth dead-end. Paul Simms may not have understood Yana’s power, but they did. They were only the last Beastkin willing to hunt her because of an intense need for money.

  DD let Heli go. The Shadow Demon Dog’s body burst into subdued yellow flames—[Shadow Body Flame]—as he streaked forward and rammed into the side of one of the Beastkin. The Beastkin flew into his companion, but both stabilized and looked toward the twinkling yellow flames, aware of Yana’s companions but unsure what they faced.

  Heli did not wait for the Beastkin to orient themselves. His black claws extended, and he swiped forward four times. Long black shades streaked from his claws and moved toward the Beastkin—[Shadow Slash].

  The closest Beastkin could not avoid the strike, and his head rolled from its shoulders as the second slash went wide. The second Beastkin spun away and sent a blue strike blazing toward Heli. DD tensed, but he didn’t move.

  Heli howled and slashed out again, and a dense weave of shadows formed in front of him—[Shadow Weave]. The blue strike flowed into the weave and spread out along it as the weave itself absorbed its energy. The shadow weave converted the energy and sent it back to Heli. Yana raised an eyebrow; as the energy flowed into Heli, a small portion of it flowing directly into her soul.

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  Heli emitted a deep guttural noise—[Shadow Growl]. The second Beastkin instantly froze, his body trembling as his soul was shredded by demon shadow static. He collapsed, dead, his open and unseeing, but his body seemingly untouched.

  Yana and DD appeared next to Heli – [Shadow Light] dropping from them. The Shadow Demon Dog was excited with his accomplishments. "You did well, little Heli." Yana smiled at his reaction, as she moved to take the hearts from the two beastkin. She found some interesting items on the second beastkin as well. She nodded. “Very good job.” She gave the spoils to DD and he split them with Heli – the shadow demon dog consuming his before they could say anything.

  Yana called Starlight, handing her the two newly acquired hearts. Starlight left – already knowing what was expected of her – without Yana saying anything to her.

  "Let’s see what Almawa gives for these 10 hearts." She looked down at the two Beastkin. "I don’t think there will be many more Beastkin coming to visit."

  Misyl was a small landmass hovering pretty low within the plane, close to the cooling red sun. Wide bands of water flowed over the edges of the landmass and down toward the sun below.

  Yana, Amber, Tasha, Heli, and DD stood atop a broad plateau looking down at a broad ship anchored just off the wider edge of the continent. The Lashers were notorious human alchemists and dimension-hopping pirates who operated without care. Their boats were always long and broad, marked not by a single color, but by the distinctive curled black whip in the bottom-left corner of their flag.

  Yana watched as they prepared to depart for the Domini markets. The Domini were a race of nomadic slavers who maintained markets in every dimension of the Pa Cosmos.

  Yana took a deep breath. Shadow Light extended out over them, and they all faded from view, even in the dusky light of Orb. "Let’s go."

  All five stepped from the plateau—unseen—and Yana performed [Shadow Step] to move them all to the markets.

  The markets were vast, set in three concentric circles with hundreds of booths selling legal and illegal items. There were six Domini stalls within this market—most in the rings, operating legally—but two were tucked within the shadowy alleyways.

  Yana and the others split into two groups, starting with these shadowy locations. Yana, DD, and Heli together; Amber and Tasha together. The two groups appeared in alleys on opposite sides of the market. Yana stepped confidently to the marker stall, DD and Heli by her side.

  The alley was full of shadows and narrow, lined with stalls crammed with questionable items. The air assaulted Yana—a horrid sensory mix: a delicate, indescribable smell of sweetness, the pungent odor of death, and the acrid, metallic smell of highly addictive processed drugs, all mingling in the humid shade.

  Yana moved forward and stopped at the Domini stall with a broad smile. Three Lashers were already there. She was hoping Heli could get some more training in. It was time to find Amber’s brother.