Tan plopped right down next to him on the couch and picked up where the earlier conversation had been interrupted.

“So, how would we know if this thing is a raised construct or not?”

Niran returned to his seat as well, reclaiming his teacup. “Hmm, there will be key signs. Devan—can I call you that?”

“Sure.” Devan didn’t really care for formality; he was just used to it after being in court for a decade.

“A few questions for you. First, did you know anything about this danger before going into the woods?”

“There were reports, yes. Mostly the reports were secondhand, as there was only one witness—a little girl—who was unharmed. Well, two witnesses now, since I survived it. We’ve had a total of twenty-three deaths associated with the creature. All of them with their throats ripped out and drained of blood.”

“Just adults?” Niran pressed. “No sign of animal attack?”

“No. In fact, I can confidently say no animals were harmed. The horses were cut free, and I found one dog still leashed near its dead owners. When the creature attacked, she only went after me. She wasn’t interested in my stallion.”

“You said ‘she’?”

“The impression I got was of a female. Something about the way her face was shaped, and how short she was. I might be wrong, but my instincts said female.”

“Did you get that good a look at her, then?”

“Unfortunately. The damn thing landed right on top of me. Despite her wicked speed, she weighed an incredible amount, like a boulder. It was all I could do to keep her off me. Her hair was dark, in snarled knots, teeth that of a shark’s. Her breath smelled foul, too. Like a rancid meathouse.”

Niran sat back, sipped at his tea, and sat with that information for a long moment. “Not a construct, that’s my opinion. You can’t change fundamental things about a body even with the raising of it. Her weight shouldn’t have changed. Her mouth shouldn’t be shaped any differently than a human’s. And the key point is that if she really was raised and then went wild, everything moving should be prey to her. Animals and humans alike would be her source of food. To leave the animals and a child behind makes no sense.”

“She’s venomous, too,” Tan added thoughtfully. “Reminds me of a creature I faced before with Master.”

Devan felt like this was the right time to throw his theory into the mix. “The thing of it is, I’ve heard of a monster like this before. From the wooded area just north of Illesea. But it doesn’t make sense to me that it would be this far north.”

Tan leaned in against his side. “What, dearest?”

“It’s called a vampire.”

“Vampire,” Niran repeated then snapped his fingers in recognition. “Right, a waemphir! Now that would make sense to me. It fits all the specifications for one. Did it have an abhorrence for sunlight?”

“Well, it didn’t follow me out of the woods, at least. There’s been no reported attacks outside of Hunter’s Woods, either.”

“Then it’s sticking to the shade of the trees.” Niran nodded sagely. “Hmm, yes, that makes sense. Tan, thoughts?”

“Like I said, it reminds me of that beast Master and I fought. I think we’re right. I didn’t analyze the venom from Devan’s skin; you arrived too quickly. We can verify it through a sample I collected later.”

“Alright, how do we go about killing this thing? Devan, you said she was insanely fast.”

“So much so that I struggled just to face her.”

“Then combat is probably not the best idea.” Niran shrugged. “Fine. Let’s burn the forest to the ground. That’ll smoke her out.”

Fa clapped. “Oh, good idea. We can just replant later.”

Oh gods above. Tan really was the sane one out of the three.

“Let’s not destroy a primeval forest just over one monster, please,” Devan said sternly. With feeling.

Tan extended his hands like he was summoning something from on high. “Behold—! Wait. Wait, I can’t find it. I can’t find my last fuck. Nope, I’m good with burning down the forest.”

How much tea, exactly, did Devan need to drink before these three offered a sane suggestion?

“I think”—Devan gave Tan his firm look, the one he gave younger subordinates who were deliberately doing things to get on his nerves—“that one or the other of us should be sedated.”

“If you think sleeping on it will make me calm down, you’re wrong.” Tan patted Devan’s uninjured cheek lightly and, while his mouth was smiling, his eyes were not. “She hurt you. She will pay the price for that.”

It had been so long since anyone cared if he were hurt or not—truly cared, that is—that Devan felt touched at those words. Tan was seriously enraged on his behalf. Almost surprisingly so. He was used to Tan flirting, but this felt more sincere, as if Tan was wholly invested in his wellbeing. It was hard not to feel the love. The idea surprised him enough that it took a moment for him to respond.

Devan shook his head. He wasn’t going to budge on this point. “Not burning down the forest. Plan B, please.”

“We can throw the loopy thing at her,” Fa suggested brightly.

Tan perked up, interested. “Oh, the trap that explodes everything inside of it? You still have that?”

“Good find,” Niran commented with a nostalgic tone.

“I know, right?” To Tan, Fa confirmed, “I still have it.”

“Traps are all well and good, but we still have to get safely inside the woods to put the trap into place,” Devan pointed out patiently. “What safeguards do you have for that?”

“Oh, we’ll get a ringed guard of skeletons to escort us in and out, should be fine.” Niran waved this away like it was nothing. “If she attacks us before we can get the trap set up, so much the better. We’ll just take her down immediately.”

Uh-huh. Devan wasn’t holding his breath. “Do you mind if I see one of your skeletons to assess combat readiness? Considering I’m the only one who’s fought her, I think it’s fair I make the evaluation.”

“Oh. Sure. Here, Hans, take the key and let them out.”

Wait. Key? Devan spluttered, almost choking on the bite he’d just taken. “Aren’t a necromancer’s raises still sentient?”

“Sure?” Niran answered as if he had no idea why Devan was questioning this.

“You locked sentient beings up?”

Tan growled at his brother, “I know I say some dumb shit, but that was dumb.”

“All I said was I was letting them out and using this key. I didn’t say I locked them in!”

“You realize that doesn’t help your case, right?”

Hans took the key and assured Devan, “It was a safety precaution, Sir Knight. The skeletons tend to be easily distracted and get lost in the labyrinth. They were made comfortable in a guest room before they settled in for a long rest.”

“Oh.” Devan didn’t like the idea of sentient beings mistreated, even if they were a necromancer’s conjurations. “That does make me feel better, Hans, thank you.”

Niran looked miffed this was even in question to begin with.

Yeah, Devan couldn’t trust these three without supervision. He didn’t know what would happen, he just knew that the cleanup after the explosion would somehow land on him.

“Tan.”

“Right here, darling.”

“I’m going in with you.”

Tan looked him over uncertainly. “You’re not up for that, though.”

“Give me a day or three. I’m certain I’ll heal quickly with your care. But you’re not going in there without me.”

“It’s like you don’t trust us!”

Devan sipped his tea and pointedly did not respond.