Ethelred—or rather, one of his puppets—stood outside Cassian’s home. 

Unfortunately, it seemed Cassian wouldn’t be getting a shred of peace now that Ethelred knew where he’d been hiding all along. Perhaps it was time for him to move on. If only so he could spend his last days in relative peace. 

There was also the possibility that he’d die far enough from Ethelred to ruin his plans. That was always a good source of motivation. 

He let the door close behind him, forgetting about the thief hiding in his home in favor of focusing on the puppet in the cloak and bone mask. Ethelred made no move towards him, but Cassian could feel his gaze upon him, hidden behind the dark voids left by his mask. 

“I didn’t expect you to come and kill me so soon,” he said, not sounding particularly alarmed.

“Oh, you know better than that,” Ethelred’s voice held an undercurrent of amusement. “Your time will come, but for now I’m only here for a certain thief.” 

“And you think he’s here?” Cassian did his best to sound as incredulous as possible. It wasn’t too difficult to pull off. Truth be told, he wasn’t really sure why he was hiding the thief away from Ethelred when it would be much easier to simply hand him over. 

“Come now, Cassian. You know better than to lie to me,” Ethelred spoke with a sickly sweet tone, taunting Cassian with his words. “Give me the thief and I’ll leave you be. For the time being.” 

Cassian could have laughed at that. It was just like Ethelred to offer such a deal—one that tried to give him the illusion of a choice. After all, it didn’t matter what Cassian did. Ethelred would do what he could to get his way in the end. 

“And if I refuse?” Cassian asked, more out of curiosity as to what Ethelred’s answer would be. 

“Don’t make things harder on yourself than they should be.” Gone was the wicked humor in Ethelred’s voice, giving way to annoyance—something Cassian knew to be a dangerous thing. 

There was a rustling all around him and several pairs of glowing eyes—like brilliant stars amidst a sky of inky black. He could hear growling, low and menacing. It was enough to make Cassian tense. Not for the first time, he had to wonder why he was bothering to stand against Ethelred. 

All this for the thief who started it all, he couldn’t help but think. 

“He’s not here,” Cassian said, eyes flicking off to the side where there was the sound of something moving. From the treeline emerged a large beast, pitch black and with glowing eyes the color of fresh blood. Cassian could see pearly white teeth lining a wide, dog-like mouth. “Beasts from the underworld? You seem desperate to get a hold of this thief of yours. Any reason in particular?” Cassian spoke in a tone of disinterest even as his heartbeat quickened within his chest. 

“None that should matter to you.” Ethelred stared at Cassian long enough to make him want to squirm. Still, there was something off about his answer—or rather, about his tone. 

He’d spoken too quickly for it to be the truth, as if wanting to convince Cassian he could care less about having a proper reason. But Cassian had known Ethelred for long enough to know better, in spite of wishing that weren’t the case. For a second, he leaned on that knowledge, trying his best to figure out why Ethelred was there in the first place. 

The answer came to him soon enough—a memory of flashing still sinking into ebony robes. Cassian could have laughed. 

“Are you upset he kept you from stopping me? That I shattered the staff because he bought me enough time?” There was glee in his voice, that much Cassian could tell. He couldn’t really help it in the face of Ethelred’s pettiness. He supposed it made sense for him to be so vindictive. 

“Where is he, Cassian?” Ethelred asked once again, ignoring the questions Cassian had just spoken. 

It was almost funny to see Ethelred avoiding a question. To Cassian, it almost seemed like he didn’t want to admit such a thing would bother him—that he would allow such a trivial thing to drive his actions. Maybe it was how ridiculous the whole situation was that made Cassian step forward.

The beasts surrounding them, blending into the shadows as if a part of them, remained still—just as Cassian expected. His steps were slow, his gaze fixated on the emptiness hiding the eyes looking at him. 

Cassian was reminded of the gaze he’d grown to know all too well through the years. He wondered just what those same eyes would look like then when even the stare from Ethelred’s puppets was enough to make a chill run through his body. Briefly, Cassian wondered if any of the warmth he’d found within those eyes in the past had ever truly been there to begin with. They’d been green, he remembered. Green like the thief’s eyes. 

No, they were dead and murky even back then, he thought, questioning how he’d been unable to see the lies within them. 

He stopped right in front of Ethelred and stared at the mask of bone. The stench of death hung over them. It would be a subtle thing for most but was a glaring presence for Cassian who was so painfully familiar with it. A tell-tale sign of the rotten core beneath the cloak and mask. 

“If you think I’ll go along with your wishes so easily, you may as well kill me now,” said Cassian before his lips curled into a faint smirk. “But I suppose you can’t do that just yet, can you?”

Cassian couldn’t feel Ethelred’s anger—the man wasn’t really there to poison the air with his rage—but he knew that, wherever he was, he would be simmering in it at that moment. They both knew Cassian was right. Ethelred couldn’t kill him. Not yet. 

Not when he was too far for Ethelred to drain what was left of his life and certainly not with the staff’s pieces still scattered. And so, Cassian basked in the knowledge that there was little Ethelred could do. He had no hold on him, no way to control him and not a shred of affection remaining toward Ethelred that might pose a weakness to be exploited. 

What little fear Cassian might have felt vanished at the thought. In truth, he had nothing left to lose. 

At least, he’d thought so. 

Quick as a flash, Ethelred reached for him. His hand—his puppet’s cold grasp—clamped around Cassian’s thin neck. He felt thick fingers dig into his flesh while he struggled to breathe. Ethelred pulled him towards him, so close Cassian could almost see the dead gaze hidden behind the mask. 

“Don’t tempt me,” Ethelred said. His hand tightened around Cassian’s throat. 

Cassian reached up, his own hands clawing at the arm holding him in spite of the knowledge that he couldn’t truly hurt the creature holding him. From the corner of his eye he could see the beasts around them closing in—shadows skulking with too-bright red eyes. If he’d been able to, Cassian might have laughed. It seemed he’d underestimated Ethelred’s temper. 

At least I won’t have to wallow in misery any longer, he thought, perhaps far too accepting of what was to come. 

He looked at Ethelred and couldn’t help but grin. At least Ethelred’s plans would be ruined. In death, Cassian would still manage to be a thorn in his side—that was enough to bring himsome comfort. 

It was almost too bad that it ended up being unnecessary. 

There was a sudden whistling sound and Cassian saw only a flash of moonlight reflecting off of silver. Ethelred jerked back, his grasp on Cassian loosening enough that he was able to break free. He stepped away from the cloaked necromancer while taking in the sight of a knife’s handle sticking out from the depths of darkness that hid his eyes. 

Idly, Cassian recognized it as the handle of one of his own knives. He likely would have been more annoyed had circumstances been different. Instead, he turned to face in the direction where the knife had been thrown and wasn’t surprised to see Elias grinning like an idiot as he was perched on a tree. Cassian could only stare in disbelief. 

“Thought you could use a hand,” Elias declared smugly. Cassian didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

“Oh, you idiot,” Cassian said instead.

He might have said more—none of it pleasant—if not for the heavy feeling of Ethelred’s magic filling the air. Cassian could feel the ominous prickle of it before he heard the words that formed a familiar spell. He all but shouted a counterspell with a hand reaching out, his own magic crashing against the tendrils of poisonous green that came from Ethelred. The resulting blast threw him back, his body aching as he hit the ground, eyes closed against the dust that rose up and clouded the area. 

Cassian heard the thief cry out in alarm and then there was the sound of growling, louder than he’d heard before. He scrambled to his feet, anxious about where Ethelred had gone. He found him soon enough, staring from behind that hideous mask. 

“You can keep the thief. For now.” With that, Ethelred’s puppet finally crumpled to the ground. Cassian stared at the mass of black cloth before turning to look for the thief.

When he looked around, Cassian could see no hint of him—only glowing red eyes speeding towards him. He threw himself to the side, rolling before scrambling up once again. A spell was on his lips as he spotted one of the beasts rushing at him, jowls open to reveal sharp teeth lining a black pit. It was close—too close. 

I won’t make it in time, Cassian thought. 

A moment later, a heavy weight slammed against him. He was tossed aside, landing painfully on his shoulder. He looked up, eyes wild, and caught sight of the thief—Elias—using his dagger to fight off the beast that had charged at Cassian. 

A dark blur off to the side caught Cassian’s attention just in time. The spell flowed from his lips easily, his hand held up towards the beast. There was a burst of light, blindingly bright and drawing irritated yowls from the beasts. It bought him enough time to cast another spell that sent sigils flowing out from his outstretched hand to form a circle around him before settling on the ground. 

Cassian turned to Elias, who’d managed to shove the beast he’d been fighting aside, and yanked the thief towards him. He landed in a heap at Cassian’s feet and had the gall to send an offended look at the necromancer. 

“Stay within the circle if you want to live,” Cassian said with a glare as he thought of all the trouble the thief had put him through. 

Elias picked himself up, brushing off as much dust as he could from his clothes. He was, simply put, a mess. The fall from the tree had left him covered in dirt and leaves while his face looked pale and drawn—likely due to some lingering discomfort from his previous injuries. 

“How long will this hold for?” Elias asked, looking at the beasts circling around them, their shapes a mass of shifting shadows the depths of which couldn’t be clearly seen even with the light of the barrier Cassian had cast. All that could be discerned were crimson eyes and sharp teeth, bared to them as the beast circled around them. 

“For as long as it’s needed. Thankfully, dawn will come soon. That should drive these creatures away.” He looked up at the sky and could see the first hints of light softening the inky darkness. 

“And Ethelred?” Cassian looked back at the thief, who stared back with a frown, waiting for an answer to his question.

“His puppet used up whatever power was in it.” Which was a very fortunate thing for them. Cassian wasn’t sure where Ethelred was at the moment, but he knew things would have gone a lot worse had he shown up in person instead of sending a puppet. 

“But he’ll be back,” Elias said, and there wasn’t any doubt in his words. 

Cassian didn’t answer. He knew his agreement wasn’t needed, not when they both knew the truth the thief had spoken. They watched as the sky slowly brightened into a dreary gray that was enough to drive away the shadows skulking around them. By the time day had finally settled around them, Cassian had come to an unfortunate conclusion. 

He looked at the cabin he’d called home for the last couple of years and wondered if he’d ever see it again.