The crowd are muttering to each other… shit… I think they are starting to consider it.

  Gentle: “Oh, just hand over the child. Then we can move on.”

  Phoenix: “Touch that child and I will burn you!”

  Gentle: “Oh, really. You’ve been burned enough for all of us. And why are you so attached to this urchin anyway?”

  Phoenix looked at her furiously. I have never seen Phoenix look so overwhelmingly pissed. Even when Agaroth was winding her up, she only really got to the point of giving a look of irritation rather than rage.

  Kiyui grabbed the dagger out of my hand, stood in front of Tadwick and put it to his arm. I looked at him and shook my head. He gave me a look of absolute determination. If anyone makes a move for Tadwick, he’s going to lose it… shit… I need to do something… how the fuck do I stop that thing? I thought we’d have longer before it found us… shit.

  Duke: “Goblin… Vesidia… use the sword!”

  Dwynfel: “I don’t know how!”

  Flora suddenly dropped to the floor in front of me. She must have been concealing herself by hiding on the ceiling or something.

  Flora: “Learn… sword has great power.”

  Duke: “Another friend of yours?”

  Phoenix gave the duke a disapproving glare and responded with disdain.

  Phoenix: “Yes.”

  Duke: “Umm… what is it?”

  Incubus: “If you have finished your pointless exchange. I will be taking the child now!”

  The Incubus moved towards Kiyui and Tadwick. Flora turned to face it.

  Flora: “I cease its movement… use the sword…”

  Without turning away from the Incubus, Flora reached inside her hood, removed her mask, and threw it to me.

  Flora: “Give to Svampe… will know what to do.”

  Dwynfel: “What?”

  As she walked towards the Incubus, it summoned all of its black arms to attack her. She dodged each of their attacked with ease whilst continuing to speak to me.

  Flora: “The sword… do not… hesitate.”

  Out of nowhere large roots broke through the floor and began a tangled war with the black arms. Flora began fighting with the Incubus. They both moved so fast that it was bewildering to watch. I could barely keep track of who was dodging who. I had never seen Flora’s tendrils move so fluidly. The Incubus bared its teeth in frustration, trying to bite and claw at Flora. It was hard to tell if it was angry or exhilarated to finally have an opponent that could actually pose a threat to it.

  A group of party guests tried to run past the fight to escape through the main doors but were badly injured by the flying arms and vines. Various other guests rushed past us to try and escape via the balcony.

  Duke: “The sword, boy! The sword!”

  I handed the mask to Kiyui, took the scabbard off my back, and drew the sword. I didn’t feel the power that I felt before… it didn’t start to glow or anything. It just looked like a normal sword.

  Dwynfel: “It’s not doing anything!”

  Phoenix: “Mother of mercy, come here!”

  Phoenix stepped out from behind Rosario and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me forward. She got down on her knees and turned me to face Flora and the Incubus.

  Dwynfel: “What are you doing?”

  Phoenix: “Guiding you through this. Eyes front, raise the sword.”

  She placed her hands on my shoulders, gripping tightly with her right hand and began to whisper calmly into my ear.

  Phoenix: “It is a magic item. You need to feel the flow of mana within both it and you.”

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  Dwynfel: “But I’ve never had any mana in me!”

  Phoenix: “Shut up. Do as I say.”

  Fuck… fuck… fuck… why is everything on my shoulders… why did I have to pull the stupid magic sword from the fucking wall? I’ve never had any aptitude for magic… this makes no sense… why the fuck would the gods pick me? Fuck… can somebody else take over… please… gods… pick somebody else… I can’t do this… I can’t… I don’t know how! Fuck… the sword is starting to glow again… fuck… its glowing again…

  Phoenix: “Breathe. Try to stay calm.”

  Dwynfel: “I’ve never been calm in my life… I’m a painfully depressing bundle of trauma and neurosis… do you seriously think I can be calm right now!?”

  Phoenix: “Turn your focus inward. Think about what you feel on the inside…”

  Dwynfel: “I feel sick.”

  Phoenix: “There is magic flowing through you, Dwynfel. I can feel it; you need to focus it.”

  Okay… okay… breathe… calm… focus… focus… you can do this. Okay… I can feel something… I can definitely feel magic in the sword… and… is this what magic really feels like?

  Dwynfel: “I can feel something in my chest… it feels weird… I don’t like this…”

  Phoenix: “You’re just new to this. Try to stay calm and focus that energy. Push it towards the sword.”

  Dwynfel: “How on earth do I push it?”

  Phoenix: “The energy is within you. You can direct it. You just have to focus on it and the sword at the same time. Push the energy out through the sword.”

  Out through the sword… out through the sword… send the energy out through the sword. Fuck me… I think it’s working… I can feel it moving… I think the sword is telling me what to do… I can feel it directing my hands… moving my hands in a circle… fuck… I’ve made a circle of fire… I can feel the energy getting stronger… oh shit… this is getting too powerful… I don’t know how to stop… no, no, no, no, no.

  Lucas was helping Tristan up. Nomius had finally recovered from being thrown against the wall. He moved forwards to try to assist Flora.

  Dwynfel: “I can’t control this! Everybody, get down!”

  Nomius turned… he threw Lucas and Tristan to the ground, before diving on top of them to shield them. Flora wrapped herself around the Incubus… they both became entwined in a mass of vines and black arms.

  Flora: “Do it.”

  I cut downwards with the sword and the circle of pure white fire flew forwards… growing as it moved and cutting everything in its path. The vines and arms fell to the ground… Flora’s cloak dropped to the ground and the Incubus stood there… blood dripping from its jaws… a huge flaming gash in its abdomen. It looked at me with utter disgust before collapsing to the ground.

  Various parts of the room were on fire… including Nomius’ robe… Lucas rushed to pull down one of the curtains to put him out. Everybody else in the room was simply stood in awe. Phoenix removed her hands from my shoulders and stood up.

  Phoenix: “See. That wasn’t so hard.”

  I dropped the sword to the ground and just stared at it. Then the main doors burst open and Asmodeus came bounding in.

  Asmodeus: “Do you not see the chaos this devil causes us!?”

  He gestured around the room… at the footmen rushing to put out flames… at the injured party guests… at Tristan who still lay injured on the floor… at the dead footmen by the door, then finally at Nomius.

  Asmodeus: “He even brings other beasts into your home and you bat not an eye!”

  Katheryn: “He just saved us all and an innocent child from that thing!”

  Asmodeus: “A thing that would not have been a threat to you had he not been here.”

  Katheryn: “He is here because he saved me from a fate worse than death. Show him some respect.”

  Duke: “My daughter is right, Asmodeus. This is not the fault of the goblin. He has behaved admirably. Now leave before I have you escorted out.”

  Two footmen moved towards Asmodeus. He took a step back.

  Asmodeus: “I shall leave of my own accord… but mark my words! That goblin shall be the death of all of us!”

  Finally, he turned and stormed out of the room.

  Agaroth: “What a cunt.”

  I walked forward to the pile of vines and limbs that lay on the floor next to the corpse of the Incubus. I picked up Flora’s cloak. Her gloves lay singed on the ground at my feet. Tadwick and Kiyui stepped forward and stood next to me. Kiyui put his hand on my shoulder. I placed my hand on his. What just happened terrifies me to my core… but having him near helps… somehow it helps.

  Tadwick: “I don’t understand… where’s Flowa?”