Ines peaked inside the enemy's camp through a crack of the wooden walls that surrounded it. Their plan was to capture one alive and safely make it out of there. She doubted it would be that easy, but at least she would finally enjoy some action.

'Let's go,' she said to the others and ran towards the single entrance of the bunker.

With determined expressions on their faces, they impetuously burst in the camp. They split up to gain an advantage and used the element of surprise. They had just enough time to carry out their strike before they detected them.

As agreed, Ines and Inerma seized the closest masked figure they found in their way, a slim person who was standing by the entrance with their back at them. Their captor fought against their tight hold, but Ines ignored the soreness she felt in her arms.  She swallowed her discomfort and dragged their victim outside. If Inerma hadn't gagged them with her hand, their screaming would have given them away.

The women quietly exited the camp, while the men kept watch for any attackers a little bit further. The night's gloom fortunately hid them from their enemies, though in any case the masked figures didn't seem to be that attentive. The moment that thought crossed her mind, a sharp pang in her left shoulder almost made her cry in pain, her legs almost buckling under her.

Ines gritted her teeth and barely managed not to scream. Her vision bleared, but she didn't stop. She signaled to Inerma to move faster. The more distance they put between them and the camp, the safer they would be, and right then they didn't have the luxury to stop.

She glanced at their captor and found out they were already staring at them. Somehow, she felt that the person they were dragging with them had to something with the pain in her back. Gripping their captive's arms, each on either side, they rushed down the mountain, heading towards lower ground where the others would meet them.

They found a lone tree that stood behind a rock. The place wasn't perfect, but they would have to make do. Inerma took a piece of cloth and tied it over their captor's mouth, as Ines took out the rope Landos had given her to restrain their arms. They immobilised the person and removed their mask.

A pale face of a woman appeared behind it. Her big white eyes stared back at them, full of hatred, and they returned the favour. Their glaring contest hadn't lasted long until it was suddenly interrupted by someone approaching. Ines instinctively touched her sword, prepared to strike if needed, but Matthew's deep voice made her worries vanish.

'We had to kill one or two,' he informed them with a note of guilt.

'Peter! Your back!' Inerma exclaimed in surprise once Ines turned around.

'You have a knife sticking out of your shoulder and you don't even say anything?' Landos yelled at her and immediately started taking his vials out of his bag; and they were a lot.

'It wasn't like I had any choice!' she defended.

The elf rolled his eyes, pushing her to sit on the ground. 'It will hurt, I'm telling you that,' he warned her.

'Nothing I haven't been through.'

He came behind her and started inspecting the wound. Ines glanced up, only to see Matthew staring at them with a hard expression on his face. His eyes were throwing daggers at her, and his fingers were gripping his weapon like he wanted to strangle it. The pain in her back did nothing to distract her from his piercing gaze.

Ines felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She knew she was testing his limits and that he was struggling to keep his cool. The intensity of his emotions was written all over his face and they were too much for her to bear.

'Okay,' Landos voice interrupted her train of thought. 'I'm gonna count to three. One...'

Ines had no doubt he would pull it out on two, so she prepared herself for the pain that would soon come. She looked at Matthew, hoping to at least find some comfort in his familiar gaze, but his pained expression made her even more worried. He glanced at the elf's hand on her back and winced when he saw him grab the knife to pull it.

Matthew immediately shut his eyes, and Ines noticed the colour draining from his face. The logical side of her wanted to leave him be, but her heart was screaming at her to reach out to him. She didn't get the chance to decide. The moment Landos said 'two', Matthew turned around abruptly and walked away.

Ines felt the knife swiftly being removed from her body and couldn't help the piercing scream that slipped off her lips. She wasn't sure, though, if her wound hurt that much or if Matthew's withdrawal was the one that really made her feel so numb. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Landos healed up her wound and dressed it with clean bandages. He stood up, all proud for his expert work, and advised her not to fight for a couple of days. Like he would let me, she thought and shook her head in indignation. She raised on her feet, stretching her muscles, and she was relieved to discover that she felt better already.

'You are the first humans to have come to these lands for a long time,' she suddenly heard the unknown woman say, her voice hoarse and void of emotion.

No one said anything. They stood over her with glaring eyes and studied her like a rare specimen in a cage. Ines had to admit that her empty gaze unnerved her a bit, but she didn't want to show her discomfort and give her the satisfaction of being intimidated by her.

'We have been waiting for you,' the women spoke again.

She didn't seem to mind being watched by a group of people who would really like to strangle her. She sat there all calm and indifferent like they were talking about the weather.

'How did you know we were coming?' Inerma impatiently asked her.

'Oh, please. We have eyes everywhere,' the woman flashed them a lopsided grin full of contempt. It was obvious she enjoyed seeing their surprise on their faces.

'Where is he?' Ines butt in.

'Who?'

She knew she was faking her ignorance and that she very well knew who she was referring to. 'You know who.'

'I'm afraid it's too dangerous for you to go there.'

'We will be judge of that,' Landos snapped at her angrily.

'Speak!' Ines repeated loudly.

Her commanding voice made the woman wince in pain, her features awfully contorting. He body suddenly began making spasmodic movements and her fingers started frantically scratching her throat. It looked like she was wrestling something inside her, something she couldn't be freed from and regain control of herself.

'No!' she shrieked. 'I can't betray my master.'

Ines decided to take action. She pulled out a dagger from her side and within seconds she landed in front of her. She held the silver dagger with her right hand and roughly sticked it to her throat to threaten her.

'Speak!' she screamed, her face merely centimetres from hers.

From that close Ines could see her round eyes quickly change colours, going from white to brown and brown to white in a constant battle of agony. Ines stared at her and soon realised she was fighting the magic in her body, but it was too hard for her.

'Never!' the woman screamed at her. 'Ugh! It hurts!'

Landos came and knelt beside her. He inspected the stranger's face in skepticism, a deep line appearing between his brows.

'The spell they have put on her does not let her talk,' he concluded.

What if I got rid of the magic that is tormenting her?, she thought. Her powers did absorb the magic around her and if that could work on her too, she might be able to get rid of the spell and make her talk.

'I have an idea,' Ines said and lightly pushed him away. 'Give me some space.'

They reluctantly took a step back and let her focus on her task. Ines took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She took the woman's head between her hands, ignoring her thrusts and screaming, ordering her to release her.

After all those weeks of training her powers surfaced more easily and she just had to reach out to them in order to use them. As she tried to sense the magic in her and break through it bit by bit, she felt the familiar energy flowing in her veins.

She imagined her powers being a strong hammer crashing the black wall that surrounded the woman. With bold strikes she pictured the wall cracking more and more and light pierce the darkness inside. Gradually the woman's resistance diminished, and her screaming ceased.

Ines opened her eyes to see if anything had changed. The woman was looking at her in confusion. Her brown irises no longer changed colour, Ines noticed, and that was a good sign.

'Can you hear me?' she asked her softly. 'Can you tell me where he is? Your master.'

The woman blankly stared at her without replying. She obviously had no memory of what had happened or why she was there. Ines worried for any side effects the spell might have if broken. 'The dark lands,' she finally spoke in a tiny voice. 'That is where you must go. The darker it gets, the closer you get.'

Ines couldn't lift the weight of the magic anymore. It demanded too much strength and she was getting weaker by the second. The elf who had casted the spell, maybe the man they had met at the elves' city, must have been really powerful. She would have to release the magic and hope the information they had gained would be enough.

Without having any other choice, she let go of her powers. The result though was worse than she had thought. Once she released the woman from her control, her eyes turned completely white again and her expression immediately hardened.

'What did you do to me?' she shrilled, trying to break free from her restraints and attack her. 'You crazy—'

'I did what had to be done. I think we got what we wanted, right?' she turned to the others who nodded at her in agreement.

There wasn't anything else they could do to save her. They knew that she was beyond saving already. If they attempted to break the spell that bounded her, she would lose her life in the process, so it was better to just leave her.

'Yeah. Let's go,' Inerma agreed.

They were about to turn around and go, when the woman spoke again and made them stop on their tracks. 'He plans to destroy every one of you. You will never stop him!'

'Where there is poison, there is remedy,' Ines replied dismissively.

'What if the poison is already inside of you?'

Ines frowned but stayed silent. What does she mean?, she wondered and opened her mouth to ask, but she beat her to it.

'Be careful of the answers you seek. Sometimes truth is a weight. You must learn to carry it, or it will crush you. And in your case, well...'

'Come,' Inerma pulled her by the arm. 'We gotta leave before they find out what happened here.'

'But she—'

'We won't listen to what a crazy woman says. She's just tryna scare you.'

Ines sighed tiredly and began following her towards the exit of the camp. She didn't look back at the woman, she knew Inerma was right. Her ominous words though kept repeating in her mind like a warning echo. 

- - - - - - - - - -

A/N:  Thank you for sticking with us, dear reader! Your feedback is always appreciaed. It's a safe place here. You know, I'm a little confused by what the woman said. A star could help me understand :) Oh, and by the way, the next chapter will be full of romance hehe <3

Phrase of chapter:  crudelius est quam mori semper timere mortem / it is more cruel to always fear death than to die  - Senecus