Free A Different Kind of Deadly by Nicole Martinsen

way.
    "My Lady... this is a tale too good not to
tell; it may be yours to keep, but as I've also played a part, it
is mine to share." We shrank as he looked at us. "If Lady Galatea
is your Doll, you must know that Inval had left to the East to find
a cure for her... condition, yes?"
    According to Diana, she had a weak
constitution, and contracted a fatal illness. I couldn't imagine
her being anything other than strong and stubborn, but I nodded
because I had no other choice.
    Koronos paced as he told us his side of
events.
    "She was his protégé, you see.
Bright, impudent; smitten with her master."
    I glanced at Diana to see that her eyes were
faced towards the floor.
    "She made a habit of venturing through the
Moor, studying undead in their untamed habitat, one can say;
collecting minerals that couldn't be found anywhere else in the
world for the sake of Inval's studies -such devotion!"
    He stopped in his tracks, a nostalgic gleam in
his eyes.
    "She amused me, and I
trailed her in the guise of a basilisk. Our Lady Galatea was so
naive then," he chuckled. "She insisted that there was nothing her
precious Inval couldn't cure! Oh , but I begged to differ."
    Koronos wagged a finger in the
air, suddenly thick with resentment emanating from the Dolls
present.
    "I bit our fair Lady, and she contracted that
pesky little condition." His mouth crinkled at the corners as he
grinned. His teeth seemed... sharper somehow. "While she was
bed-ridden in Nethermount, Inval had the idea to come to the Moor.
A logical step. After all, one often finds cures in the place of
contraction. Inval succeeded... he found me."
    A dark shadow loomed across Diana's face. I
recognized it as pain, the kind of pain that lurked so deep that it
could consume a person. I lost my interest in this story. It wasn't
my place to hear it.
    But of course, I was too much of a coward to
say so.
    "I told Inval the truth-"
    "Liar!" Diana burst out.
    Koronos pressed a hand against his
chest, feigning ignorance. "Liar? Me? No... I told the truth, Lady
Galatea... just not the whole of it. I told Inval he needed power
to undo what ailed you, more than he had at his disposal. Anyone
with a hint of magical ability knew that there was great energy in
the East. Brilliant as he was, Inval was too stupid to think that I
had the power he needed as an alternative."
    Koronos covered his mouth. His shoulders shook
with silent laughter.
    "I taught him how to form a Doll Contract...
to preserve his prized pupil. What I forgot to mention was that the
change was a permanent one. He traveled to the East for nothing
after damning Lady Galatea to her present state. How cruel of him,
to leave her all alone -don't you think?"
    Leo had the strength to look at Koronos, who
revealed himself for who he was; a demon of similar stature to the
minotaur we saw in the fighting pit below. In place of hooves, he
had freakishly long feet, with curling nails boring holes into the
ground. Toxic boils coated the surface of his brown carapace. The
rest of him was pure muscle, whose tendons rippled beneath his
too-tight skin. I felt my blood freezing in my veins.
    "Why did you do it?" Leo asked.
    "I'm afraid I don't understand the question,
boy."
    The Son of Soma motioned to Diana, who seemed
lifeless in her part of the room.
    "What did Diana do to you? Why did she deserve
this?"
    I wasn't sure whether Koronos
laughed, sighed, or did both at the same time.
    His voice rumbled for a few seconds before he
replied.
    "I'm a devil, child. I did it for the same
reason the sun rises in the day, or the moon beckons the tides -it
is the way of things. I was bored. She was an opportunity. It's as
simple as that."
    "But..." I spoke before I even realized it was
me. "If you say you can't undo it then does that
mean..."
    Leo's explanation was that Doll creation was
like a soul transfer. I thought a body had to be built, but if
Koronos was telling the truth...
    "You turn a living, human
body, into a
Doll? It's not soul