Infernal Investigations

It was a cold night, and for once, I relished the tracing across my skin as it blew across. Fins to, as I let them extend, felt the cold air dance around the flaps of skin. Oh, to be sure in seconds it would turn to an annoying chill, but for now that was just a reminder. I'd lived. Impossibly, I'd made it out of there, with little but some fey spirits as assistance. I could scarcely believe it myself, now that I'd made it out of the final threat of execution at Intelligence's hands.

So now that I was somehow not dead, and currently hauling myself up the side of my own house to what sounded like an ongoing fight, what next?

I'd come out of there with a few things. Going forward, holding onto some things wasn't worth it. The expectation of knives. The turns to violence. Holding onto every grudge. It wouldn't be easy. I'd said I'd do them and meant them enough to convince myself, but talk was always the easiest part.

Yes, I was flawed. Horribly so, perhaps. Fatally even, and with a hill of the dead underneath me. But you couldn't dig out of a charnel pit by putting more bodies in it, nor could you tear yourself apart trying to make amends or out of fear of execution. Seeking escape via power wasn't an answer either, not one that didn't end with the thing coming out not resembling the person that came in. You could let the past rule over you, or you could cut yourself free. You could keep digging a pit, or you could put down the shovel and climb.

Let me try climbing, no matter how hard it might be, how it might burn or bite, and see where it takes me. Maybe I falter, maybe I fall. I shouldn't let that convince me not to try. Maybe I was destined for the Hells.

I didn't need to treat things like I was already there. Time to do good on what I said and drop the mask.

Of course, pulling myself up in the middle of an ongoing fight did a fair bit to dampen the mood.

I'd brought a lantern up to provide some light, gripped in my tail. My fins could collapse to the point that my tail's width was the same as it used to be, making it so everything gripped the same as before. However, I'd wasted the effort. Aunt Diwei glowed in the darkness.

My least favorite aunt was done up in lammelar, covered in the overlapping plates of leather, sigils illuminating her in brilliant white light. The armor didn't slow her down a bit as she chased after Tagashin, easily keeping up with the kitsune.

Tagashin was playing a game, of course, given how she wasn't flying even as Diwei came dangerously close to leaving the roof at several points. Still, my aunt was closing in, and I cursed as she prepared a lunge.

She suddenly reversed her grip on the blade, pushing backwards, and my heart stilled as a second Tagashin came into being. My aunt's sword was buried up to the hilt in Tagashin's chest, blood spurting around the blade.

"Oh no," the second Tagashin said, face paling, then gave my aunt an exaggerated wink. "I fell for the oldest trick in the book!"

Both Tagashins dissolved into butterflies and streams of brightly colored dust that my aunt immediately pulled back from, backstepping into the middle of the rooftop. Backing right into Tagashin.

My aunt didn't even flinch, turning on her heel, sword aimed right at Tagashin's throat, but the kitsune was already out of reach.

"As thanks for the entertainment of your catching my little trick," Tagashin sang, perfectly avoiding each sword blow. "Let me repay the favor by making you entertain all who see you for eternity!"

Oh, that did not sound like a lightweight curse that was being inflicted. A yell for them both to stop built in my throat when they both disappeared into a purple cloud of smoke.

It dissipated a second later, Tagashin having vanished along with it.

My aunt had not been turned into a painting, or a musical instrument, or any of the half dozen other things my mind had gone to with the idea of eternal entertainment. Instead, she stood there, unharmed, if not unchanged.

My aunt's armor was gone, replaced with baggy white clothing with multi-colored stripes running every which way on them. She almost tripped on the oversized shoes she now wore, easily a foot long, almost catching on the ridiculously long, multi-layered baggy skirt that almost went to the ground. Her face looked around wildly, covered in layer after layer of chalky white face paint forced into an oversized smile.

My aunt had been done up as a clown, and after a second, she took a look at herself. I restrained a giggle as beneath that slathered-on white smile, her face began to quake. I forced it down, but some noise might have escaped me. Her head snapped to face me, sending dozens of red corkscrew curls swaying. Was that a wig, or had her hair changed as well?

My lips quirked as I took it all in, while Aunt Diwei's expression grew…angrier? It was quite difficult to tell under all the clown makeup.

"Infernal!" She yelled. "Wipe that smirk off my face, and if you don't want your head separated from your shoulder, you will go inside now."

"Honored elder," I said, pulling myself onto the roof. "It is a pleasure to meet you again after so long, Aunt Diwei. I shall assume the blowing of the wind altered your words to sound like you threatened violence on an innocent citizen of the Empire?"

There was no wind, I was hardly 'innocent', and Aunt Diwei's eyes narrowed in both recognition and hatred.

"Foulblood," she spat, turning to face me, sword held at the ready.

With anyone else, it might be difficult to tell if she had recognized me or was just cursing my race in general. However, I'd had that word uttered by her lips with that precise amount of venom, hatred, and tiredness in the past that I could tell she'd recognized me.

"Aunt Diwei," I replied, inclining my head as I stood on top of the roof. The shingles felt strange under my hooves. I could feel more of them, the grit and the texture, more than I ever had in the past. Hrrm, had it undone some of the wear and tear on my hooves? Maybe I could put some more effort into their care now that I have some actual means.

Focusing on that kept my attention off of my aunt, glaring at me with intensity. Helped me keep up this serene front.

"I believe Foulhorn is the preferred term these days. If I might inquire, honored elder, what has possessed you to stand upon my-"

She moved so fast, she might as well have teleported, sword going right for my throat. Hellfire blazed, too late as the blade was going to-

Tagashin appeared behind her, wrapping her arms around my aunt's waist, and they both rocketed off into the sky.

I froze, then let out a breath before looking skyward. Already they were dots, dots that swiftly separated and started dancing across the sky, chasing each other and occasionally clashing. Small bursts of light followed by the distant noise of their fighting.

Well, that seemed to be a stalemate for right now, until some curious mage, drake, imperial agent, or someone else noticed it going on in the night sky. I uncomfortably rubbed my neck.

To come back from all that only to die because my Aunt had been… embarrassed I'd seen her cursed into clowndom. That would have been…I let out another breath I realized I'd been holding. Ignore it for now, Malvia, just think about the current situation.

If my aunt could move that fast, how was Tagashin unharmed? Was my aunt holding back? Testing Tagashin? Probably. If the kitsune hadn't opened up with any deadly tricks, the aunts probably decided to take advantage of her non-lethal responses to go probing. Probably didn't anticipate a curse being landed until it had become reality. Although so far it had only been Aunt Diwei.

Looking around briefly, I caught sight of someone on a neighboring roof, running towards the end.

They leaped over from the neighboring roof, landing on my roof in worn-out boots, almost falling before facing me.

My Aunt Jing, Uncle Liu's husband, had put on some years, but she still looked younger than she should be as she came to a halt, a very peculiar weapon in her hands held in a combat stance.

Her clothes were threadbare, fit for an urchin or the poorest of workers. Her usually long, flowing hair was unevenly chopped and boyish in cut, smothered by a filthy top hat that shed soot as it shook.

Whatever weapon she'd carried had been turned into a chimney sweep's brush, which explained the rest. Another curse. Just clothing and weapons? Doing two in such a short span was rather impressive, but it wasn't much more than an inconvenience. As Tagashin was probably finding out.

She eyed me, not hostile in stance or expression, but definitely confused about my presence. At least until recognition sparked in her eyes.

"Lily," Aunt Jing said, staring at me, eyes wide. "What have you done to yourself?"

"Aunt Jing," I said soberly, inclining my head. I didn't even have to lie to come up with a palatable explanation. "Nothing that I wished to do at the time. The consequences of trying to save many lives."

"By dipping into the abominable powers granted by your blood, you mean," she said, almost sorrowfully. Was I being pitied? That pricked worse than Diwei had with her attempted murder. Aunt Jing had been the nicest. In that she'd considered my existence a curse upon myself and not a monster in need of a good sword blow.

"It was either that or let a devil come into possession of items no one should have," I said mildly. "As well as murdering several people. So I put my life on the line and paid a cost far less than my life. More than that, I cannot say, nor can I-"

Aunt Jing held her hand up placatingly. "Peace, child. I will respect your wish to cut us out of your life, foolish thought it may be. Especially as we are engaged in a battle most fierce."

"The kitsune," I said, turning my attention back to the glimmering lights in the sky, now diving back down towards us. "You appear to be losing. Given your state and Aunt Diwei's."

"We are struggling somewhat," Aunt Jing conceded. "What happened to Diwei?"

"Currently, she is in the sky with the kitsune you hunt," I said, turning my gaze skyward, where those two dots still danced in the night sky. "I assume giving her a fair fight. She has also been cursed into becoming a clown, so that is two of you touched by her magic."

"Three," Aunt Jing said, joining me in looking skyward, trying to assume a serene pose. The clothing and the filthy top hat ruined the effect. "Your Aunt Fang is a way's away, trying to catch up. She was hit with a curse first, so the lock on her magic has taken further effect."

My gaze snapped down from the sky. "Locked your magic? She was able to do this just by being near you?"

I knew what my aunts were capable of. Locking their magic not even with touch, was…I mentally raised Tagashin's power in my mind a few magnitudes higher than I'd guessed. And then tried not to be apprehensive over the fact that she'd been inside my head.

"No," Aunt Jing said, sounding faintly embarrassed. "It's a story of some length."

"I just need the specifics," I replied, settling down on the roof cross-legged. Having a flat roof had some benefits after all. "I'm sure we have some time before the kitsune brings Aunt Diwei down."

"You seem quite confident of that," She said, not bothering to sit down. She shivered a little as the wind blew through, probably not prepared for the cold in such threadbare clothing.

"Yes well, it is not often one sees Diwei Xang suddenly dressed in a clown's clothes," I replied. "The story? "Why are you hunting this kitsune, Aunt Jing? Has it even done anything yet?" How much do you know?

"It has," she confirmed. "An acquaintance of Diwei's told her about it, a fey that was pulling on the tethers of society, causing chaos and threatening the stability of this kingdom."

Well, that was one way of putting what had happened with Tagashin. Mostly bored young nobles having what had seemed like harmless fun with a friendly fey. Until it turned out she was going to blackmail them. And what they'd requested she turned into for their 'fun'.

Hardly society-destroying, even with the incident involving her impersonating the queen with one young noble who had grabbed Intelligence's attention. At least from the version I heard.

"We followed it here to this street, tracking the magic it leaves

"We met it a few houses from here, holed up in someone's cellar," she said. "We made it down with little issue, aside from your aunt's rudeness to the inhabitants."

Oh. More neighbors with reasons to dislike me. Perhaps they wouldn't recognize the resemblance? Oh, who was I kidding?

"After we met it, we decided the best course of action was to engage it in play until we understood it better."

"You decided to play," I repeated, trying not to sound condescending, but it was hard considering the sheer idiocy of what I'd just heard. "With a kitsune?"

"Lecturing doesn't suit you, child," Aunt Jing said, trying to look collected and poised. The effect was ruined by the threadbare clothing and her face being more smudge than skin. Some of it was coming off now, forming a cloud of soot and ash. "We assumed from our initial encounter that she was new to the world of mortals and unwise in dealing with us. Our initial look into what she had done in this city indicated a fey inclined to more risk than caution, and we decided to use that to ferret out her weaknesses and strengths. We made wagers for her, in contests with defined rules, only we found that she was..toying with us. Giving us glimpses at false weaknesses, ready to pull them away the moment we try to use them."

She trailed off, staying quiet while my mind arrived at the rather disturbing conclusion.

"You broke the rules," I said in quiet dread. "With a kitsune. Please tell me there weren't oaths involved."

"There may have been oaths," she admitted. "I didn't choose to make the first blow. The others figured that if it was a losing game, a surprise strike might still salvage it."

"And thus the results have come here," I said, still tracking the lights. Coming closer now, but still far, far up there. Aunt Diwei must be burning through our family's gifts quickly. Probably trying to finish this before the lock came into effect.

"They did land several blows," Aunt Jing said, sounding a little insulted. "I, as well, once the fey tried to escape. Its power was split, so even with the tricks, it was relatively weak."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"She, I'm pretty sure," I said, then paused. Power split?

Shite, had my little trip to the feyrealms made Tagashin almost get killed by the damn Xangs?

"So they have. But why are you even here?" Jing said, eyeing me suspiciously, probably wondering what the chances were of just stumbling across me on a rooftop.

"This is my home," I said. "I would offer some tea, but it is on the second floor, not on my roof."

"Oh," she said, some of the suspicion leaking away. "So you heard fighting on your roof and came to investigate?"

"Yes," I replied. "And then I saw Aunt Diwei turned into a clown, at which point she decided to try and cut my head off."

"You asked why she looked like a clown, didn't you?" Aunt Jing said with a resigned sigh. "While I will not deny she has offered offense to you in the past, you must learn not to prod her, no matter what your blood may-"

"I did not bring it up," I said, a chill creeping into my voice. "In fact, I do know why she looks like a clown, and why you are currently dressed the way you are, Aunt Jing. Tagashin's juvenile sense of humour makes itself apparent in how she chooses to react."

"Tagashin," My aunt repeated, her eyes narrowing. "You know this fey."

"I do," I said. "I'll explain, once everyone is here, assuming she can drag Aunt Diwei here without too much trouble."

Tagashin was still keeping a fair distance, leading my Aunt on a wild chase and probably waiting for the lock on my aunt's magic to take effect. Without teleportation or flight, and probably with her weapon changed as well, it would be easier to bring my aunt down. Not easy, I would say, probably at least somewhat of a struggle.

Another thump behind me as someone else landed on my roof, and I flanked back.

It was hard to see much of Aunt Fang, covered in the writhing mass of vermin currently crawling over her. Her clothing appeared to be as threadbare and cheap as Aunt Jing's, and in her hands was a cage on a pole, even more wriggling vermin inside.

"She called it a blessing," my aunt said, repressing a shudder as a rat crawled on her shoulder. She shoved it aside before it could get underneath her clothes, a battle she was losing with at least a half dozen others. "A blessing!"

"For a rat catcher, I imagine it would be," I said, inclining my head in greeting. "Aunt Fang."

It was hard to tell expressions given the living carpet struggling all over her body, but she grew tense as she looked my way. "Lily. Child, what have you done to yourself?"

"Something I've already explained," I said. "Protecting innocents, if you must know. Welcome to my home, or at least its roof."

Aunt Fang looked at me suspiciously, turning her gaze to Aunt Jing.

"Do we trust her?" Aunt Fang asked Aunt Jing.

"I'm not certain," Aunt Jing said, eyeing me. "It is strange that we would happen to arrive at her roof."

"Not strange at all," I said, not bothering to hide that I could hear them. They hadn't bothered to pitch their voices low enough that I couldn't hear them with unenhanced ears. "All will be revealed soon, I promise you."

"Are we sure this is Lily? She seems to have little in common with that callow, bloodthirsty youth who brought Bao back. But even if it isn't here, the blood always-"

"I do possess ears, whether or not I am Lily," I said. "Nor does my heritage have anything to do with trustworthiness."

Fang snorted. "You have the literal blood of hellspawn coursing through your veins, child. Your very essence is polluted with lies. Your resistance to it would be a testament to your character, but not natural."

"And your conclusion is a testament to your not spending as much time in the Quarter as you should, Aunt Fang," I replied.

She stiffened, or maybe that was just the movement of the rats, but I was saved from further conversation as both flying lights suddenly descended, and then Aunt Diwei slammed into the roof in front of me.

My aunt groaned, limbs askew as the long, frilly skirts of her costume were all around her. A wooden scepter came down after, made of cheap splintery wood and badly painted. At least this clown costume had trousers sewn in, apparently one single outfit. I got up swiftly, moving over to where Tagashin was landing lightly on her feet.

Best not to be near Diwei when she same to her senses.

"Hi Malvs," Tagashin said, throwing me a jaunty wave as she touched down. She seemed proud, as she sneered at where the downed Aunt Diwei groaned. "You look like you've had a time and a half."

"Malvs?" I asked with a small smile. "Malvia is literally just one more syllable, Tagashin."

"One syllable less is still enough for a nickname," she said, coming closer, pausing before she reached my personal space. "Are you smiling? Oh, someone has definitely had an experience. Well, while I can't approve of further diabolism, are those fins? Give me a spin, please?"

I had definitely smiled before when Tagashin was around. I was sure of it.

"Business first," I said, nodding towards the aunts.

"Oh, I think that will solve itself," Tagashin said with a wink. "I've made sure of it."

I rolled my eyes. It would not. I turned my attention fully to the Aunts now.

"Jing, why does that little Hellspawn have her head still on?" Aunt Diwei said, having moved to the other side of the roof. Despite her landing, she seemed to have recovered quickly. "She is clearly collaborating with this vile kitsune on her works most foul!"

"Certainly not on anything of that kind," I said, moving to keep myself between the aunts and Tagashin, hoping to try and block the most kneejerk of hostilities.

I didn't doubt they all had their ways to strike while avoiding me, and at least one would prefer striking through me. Two may see it as neutral. Still, I had to at least try.

"I understand you three think Tagashin has been responsible for several disruptive actions," I said. "While that is true, they have been greatly exaggerated, and she has also ceased-"

"Do not trade in lies, Foulblood," Aunt Diwei said, scowling at me. "You profane the family name you were born with, using its good reputation to spread falsehoods around. May that thing that call you child take you soon, in order to rid the mortal world of you-"

Something caught my eye as she ranted. Her nose was swollen, the red from the bruise even showing through the paint. It was probably from some blow Tagashin had landed during their aerial chase. Although the kitsune had been avoiding any physical contact rough enough to bruise? Must have been when they were in the sky.

I stilled as I realized that the bruise was swelling, growing larger and redder as it caught. Soon it was twice the size of Diwei's nose, grabbing the attention of all three aunts.

With a loud honk, the end of Aunt Diwei's nose ballooned, quickly forming into a red ball that dominated her face. Her eyes fixed on it, a war between horror, anger, and confusion played out inside them.

"I…you…" she sputtered, every word followed by an echoing honk as the wooden scepter trembled in her hands.

"Tagashin, please dispel what you've afflicted these three with, so we can have a polite conversation?" I asked, feeling like what little control I had was swiftly being lost. Over this conversation, and my own urge to start laughing.

Aunt Fang was swiftly losing her patience with the rats, which were winning their war against her, while Aunt Diwei still looked to be on the verge of taking another swing. She had been poked and prodded both by Tagashin and me, and I think the nose was the final straw. If only it were just things done and not my mere existence that nettled her.

"I see very little reason to," Tagashin said, her grin widening as it darted between the three aunts. "After all, I was not the one to swing first, and I believe murder is considered quite the crime here, isn't it?"

"You will return my blade," Aunt Diwei snarled, pointing the wooden scepter at Tagashin, trying to drown out the honking with more words. "Then you will restore all of us!"

"Do not threaten her," Aunt Fang hissed out, a shrill quality to her voice that hadn't been there before. Then again, I'd been on the receiving end of being swarmed by rats before. Losing composure was expected.

"Everyone, please calm down," I said. "Tagashin, do you think polite conversation is going to be possible while you have all three of them cursed?"

"I don't know why we need to be polite about it," Tagashin mused. "You attempted to ambush a fox, only to find out that it had claws and teeth. Now scurry back and lick your wounds, before I decide nips weren't enough."

On the other side of the roof, Aunt Jing was talking to the other two, as close as she could be without soot enveloping them as well. I suppose that left me with Tagashin to convince.

"Nips have been delivered," I said. "Now's the time to make sure neither side comes sneaking back the next day to plant knives in the other's back. If you want to keep some reminders, fine, but please dispel a reasonable amount. You've turned Aunt Jing into a walking health hazard to everyone's lungs."

"They'll know not to stab knives because they won't even know how to hold them," Tagashin said, a smile that could only be described as sinister spreading across her face.

I followed her gaze to Aunt Jing. The soot cloud enveloped her, clouding her from sight by now. Not enough that I missed her shrinking a couple of inches. Aunt Fang didn't show any other signs of changing, not until she tried to whisper something to the other two and got startled glances.

I kept my composure. Barely. Tagashin's idea of an Anglean accent from the Toil districts was…certainly something to hear. Also completely incomprehensible. How had she made Easen even more incomprehensible than it normally was? Also, she sounded barely out of adolescence, which was creepy coming from a woman twice my age.

"Tagashin," I said, inclining my head downward.

Samuel Voltar wouldn't tolerate my aunts threatening the life of Tagashin. I didn't think he'd be any more tolerant of this ending with the three Xangs cursed into…new lines of work.

Okay, it probably wouldn't get that far. Unless Grandfather had forgotten how to cast, or all of my cousins had decided not to pursue the old ways, they could break the curses. And then we'd have the entire clan out, this time for more justifiable reasons.

"It's a boon," Tagashin protested. "It'll take years off their lives. And maybe slowly erode their identities until nothing is left."

"Tagashin!" I said more firmly. "Reverse it, please."

"Why?" she responded, her own eyes like steel as she watched the Xangs, who were changing even further now, bodies shifting to fit the roles Tagashin had set for them. "They brought it on themselves, and now they pay. Nice, easy, simple, how things should be."

I paused. That…had Tagashin ever sounded like that before?

Had being shot put off her game? Not being here when the devil had attacked? Having to take my mind away to the fey realms as swiftly as possible.

My aunt's explanation from before echoed in my mind. They'd decided to play with Tagashin, under the assumption she was a lot less used to mortals than they expected. And they'd tried to lay a trap in that, and had broken oaths. Bad enough they were out to kill her, they'd violated the very things that defined the fey.

No, I realized, it wasn't just that Tagashin had been attacked. She'd been given people to play with, ones she'd decided weren't covered by whatever boundaries Intelligence had forced on her, and she'd decided to have fun, because she'd been wounded in pride as well as flesh and had been given targets she decided were deserving. And then they'd come, the ones she knew were hunting, and at first it seemed like something easy, something to relax and let play out and enjoy

I suddenly got the strange sensation that the incident with the cows had been her equivalent of taking it easy.

"Tagashin, I doubt our superiors will appreciate you transforming three of the Xangs into a clown, a rat catcher, and a chimney sweep," I muttered. "Especially if any of the others ever figure out what happened."

"Nah," Tagashin replied, winking at me. "I can adjust their memories. Actually, by the time it's done, the Xangs might be the only ones who remember how it is. The ones close to them, anyway."

That chill in my heart only grew colder. "Tagashin, too far. Far too far."

A cold gaze turned my way. "Is it? Strange. I know very little about what your life was like with them, but my understanding is that you shouldn't have much sympathy, should you."

"If one of them tried to kill me, maybe," I pleaded. "But even then, nothing like this, and you are supposed to be better than me."

"They tried to kill me, Malvia, and they had a better chance than they should have," she said, focused on the three, unable to even talk as wordless, keening cries emerged from each of them. "Low on power saving, you, running around this city, getting shot when I shouldn't have, and they not only came with the intent to end me, they bargained in bad faith and broke oaths. Broke oaths and stabbed blade, so deep inside they almost cut out everything that is me. Oathbreakers named, and so they shall pay a price, of being forced into lives where perhaps they will learn differently."

Oh, please let me not be dealing with a kitsune on the verge of a breakdown because she got a reminder that she could be killed. I wasn't remotely qualified to handle that in any way.

"You cannot just rewrite who they are," I said. "And even if you can, will you do it to me next-"

"You haven't broken oaths," she snapped, glaring my way, and her eyes glowed so brightly they hurt to look at, and I recoiled, eyes hurting. "You've tried to kill me, and it was amusing, and I dusted myself off; it was never any serious danger, and you didn't break anything you swore to me. So they get a permanent solution."

She turned her attention back to them, practically snarling. I spared a glance at the aunts. Motionless, unfamiliar, twitching.

"Tagashin?"

No response, and she snarled again as my hand hesitantly neared her arm. Shite. Shite. I needed to..make it clear to her that this was not a solution. But how to even get her attention off the people who'd hurt her standing right in front of her-

Oh. Well. There was one potential way. Maybe not the best way, but I needed something now. Damn you, Tagashin. Damn you twice. Breathe, recall what it feels like. How best to handle this permanently?

"Cut their throats," I said. "If you want to be thorough, slit their throats and yank out their entrails. If you want to make sure no necromancer can trace you, burning down to ash works fine, but you'll have to spread it afterwards. A large enough pile will allow the souls to communicate. Mixing with other powders, then baking into bricks, has a reductive effect, especially with the right substances. Some of them are downstairs. In terms of ensuring their souls aren't delivered to any outer plane they can be called from, we'll need some blades enchanted to carve up spirits."

That got her attention away from them, some of that fire leaking out of her eyes.

"What are-"

"We'll need a good story for it," I continued. "Diwei is the weak link there; it'll be easy to sell that between you being you, and her hatred of me. There was no appeasing her. She took a swing that forced a lethal countermeasure. The other two joined in, we had to do it. With what is currently going on, we can probably sell our services as being needed enough that they'll be willing to tolerate it. Disposal will still need to be done in case they want to bring them back after or question our stories. I can school you on the kind of answers that should lead them to believe any reluctant answers on our part are out of guilt-"

"What are you doing, Malvia?" she said flatly. "You're acting like-"

"You would never have met me with the Flame," I said. "So this will seem a bit strange. That's fine. Now, I can handle the knife if you don't have the experience, but if you do, I can hold them down. Although I assume in this state, they'll be helpless. We can start the corpse deconstruction now."

"You're forcing this," she said, eyes narrowing, attention fully drawn away now. "You're forcing yourself hard into being the thing you thought you were, this…perfect foot soldier your half-brother convinced you to be."

"You are right," I said. "Who is forcing me to be that right now, Tagashin?"

"I am not doing anything," Tagashin said stiffly. "You're putting this on in some futile attempt at proving a point. I am handling this permanently-"

"This isn't permanent!" I yelled. "This is a temporary fix until someone with more powerful magic takes a look and realizes what you did! The only permanent solution is death! Only it isn't, because you've got the results of years of that staring you in the face, Tagashin! Do you think killing all my problems has gotten me anywhere? And that is what this is, because if you think no one can break this, then yes, you are killing them, and that's not karma, that's catharsis. And why? Because you got wounded? Because you got caught off-guard? Because helping me made you vulnerable?"

She licked her lips. "That has nothing to do with it, I got caught off-guard-"

"And you got injured, and then you helped me, saved me, but it meant getting injured again, by stupid people for stupid reasons," I said. "How long has it been since that happened? Has it happened to you at all?"

"I…" she hesitated, something inside her holding her back, and in that hesitation, I swept forward and embraced her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm returning your hug from earlier," I said, pressing my face against the warm fur of her shoulder as I pulled her tight. "Do you want me to let go?"

A shudder, then a whisper. "No."

"They can't hurt you," I told her.

A choked laugh. "They can't hurt me now."

"They're handled," I told her quietly. "All we need to do is tell them you work for Intelligence, and it's over. They won't hurt you after that."

"They can try," she said apprehensively. "When the time is up, they-"

"-would not come because this isn't personal to them. It's a sport, and that's cruel and fucked up in many ways, Tagashin, but it's impersonal. This is not. It's unneeded and it's cruel, and even Malvia Harrow at her worst would consider it a step too far."

"Fey rules are different," she replied, voice firmer.

"They aren't fey. These aren't the fey realms. And while I fully am willing to help you extract something out of them for broken oaths, doing this helps no one, least of all you. You're far too skilled at getting out of things without violence to fall into the bad habit of using it."

"Hypocrite," she accused me, as she moved away, and I gently let go.

"Of course," I said. "Doesn't mean it's not true for you."

A pause, and something shifted on her face, and I hoped this was finally a sign I was getting through.

"Just let them go, Tagashin. You don't want to walk this path. Please."

Something hurt inside my head suddenly, swallowing my thoughts, a sudden flash across the insides, and…why was I on my roof? Why did I feel warm? Was that fur on my sleeves?

I paused. Across from the roof of us were strangers. Not even Infernal, and a strange mix of professions as well. I could perhaps buy a human rat catcher and chimney sweep, being in the Quarter for business. Mind you, there wasn't much spare coin in the Quarter just to have chimneys cleaned, and rats were eaten more than caught. But why a clown? And why were they on my roof? Why was I on my roof?

I'd come up here after waking, why? The other three seemed just as confused as I, the sweep on the verge of crying. She couldn't have been more than fourteen. The other two seemed just as bewildered but tried to comfort her. Not much older than the sweep.

I kept my distance. Whatever had caused this, I wouldn't risk being an Infernal causing any more distress until we figured this out.

"Tagashin, there's a gap in my memory," I told her quietly, only to see that she was perfectly calm, almost content in expression. "Wait, is this your-"

"Yes," she said politely. "Don't worry, it should fix itself soon."

"I…why? What are we doing here?"

"Torturing some people who deserve it," the kitsune idly said, tone joking, but there was something lurking underneath. "Trust me."

They did not look like they did, not at all. Just people as confused as I was, huddling together as they stared our way with frightened eyes. "Could we not? Regardless of whether they do deserve it?"

A pause, as she looked at me, then her expression seemed to crumple in on itself.

"Oh, fine," she said, gesturing with her hands, the strangers shattered into clouds of butterflies. "I see almost becoming a devil did nothing for your sense of humor. I just want it on the record, I was going to do this anyway."

My memories returned, and I quietly exhaled as I realized what had almost happened.

The clouds of purple, pink, and green butterflies dissipated, revealing that my aunts had thankfully changed back. Mostly. Okay, they all still had the clothing from the curses, Aunt Jing had soot smears, and Aunt Fang had a single rat perched in her hair, but progress.

They also had their swords back. Aunt Diwei pointed hers at Tagashin's head.

"Now you shall pay," she snarled and lunged.