Two days and nights later they had their new knives imbued with the cursed blood of a black unicorn and sharper than any regular weapon could ever be. The blacksmith tried to talk them into staying a little longer, but the twins were only interested in their mission.

The weapons dealt with, they were now left with the question how to get inside the harpies' lair and close enough to their queen to land a killing blow. The Viscount had not given any specific orders about that. Killing all the other harpies first was not realistic unless they had some element of surprise. They could not, after all, bring them down from the sky.

However, they only thought of all this when they were already at the location. They remained carefully hidden in the shadows of the rocks or the sparse vegetation as they observed their possible opponents.

An old, abandoned and partially fallen to ruin, seaside fortress was their primary lair. It was located on high rocks ending abruptly in a high cliff where the ocean began, just like their master had described.

The remains of a dirt road, already partially overgrown with grass, led straight to the broken gates. But despite the open doors, so to speak, it would not be possible to just walk right in. Not with the harpies circling above. The same applied to the rugged sides of the rock the fortress stood on. The only other option was to approach from the sea. But that was physically impossible for them - the climb would have been straight up and along rock made slippery by the waves.

Some of the harpies were clearly guards. Others were heading out, probably to hunt or fish, and yet others returning to their nests, built on the caves and small cliffs of the rock sides facing away from the sea.

"We need a distraction," Noel stated.

Nea nodded. "I will do it."

Noel took her hand. "No. We should stay together. Let's see if we can find someone else."

They had noticed - and avoided - a small group of bandits not long ago. Now they backtracked to where they had seen the camp.

The three scruffy men around the campfire reached first for their weapons, but then laughed and nudged each other, as the twins entered the circle of light from the darkness outside it.

"Gotten lost, little ones?" one of them asked, still snickering. "Your parents worried sick over you?"

"We have no parents," Noel replied. "And we are not lost. There is something we must do for our master before returning home."

That earned him another round of laughter.

"There is something we need to steal from the harpies," Nea put in. "We could use some help. There will be a large reward."

"Harpies?" Another of the men snorted. "Ain't big enough reward for that. Those bitches rip apart anyone who comes near."

"We would be the decoys," Noel played along with his sister's plan. "We only need someone to climb to the nests while the harpies are gone."

The bandits whispered among themselves for a moment. Then one of them spoke to the twins again, "Nah. Not worth the risk. So scram."

Under normal circumstances they might have kept the kids for ransom. If their master was willing to offer "a large reward", he had to be rich. But something was...suspicious with those two. They were too determined, too grown-up, for their age. Too cunning.

Nea briefly explained the details of her plan as they walked away. But it would not work unless they could lure someone to assist them.

"Please wait!" a male voice that cracked slightly called after them.

The twins stopped and looked back. It was a young man only a little less scruffy than the older ones they had talked with earlier. He was still going through puberty, not even old enough to grow a beard yet. Still probably a good five years older than them, though.

"I...I want to work with you. With that reward I can quit this job before I find myself at the end of the rope."

Noel and Nea looked at each other.

"I overheard you talking with the others. There was no risk, right? I'm a good climber."

Nea nodded slightly, then addressed the young man. "All you need to do is to steal some of their eggs while we lure the harpies away. Nothing else."

The young man beamed. "I can do that. Oh, I'm Rand, nice to meet you."

"I'm Nea. This is my brother Noel," Nea replied. "Let's go. Harpies don't see very well in the dark, so now is our best chance."

"Oh, okay. I can climb in the dark too." Not as well as during daylight, but he could do it. Especially since there was a life's fortune at stake. The moon was at two-thirds too, which afforded some light.

They split up well before the fortress. "We will meet you here at dawn," Nea told Rand. "Don't get too close before the harpies leave."

"Okay. How can I tell when they're leaving?"

"You will hear it."

~*~*~

A flaming spear pierced one of the harpies resting in their nests. Her dying screams of agony aroused the rest. The entire flock instantly took flight to search for this insolent intruder who dared to attack them in their home.

Noel and Nea fled exactly as they had planned. Thrown stones, branches rigged to snap free of their constraints and make noise, all to keep their pursuers following phantoms. The twins themselves carefully kept quiet and out of sight. If their plan was to work, they could not be seen now.

At some point the harpies gave up and turned back, perhaps not to stray too far from their home. Noel and Nea waited almost to the break of dawn, remaining in hiding, before heading back to the arranged meeting place.

Rand had fallen asleep where he sat in the cover of trees, cradling a full leather bag protectively.

Nea shook him a little. "We're back."

Rand blinked and smiled as he saw her. "I did it. I thought there would be more eggs, but I managed to find three. That's...enough, right?"

Nea nodded. "May I have them?"

"Of course." Rand quickly, but carefully, placed the bag on her hands. Nea checked the contents. Three large, mottled gray eggs.

"When will I get my reward?" Rand asked eagerly.

Nea just nodded to her brother in silence.

Noel walked up to the young man and in one fluid motion drove his knife through his heart. Rand didn't even have time to react.

Noel tied the dead man's hands together and looped Rand's arms around his upper body, over one shoulder and under the other arm. Rand was older and heavier than he was, but like this he could somehow drag the corpse along.

Nea led the way back to the fortress, carrying the harpy eggs so carefully like their lives depended on them staying intact. Their plan to get close to the Queen certainly did.

~*~*~

They were spotted almost instantly by the harpy guards as they approached. The screeching flock crowded them, flying back and forth just out of reach. The harpies had lower bodies of birds of prey, large menacing wings and the upper bodies and faces of women - young, yet more grotesque than beautiful in their predatory sharpness. Their nails were long and sharp, their hair surprisingly well tended to.

"We mean you no harm!" Nea called out without even a hint of doubt or fear in her voice. She opened the bag in her hands. "We caught this man with your eggs and wanted to bring them back!"

The screeching stopped instantly. The harpies hovered in place, studying them intently.

Nea held the bag a little higher, offering it to them.

One of the harpies took it from her and quickly flew off. Another two landed next to Noel and Rand.

"Why is he dead?" one of them hissed. "I wanted to eat him slowly. Alive."

"We had to defend ourselves," Noel replied equally convincingly as his sister. "He wanted to kill us to hide his theft."

There was some amount of screeching and hissing as the harpies apparently discussed what to do in their own language. Then two harpies carried Rand's body away.

"Come, the Queen awaits." Without waiting for any kind of reply, the harpies snatched the twins and carried also them off to the fortress.

The queen was almost twice the size of the other harpies. She had settled on a partially crumbled throne in a large hall where the roof had mostly collapsed - either with time or intentionally to open a way to the sky.

Noel and Nea both dropped to one knee politely.

"I heard you stopped the thief who made off with our eggs?" Her human language was perfect.

"That is correct," Noel replied. The crystal they were looking for was embedded in her flesh between her breasts - a large, gleaming crimson gem with countless facets.

"And his accomplices who attacked my people?"

"We don't know about that. He was alone when we met him."

She studied them for a long moment before speaking. "It is quite a tale of heroism you have spun. Unfortunately for you it is all fabrication."

Both twins tensed, ready for battle.

"Foolish little humans, did you really think you could trick me, the Queen of this domain? It was you who took my sister's life."

Nea abruptly stood up and stepped closer. "That was me! My brother was not involved! Please...please let him go!"

"If it was only you, then the fitting punishment would be to kill your brother while you watch, wouldn't it?"

Nea didn't say anything. Instead she grabbed the cursed knife at her belt and lunged for the Queen. That little act, no matter how clumsy, had gotten her the opening she needed.

Much to her surprise one of the nearby harpies threw herself in front of her liege. The knife cut deep into her flesh, buried straight to the hilt with minimal effort, before Nea jerked it free.

The entire court of harpies flew at them, sharp claws tearing into their clothes and flesh. Overwhelmed, they were dragged out of the throne room and to the sky. And before they could as much as struggle, they were thrown down to the rocks the waves hit against under the cliff. Not from high enough to kill, not nearly. The wounds inflicted by the harpies would take care of that.

It was quiet for a good while, except for the sea.

Then there were light footsteps.

"Tsk, and here I thought you two would actually succeed."

Nea's eyes fluttered open weakly. "Master..."

Noel groaned in pain as the man pushed him to his side in order to take the knife at the back of his belt. Then he stepped on Nea's wrist to get the one she still held in a vice-like grip.

The twins watched him with the same vacant eyes they always had. Like nothing actually mattered.

"You're free now," he said. "I have no use for broken dolls."

Then he disappeared.

Very, very slowly, as even the tiniest movement hurt, Noel's and Nea's hands met, fingers curling around each other. They had indeed become the Viscount's tools many long years ago, but with their mirror image always at their side, they had somehow clung on to the shreds of their humanity and sanity. Perhaps they felt nothing for the rest of the world, even less knew how to express it, but neither could imagine a life without the other. It was simply too painful.

Together...till the end.