Page 47 of I Ran Away to Evil #3
Have You Come to Kill Me So Soon?
Julian
Julian had a problem.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the bridge troll.
It was long after she’d left, and he had work to do.
He wanted to blame the fact that Gerda was Madame Potts … but he’d already had this same problem multiple times before that discovery. She just got under his skin. The way she was always one step ahead kept him on his toes, but more so the way she came at things intrigued him.
He wished she were here now because he wanted to hear her thoughts on the interrogation.
“This isn’t going to hold me for long.” Guild Mistress Alice indicated the prison around her. “So you might as well ask your questions now—I’ll even answer them.”
“Why?” Julian dragged his mind back to the matter at hand. Namely, questioning the celestial who’d been making a mess of Valaria.
Alice was sitting on a wooden chair, a table between them. Her manacled wrists were resting on it, and she would intermittently cast a look at the magical wall as if she knew exactly what it was. Visha stood in the corner, on guard.
Their Royal Highness was lounging in a room beyond, watching everything with magic.
Witch Agatha had joined the fox, as had Master Thomas of Servalt and the recently arrived Wizard Lorthar.
The wizard of Hemlock Hill had been summoned as soon as they’d taken Alice into custody, as he had the highest-level interrogation spells on the continent.
Julian wondered if Lorthar heard the news about Madame Potts since he’d rushed over so quickly.
Focus.
“Because despite this minor setback, I’ve finally gotten my answers. So, I’m feeling generous.” She smiled at him, her bright blue eyes catching the light of the magical glowing orbs that illuminated the room. His chest tightened.
The urge to do anything to make her smile was there, but he could ignore it. The manacles lowered her charisma down to fifteen, so she must also have a passive persuasive perk. He felt his skin crawl.
“I’m not sure you understand what’s going to happen next.”
“Of course I do.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to answer all of your questions, and depending on how long it takes me to escape, I’ll just be answering those same questions again and again in front of the other Continental Council members. This isn’t the first time I’ve been captured, you know?”
“But it is the first time Guild Mistress Alice has been captured,” Julian pointed out.
“True,” she conceded. “So, what did you want to know?”
He thought for a second. “… Why don’t we start by confirming what I already assumed: that you are the champion of Fate, and you are in charge of keeping everything according to Fate’s plan?”
“As you say.” She leaned on her elbow, placing a delicate cheek onto the palm of one hand. The manacle looked uncomfortable, and it would be better for everyone if he took it off.
Julian recognized the need to let her go was as false as her smile. It was nothing like the gentle feeling he’d had earlier, when he’d grabbed Gerda’s hands and freed her. The sight of the bridge troll teasing him was night and day to the sickening influence of Alice’s ability.
“Are the Blackfog going to continue targeting members of this list while you are imprisoned?” Julian summoned the paper from his inventory and placed it on the table between them.
Alice scanned the list. “No.”
Julian gave into a moment of curiosity and turned the questions to the hypothetical. He tapped the list. “Let’s say that fate continues in the wrong direction, and everyone on this list gets a second chance to live—”
“That cannot happen,” she interrupted him.
“Why?”
Alice practically rolled her eyes. “Because.”
Julian waited for her to continue.
“ Because ,” she repeated, emphasizing her words.
“Fate weaves the future based on the champions of each god—making sure they don’t interfere with each other’s storylines.
Each champion has different choices they can make, but the scenarios are specifically catered to keep the world on track, and right now , our timeline isn’t following any fate. ”
“So what?” Julian asked. “Why can’t we make new choices and live our own lives? Isn’t that why we have Fate and Luck?”
Alice answered vehemently. “No. Luck is the reason we have multiple paths to choose.”
“And Madame Potts chose her path,” he goaded the celestial. “Why is that any different?”
Alice thumped her fists on the table, her manacles clanking. “Madame Potts isn’t even supposed to be here! She’s not a part of any timeline. Her interference is a burden on the system itself!”
“But she is here,” Julian said, even more impressed with Gerda, knowing how much the world was against her and yet still finding her own place in it. “Whether by Fate or Luck or any other god you haven’t suspected.”
“She won’t be for long.” Alice’s face flashed with something dark. “Now that I know who she is, I can deal with this farce and get everything back on track before the next World Scenario.”
Julian ignored the anger that surged when she outright threatened Gerda, hiding it behind his already showing look of displeasure. “What happens if you don’t revert everything by the next World Scenario? When is the next World Scenario?”
“When the first leaf falls in autumn,” Alice ground out. “When Fate rewrites a new storyline, or she doesn’t .”
“What does that mean?”
“It means ”—Alice looked at him with equal parts frustration and pity—“that the gods might decide our realm isn’t working properly and they should start over. Wouldn’t you undo it all and start again if your pattern failed?”
They fell into silence as he stared at the celestial. At that time, the door opened behind him.
“You’re early,” Julian remarked.
Their Royal Highness swept in, looking like a tall red-haired woman. A black mermaid dress with a slit to the knee hugged their frame, and a black crown rested on their hair.
Alice smiled up at the fox. “Afternoon, Rowen. Have you come to kill me so soon?”
Their Royal Highness smiled a vicious fox grin, showing too many sharp teeth.
“Guild Mistress Alice. I thought I would fix your misguided thoughts before our Duke Julian started falling prey to your oh-so-incorrect words.” Their Royal Highness laid a hand on Julian’s shoulder and met his eyes.
“Nothing is going to happen if I continue to live.”
“You don’t know that.” Alice angrily came to her feet, her chin set.
“Unlike your goddess, who only speaks in rhymes and riddles, my patron is happy to convene with his chosen—when Warren bothers to ask.” The last was said in an aggrieved aside.
The ruler lifted their hands, and a black orb appeared, hovering over their open palm. The voice that traveled through the magical artifact made Julian’s teeth hurt from the ambient power radiating through his quiet words.
“ We have known the traveler and watched her ways. ” The message crawled like molasses through Julian’s spine, building pressure on every part of his body and mind.
Comfort wrapped around his spirit, even as a chill crept along his flesh.
“ The path ahead is another’s domain, but the weave is being woven as we walk, and I will not claim the realm to Shadow. ”
The darkness in the orb stilled.
The fox stared down at the celestial. “So you have no more need to kill me or anyone else on that list.”