They walked for an hour in silence as Lyra kept stealing glances at Moira. The old woman moved like a ghost. Her feet never broke twigs or rustled leaves. She just flowed between the trees like mist.
"How long have you been a banshee?" Lyra finally asked.
"Long time." Moira said but didn't look back. "Very long time."
"Were you burned too?"
"Hanged." Moira said but her voice sounded flat. "They said I was a witch who killed babies but I was actually a midwife who saved them."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It made me what I needed to become."
The pull in Lyra's chest got stronger as they were getting close to the Ravencrest. "Moira." She stopped walking. "How did you know I would wake up tonight?"
The old woman stopped too and turned around slowly.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you'd been waiting 300 years. That's exactly how long I was dead. How did you know?"
Moira's white eyes found hers. For a long moment but she didn't speak.
"Some things are connected, child. Your death. My death. Our rebirths. They're all part of the same pattern."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer I can give you right now."
The red words appeared:
WARNING: MENTOR FIGURE WITHHOLDING INFORMATION
RECOMMEND CAUTION
EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION DETECTED
Lyra frowned. "Why won't you tell me the truth?"
"I am telling you the truth. Just not all of it." Moira smiled sad. "Some truths are too heavy for new banshees."
"Try me."
"Later. When you're stronger." Moira said as she turned back toward the northeast. "Right now we have work to do."
They kept walking. But Lyra's mind was spinning. The system was warning her about Moira. Why? What was the old woman hiding?
"There." Moira pointed through the trees.
A big house sat in a clearing as lights glowed in the windows. Expensive carriages waited out front as music and laughter drifted on the night air.
"A party," Lyra whispered.
"Baron Thomas Ravencrest is celebrating his engagement." Moira said but her voice was cold. "He's marrying Lady Catherine tomorrow."
"How do you know that?"
"I've been watching this family for a long time."
The red words exploded across Lyra's vision:
TARGET IDENTIFIED: BARON THOMAS RAVENCREST
AGE: 34
CRIMES: EXECUTION OF 47 SUPERNATURAL BEINGS
MOST RECENT: BURNED THREE WITCH CHILDREN LAST MONTH
DEATH PROPHECY ACTIVATED
VIEWING OPTIONS:
QUICK DEATH (LOW SATISFACTION) POETIC JUSTICE (MEDIUM SATISFACTION) PROLONGED SUFFERING (HIGH SATISFACTION)
SELECT PREFERENCE
"It's giving me options." Lyra's voice shook. "Different ways to kill him."
"What are they?"
Lyra read them out loud. Moira nodded approvingly.
"Choose poetic justice. Quick death is too merciful. Prolonged suffering might draw attention."
"I don't want to choose any of them." Lyra said as she backed away from the house. "I can't kill someone."
"He killed three children last month." Moira said as she grabbed Lyra's arm. Her grip was ice cold and iron strong. "Little witches. Eight, ten, and twelve years old."
"Children?" The rage flared hot in Lyra's chest.
"Burned them alive. Just like Marcus burned you. Just like they'll keep burning innocents until someone stops them."
Lyra stared at the happy house. At the people dancing and laughing inside. One of them was a child killer.
"The children," she whispered. "Did they scream?"
"Yes."
"Did anyone try to save them?"
"No, instead the crowd cheered."
The rage exploded as blue light poured from Lyra's skin. The temperature dropped twenty degrees as ice formed on the nearby trees.
"Easy," Moira said. But she was smiling. "Channel that anger. Use it."
Lyra looked at the system options again. Selected "Poetic Justice."
POETIC JUSTICE SELECTED
DEATH PROPHECY: BARON THOMAS RAVENCREST WILL DIE BY FIRE
TIME: WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR
METHOD: HOUSE FIRE DURING ENGAGEMENT PARTY
INNOCENT CASUALTIES: ZERO
WOULD YOU LIKE TO INITIATE SEQUENCE?
"It's asking if I want to start the process."
"Do it."
Lyra hesitated. Once she said yes, there was no going back. She'd be a killer.
But those children...
"Yes," she whispered.
SEQUENCE INITIATED
BANSHEE ABILITIES UNLOCKED: DEATH TOUCH, SPIRIT WAIL, FIRE IMMUNITY
APPROACH TARGET TO COMPLETE MISSION
Power flooded through Lyra. She felt stronger. Faster. More real and less real at the same time.
"How do I get close to him?"
"Walk through the wall. You're a banshee now. Physical barriers mean nothing."Moira muttered.
Lyra looked at her hands. They were glowing soft blue as she pressed one against a tree trunk. Her hand went right through. "I can do this."
"I'll wait here." Moira said as she sat down on a stump. "This is your first kill. You need to do it alone."
Lyra floated toward the house. Her feet didn't touch the ground anymore. She was flying, she couldn't believe it she was actually flying.
The wall came up fast as she closed her eyes and kept going. She felt stone cold, then warm. Then she was inside.
The party was loud. Rich people in fancy clothes dancing and drinking. A fat man with a red face stood near the fireplace. He wore expensive robes with a family crest on the chest. A raven. The Ravencrest symbol.
That had to be Thomas, Lyra thought as she moved closer but nobody saw her. She was invisible to normal people.
"Tomorrow I marry the most beautiful woman in the kingdom!" Thomas said as he raised his wine glass. "And next week, we cleanse Silverwood Forest of the witch filth hiding there!"
Everyone cheered. "More children," Lyra whispered.
Thomas kept talking. "My great-great-grandfather Marcus started the purge. I'll finish it! No magic will be left in this kingdom!"More cheers as people started clapping.
Lyra's rage turned cold and deadly as she floated behind Thomas and reached out her glowing hand."Thomas Ravencrest," she whispered in his ear.
He spun around as his face went white. "What... who..."
"I'm death." Lyra said as she touched his forehead with one finger. "And you're done burning children."Lyra muttered as blue fire spread from her touch. Not the kind that burned things but the kind that burned souls.
Thomas screamed. But only he could see the fire. Only he could feel it eating him from the inside.He stumbled backward and knighted over a candle as real fire caught the curtains.
"Fire!" someone yelled. "Everyone out!" People ran. Stampeded toward the doors. But they all made it out safe. Just like the system promised.
All except Thomas. He fell to his knees as the blue fire consumed him. His eyes found Lyra's.
"Please," he gasped. "I have a family."
"So did the children you burned." Thomas Ravencrest died screaming. Just like Seraphina had. Just like those three little witches.
Lyra watched until he was gone. Then she floated back through the wall.
Moira was waiting."How do you feel?" the old woman asked.
Lyra thought about it. She should feel guilty. Sick. Horrified. Instead, she felt satisfied. Complete.
"Good," she said. "I feel good."
"Excellent." Moira stood up. "One down."
"One down?"
Moira reached into her robes. Pulled out a piece of paper. Unfolded it. Names. Dozens of names. All with the last name Ravencrest.
"These are all the family members still alive," Moira said. "Men, women, children. Every single one carries Marcus's blood."
Lyra stared at the list. So many names.
"All of them?"
"All of them." Moira's white eyes gleamed. "They've had 300 years to choose a different path. They chose to keep burning our people instead."
The red words appeared:
FIRST KILL SUCCESSFUL
EXPERIENCE GAINED: 500 POINTS
LEVEL UP! BANSHEE LEVEL: 2
NEW ABILITIES UNLOCKED
NEXT TARGET RECOMMENDED: LADY VIVIENNE RAVENCREST
LOCATION: RAVENHOLD CITY
DIFFICULTY: HIGH
"Lady Vivienne," Lyra read. "She's in the capital."
"Marcus's great-great-granddaughter. She runs the witch hunter organization now." Moira folded the list carefully. "She's the one who ordered those children burned."
Lyra's hands started glowing again. "Then she's next."
"Good." Moira smiled wide. For the first time, Lyra noticed her teeth were sharp. Too sharp. "But first, you need more training. Lady Vivienne won't be as easy as Thomas."
"What kind of training?"
Moira's smile got wider. "The fun kind."