Divina laughed. It was a tired and empty sound that she forced between the teeth of her wolfish grin. “You,” she uttered incredulously, “ask for mercy?” Blood ran along the line of her jaw dripping in streaks down and over her breast plate. “You have forced your way from the darkest depths into a world that doesn't want you. You have compelled innocents to commit heinous acts for nothing more than your entertainment. You have violated this land and inflicted wounds upon these woods that will take generations to restore. And then you ask me for mercy.” She held the sword steady, even in her left hand. “So, now I will send you back to the abyss and I hope you agonize over your defeat for another hundred thousand years. That is all the mercy I am willing to give this day.”

Askathstral lay, wings outstretched, a solemn look on its face and its physical form shuddering and convulsing, as its resolve strained to stay anchored in this world. The Paladin pulled her sword back to give the final deadly strike.

And then the fiend smiled. “Ahhhhhhh, if not mercy for me Paladin. Then show mercy to us, to the witch-child?”

Realization dawned and Divina glanced toward the now-conscious girl sprawled unceremoniously in the dirt. Their eyes met and the truth veiled a dark shame over the young girl’s face. It took every ounce of strength Divina had left to stop the blade strike. She snaked her hand and weapon pierced the demon flesh once more less than an inch to the right of Philippa’s stolen heart.

“No.” The word carried an infinite weight of disappointment. “Oh Philippa, you didn’t.”

The grin across the demon’s rictus set face somehow became wider.

“Ahhhhh, you have finally figured it out, Child of the Storm.” It rasped. “What you fear is true. So, show mercy to me and you show mercy to the witch-child. Our destinies are intertwined.”

Divina’s eyes fell to the ground. “Philippa, you were the one who gave your heart? You were the sacrifice to manifest Askathstral’s physical form.” She said flatly.

The girl’s silence was as good as a confession.

“You are bound to its form.” Divina continued gesturing at Askathstral. “Do you understand what that means?”

The young girl said nothing.

“Philippa,” the girl's name came out more harshly than Davina had intended. “Do you understand what you have done?”

The words hung in the air between them like a wall, dividing the two. They grew and filled the space between them. Every moment that the younger girl refrained from giving the answer Divina’s heart grew heavier. Quiet tears began to tumble down her face, never breaking the granite-hard expression she wore.

“I didn’t.” She confessed eventually. “Not until after it was done.” The words tumbled with both regret and relief.

“Ahhhhh, I was a perfect teacher.” The demon chimed with malicious glee. “I explained the details of the rite in full. It was delicious. And then I explained the consequences to my witch-child.”

“But not until after the rite was complete?” It wasn't really a question. More of a realization of the horrible certainty. Despair filled Divina’s voice once more. “That’s what happened, Philippa? Please, correct me if I am wrong.” It was the harsh plea of a brokenhearted teacher.

The young girl hesitated and then shook her head. “No, you’re right. That’s how it happened.”

“Ahhhhh. You see?” whispered Askathstral with delight as its body continued to rapidly decompose. “I did my part to educate this backwoods-child as best I could.”

“Silence!” Divina forced the emotions of rage and ferocity into her words without thinking, mixing it with the little remaining celestial power she had left at her disposal. She knew she was walking the dangerous line of invocation. She was calling power without restraint she had been taught or the safety of her rites or artifacts. At that moment she didn’t care. A divine lance of power rushed at the demon and Askathstral was struck into silence. Relative stillness fell over the town square. Divina turned back to Philippa. “So you understand what will happen when I dispatch the demon?”

“I do.”

More tears filled The Paladins eyes. Philippa's quiet resolve broke and once again, together with Divina, she began to weep. After a while, the young girl's crying stopped, and through gritted teeth she said. “Do it.”

“Killing the demon will kill you!” She stressed the words.

“I know.” Her words were now hard and steadfast. “Do it. I’m ready to pay for my actions.”

“No. I’m sorry. There must be another way.”

“You know there isn’t. Kill us both and be done with it.”

“The wisdom of Audrashni teaches that there is always another way.” Divina pleaded looking for another way out.

“You know there isn’t, and this creature can’t be allowed to continue doing what it’s done to my family and friends to others.. You’ve seen what it’s capable of.

A deep, aching, distant sorrow edged her words. “I can’t take another mortal life. I won't do it.”

“Destroy it now.” Philippa desperately screamed.

Divina raised the blade one final time. Philippa's face contorted with dread and anxiety waiting for the final blow. The sword flashed in a mirror of blazing firelight and the paladin brought it down in a deadly practiced arc.