Free A Different Kind of Deadly by Nicole Martinsen Page A

transfer, it's
transmutation?"
    Koronos smiled slowly. His teeth took up
nearly half his face.
    "So clever! Yes, young
necromancer."
    "So there's no way Diana can turn back to a
normal human?" I asked. "Ever?"
    "Not that I'm aware of." Koronos
shrugged.
    "But there has to
be."
    "Why does it matter to you?"
    "Because everyone deserves a chance at life!"
I had no idea where this strength had come from, but I was certain
that I was about to get myself killed. "A second chance," I
amended. "If not to live, then to make things right."
    Rather than bite my head off, as I'd
anticipated, Koronos made a pensive sound, surveying me.
    "I'll tell you what, Son of Thanos. If you
manage a way to turn Diana back into her human form, then I'll be
your loyal servant till the end of your days."
    Diana reached for me. "Marvin,
don't!"
    "Deal."
    A searing pain burned my arm. I
quickly pulled up the sleeve to find a brand.
    It was two snakes eating the
others' tail. Ouroboros; the symbol for eternity.
     

Part Two: Ties That
Bind
     
    A curious thing happened today; a girl-child
was sacrificed to the Pit.
    Her skin was the color of the
underbelly of a fish; her eyes, like roses, bloomed to
life.
    It's a rare form of albinism, to be sure -I'd
only read about it once or twice. It dawned on me, with a measure
of understanding, that she was an outcast among her nomadic people.
The sun-touched tribes of the Howling Desert, known for their tan
physiques and mighty builds... this frail child was no doubt a
pariah among them.
    She had survived the fall. I admit, a part of
me was disappointed -it's not every day one gets a chance to study
such a rare specimen... but I found myself desirous of company.
That old Crone Mahlah isn't much good for anything beyond academic
discourse. If the girl is willing, she can have a home here.
Perhaps then Nethermount's dark halls will have a bit of life in
them.
    She has no name, or so she told me. If she is
willing, I have one in mind.
    Diana.
     
    -Inval's Diary
    Year 844 S.E.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    16: Three Days

    I gaped at the tattoo that had spontaneously appeared on my arm,
dismayed to see that it moved. The snakes twirled around like a
mobius strip, an impossible structure that had somehow found a home
on my body.
    Diana's features were more human, and more
terrifying, than ever before. But rather than anger, she looked
helpless... helpless and afraid. It came to me with a measure of
shock that this was scarier than her rage.
    Lord Koronos offered up a toothy
grin.
    "Naturally, if you don't turn Lady Galatea
back into a human, your soul is mine. Standard procedure,
really."
    "And what happens once it's yours?" I mustered
the courage to ask.
    Lord Koronos motioned to Will. "Well, you
become like him."
    "A Doll?"
    "A slave... for all eternity."
    It struck me as funny that my mother had said
something very similar just a few days prior. To normal people, I'm
sure that necromancers are demons, and indeed, it seems as that we
have much in common. The dead are our play things, and afterlives
are irrelevant.
    But why I, of all people, deserved this was
beyond my ability to understand.
    Leo set a hand on my shoulder, drawing me back
to our unfortunate reality. He was the only one brave enough to
look Koronos in his inhuman eyes.
    "So what happens now?"
    The demon paused for a few seconds, finally
raising three fingers.
    "I give you three days. Whether you choose to
stay here, in Krisenburg, research ways of saving Lady Galatea, or
seek out the Eyes of the Leviathan, the choice is
yours."
    "And after three days have passed?" asked
Leo.
    "I set Will free." It was evident by Will's
startled expression that he wasn't expecting this either. Koronos
snorted, "He's been an entertaining distraction the past several
years, but I figure it's more amusing for him to complete his own
objectives. Killing you," he said pointedly, glancing in my
direction.
    Will seemed elated by the news, which made
this bad