‘Right there with you, Syline,’ Thelonious replied.
‘Aw, come on you two, I think he’s fun,’ Amberly put in.
‘If you like playing with fire,’ Thelonious countered.
‘You’re hellblooded, aren’t you? I thought you took to flames like a fish to water.’
‘Flames, sure, not a crucible.’
‘Bah, he’s your father, at least humor me, he’s not all bad. After all, you got your charm from somewhere…’
‘Are you… dating him?’ Syline asked, blushing like a spotlight.
Amberly made a face and blushed brightly.
‘I can date who I like, alright? Besides, all it is, is dinner; me and him have been friends for a long time.’
Right as Thelonious began to reply, Laes reappeared with a flash of fire and the rush of his perfume refilling the area.
‘So, can I assume you all agree to my terms? Frankly, I can’t imagine how I could make them more reasonable than they already are.’
All three exchanged a quick look.
‘I agree to your terms, Mr Laes,’ Syline said. Laes snickered at his title.
‘Fine with me,’ said Thelonious.
‘No problems here,’ said Amberly with a grin.
‘Then the contract is sealed.’ Laes held up his free hand, and a scroll burned into existence with all three of their names at its bottom. ‘Just for the dramatics, of course, none of you need to worry about losing your soul to me from this contract.’
That comment left Syline feeling a bit worried. What did this half devil have in mind for them? For Thelonious, with this conversation and for Amberly, with whatever he may try to coerce her into during their dinner. Those were worries for the future though. For now, her concern had to sit squarely with her family.
‘The scrolls,’ she said, holding out her hands for them.
Laes tutted softly as he handed them over.
‘In such a rush. Those scrolls will let your horses run day and night, all out, without break, nor tiring. They’ll run five times the pace of any champion stallion too. It’ll be the thrill of their lives. The only ones at risk of exhaustion will be you three, so be ready when you use them.’
‘And the sending scroll?’
‘No components required! It’s an expensive version of the spell for that reason – not common in the material, this one’s hell-made. Just speak the trigger phrase and imagine the person you wish to speak to while saying their name. Then, you will have thirty seconds to say whatever you wish to them before the enchantment fades.’
‘Okay, good, good. Thank you, Mr Laes. I’m sorry if I’ve been rude to you, I’m just very stressed right now,’ Syline said, letting out a little sigh as she looked over the scrolls.
‘Oh, have no fear. Believe me, your average devil’s good mood is a fair sight more sharp-tongued than your bad one. I’m not all too used to dealing with shy girls. Most who come for a devil have a bit more of Amberly’s audacity, but I’m certainly not taking offence from you being nervous.’
‘Thank you, Laes,’ Amberly said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. Laes gained a cheek splitting grin from that.
‘I look forward to our dinner, darling. You, my boy, I look forward to speaking with you properly, in a better time,’ he said to Thelonious, who merely nodded. ‘Oh,’ Laes said, turning back to Syline with a mischievous chuckle, ‘and please do a little more research on summoning before you try it again. With that ritual, you would’ve gotten something a bit bigger than an imp, and you wouldn’t hold it in at all. You’re lucky I caught the scent of it and rolled in before its completion.’
Syline blanched.
Laes laughed all the more and gave a lazy, playful salute.
‘Toodles. I’ll be in touch; I might be an outsider, but I’d rather not be a stranger.’
Then, he was gone, as if he had never been. Behind him, Amberly spotted that little red songbird she’d seen flying next to them, bouncing across the snow to peck at where he’d been standing. It stared at the group for a few moments, then released a beautiful little song before disappearing into the sky. Syline let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. He might seem nice, he might be Thelonious’ father, but that was still the first outsider she had ever encountered. Not counting Yaldabaoth, who she had not exchanged words with and mostly just watched be stabbed by Amberly. It was still frightening.
‘Alright… We have these scrolls now. Next.’ Amberly took the scroll of sending from Syline and walked over to Teagan. Teagan and her men looked up, currently sharing a flask. Teagan was wearing a glove over her stump and waved it floppily at Amberly as she approached. Amberly grimaced; Teagan laughed.
‘Okay, Teagan,’ Amberly said, offering her the scroll. ‘Contact Jane Petrov. Tell her you have the spell-book, tell her… tell her we’re dead.’ Behind Amberly, Syline nodded. That should keep them safe from further hunters on their way back, they could hope.
Teagan hopped to her feet and took the scroll. ‘In any particular way or is that up to my discretion?’ she asked with a smirk.
Amberly chuckled softly. ‘As long as it doesn’t involve anything too embarrassing. Don’t say I was crushed by a horse sitting on me or something.’
‘Oh, you are just no fun,’ Teagan replied with a playful little pout, struggling to get the scroll open with one hand before giving up. ‘Can you?’
Thelonious, with a rather sympathetic look to him, took the scroll from her and held it open in front of the sellsword.
Teagan spoke the trigger phrase, followed by, ‘Jane Petrov.’ The scroll burned away as the magic within consumed it, and a faint, blue glow covered Teagan’s mouth for a second before disappearing. Scrolls contained spells as well as the magic to cast them, but the release of the magic stored inside, passing through the ink was too much for it to survive, and the ink would be burned away in the process.
‘This is Teagan. I have the spell-book and will be on my way back now. The girl said she’d play along, then her batshit bodyguard jumped me, cut off my shitting hand. They put up a fight, but they’re all dead now. Had to strangle Syline myself.’ She couldn’t think of much else to say, so just let the magic run its course. When the spell ended, Teagan turned to the three. ‘There, can we go now?’
‘Yes. Safe travels, Teagan. I didn’t take any of your men’s gold,’ Thelonious said. The sellsword nodded her thanks, and she and her remaining men quickly departed after loading their unconscious fellows onto the backs of their horses.
‘So, should we get going now?’ Syline asked.
